Trade : "Digital trade" war underway in e-com pluri-talks at WTO (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
A new "digital trade" war appears to be underway at the World Trade Organization after the United States, the Europ ean Union, and Japan upped the ante for framing the most ambitious rules in glo bal electronic commerce so as to counter China's proposals in the ongoing pluri lateral negotiations on e-commerce.

Trade : Panel to examine EU duties on Russian flat steel products (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation on 26 April agreed to establish a dispute panel, a t the request of the Russian Federation, to examine anti-dumping measures imposed by the European Union on imports of certain cold-rolled flat steel products fr om the Russian Federation.

United Nations : US takes back signature on arms trade treaty (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The United States dropped a political bombshell when President Donald Trump announced his administration would withdraw from the historic Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) which the former Obama administration signed in September 2013.

UN : US & Western arms in Yemen conflict signal potential war crime charges (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
When US political leaders urged the Trump administration to either reduce or cut off arms supplies to Saudi Ara bia - largely as a punishment for its indiscriminate bombings of civilians in the four-year-old military conflict in Yemen - President Trump provided a predi ctable response: "If we don't sell arms to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese and the Russi ans will."

Rights : Media landscape marked by "climate of fear" (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Journalists around the world a re increasingly seeing threats of violence, detention, and even death simply f or doing their job, a new press index has found.

Note to Readers : Holiday Notice (PRIV)
(, )
Due to the May Labour Day holiday in Europe, the next issue SUNS #8898 will appear on 2 May.