Labour : Nearly half of global workforce impacted by COVID-19, says ILO (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Almost 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy - nearly half of the global workforce - have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown measures and/or are working in the hardest-hit sectors, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has said.

COVID-19 : JSI group for exploring emerging e-com/digital trade issues (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The coordinators of the plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) group on electronic commerce at the World Trade Organization have asked members to consider exploring emerging e-commerce/digital trade issues, that may involve new WTO obligations for developing countries, in view of the restrictions put in place to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trade : E-com proposals at WTO a recipe for corporate greed (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The proposals for a WTO agreement on e-commerce, which are currently on hold, would further exacerbate inequality and division at a time when the world needs to work as one, according to a new report.

Environment : Crises of 2020 will delay transition to clean energy (PRIV)
(IPS, Caracas)
The oil slump, global recession and uncertainty about the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic will fuel the appetite for cheaper fossil fuel energy and delay investments in renewables, affecting the targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Africa : Youth scholars harvest ideas on the business of agriculture (PRIV)
(IPS, Bulawayo)
In Rwanda, Benimana Uwera Gilberthe, a scholar and pepper producer, experienced first-hand the challenges of breaking into agribusiness.