Trade : South must join China-India to rectify AoA asymmetries before MC11 (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The developing and poorest countries must join forces with China and India for rectifying the continued "asymmetries" in the world farm production and trade, ahead of the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires beginning on 10 December, trade envoys told SUNS.

Opinion : Did Monsanto write Malawi's seed policy? (PRIV)
(Timothy A. Wise, Cambridge)
In late July, a short article was published in a Malawian newspaper: "Press Release on Organization of Seed Fairs."

Syria : 20,000 civilians trapped in Raqqa City (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The battle to reclaim Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL/Da'esh), has raised concerns among top UN officials as at least 20,000 civilians remain trapped under heavy fire in the city.

United Nations : One in 10 displaced Syrians returned home (PRIV)
(IPS, Rome/Geneva)
This year alone, between January and July, 602,759 displaced Syrians returned home, according to reports from the UN Migration Agency and implementing partners on the ground.

Yemen : African migrants beaten, starved, sexually violated by criminal groups (PRIV)
(IPS, Rome)
African migrants who arrive on Yemen's shores - that is if they are not forced into the sea to drown - risk falling into the hands of criminal networks who hold them captive for several days to extort money in exchange for their "freedom," according to UN sources.