Trade : Viet Nam initiates dispute against US over seafood products (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Viet Nam has initiated a dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over certain measures taken by the United States concerning imports of Pangasius seafood products from Viet Nam.

Central America : Costa Rica studies its land, to keep from losing it (PRIV)
(IPS, San Jose)
Donald Vasquez points to the soil on a farm located in one of the most degraded basins on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica.

Bangladesh : Dung-eating earthworms restore soil nutrients (PRIV)
(IPS, Kaliganj)
In Kaliganj village, 20 kilometres south of Rangpur city in Bangladesh, small farmers are turning to vermicomposting after crop yields started dropping. The problem was that soil fertility eroded due to organic nutrient depletion.

Bangladesh : Monsoon season threatens more misery for Rohingyas (PRIV)
(IPS, Dhaka)
More than half a million Rohingya refugees crammed into over 30 makeshift camps in Cox's Bazar in southeast Bangladesh face a critical situation as the cyclone and monsoon season begins in a few weeks' time.

Opinion : Strengthening ban on chemical weapons - the case of Syria (PRIV)
(IPS, Stockholm)
The legal framework prohibiting chemical weapons (CW) is considered the gold standard for multilateral disarmament.