Trade : US may not use WTO dispute system over US-China trade deal (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The United States has signalled that it w ill prefer not to use the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system or the Appellate Body (AB) in case Beijing fails to implement the commitments set out in the proposed comprehensive "trade agreement" between the US and China.

Trade : Turkey blocks Thai panel request over duties on air conditioners (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
A request for a dispute panel by Thailand t o examine additional duties imposed by Turkey on imports of air conditioners from Thailand was blocked by Turkey at a meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on Monday.

Rights : Modern day slavery rated world's largest single crime industry (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
After an exhaustive study of modern d ay slavery, the Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded there are over 40 million people who are victims of slavery, including 25 m illion in forced labour and 15 million in forced marriages - with at least 71 perc ent of them comprising women and girls.

Argentina : Does climate change offer new opportunities for agriculture? (PRIV)
(IPS, Buenos Aires)
Climate change poses a global threat to food production, but for agriculture in Argentina it could also p resent new opportunities.

Mideast : The future of urbanism - is the UAE pioneering it? (PRIV)
(IPS, Abu Dhabi)
According to data from the U N Development Programme (UNDP), the Arab world is one of the most urbanised areas in the world, with more than 70 per cent of the population of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - living in urban areas.