Trade : A witch's brew at the WTO (PRIV)
(Chakravarthi Raghavan, Geneva)
An already complicated situation at the World Trade Organization is now turning out to be a witch's brew, with the announcement by WTO Director-General (DG) Roberto Azevedo that he is quitting as of 31 August 2020, a full year before the expiry of his second term in office, and President Donald Trump welcoming it.

COVID-19 : South opposes attempts to foist trade liberalization measures (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
A large majority of developing and least-developed countries at the World Trade Organization have opposed attempts to use the Covid-19 pandemic to negotiate far-reaching trade liberalization measures with binding commitments, trade envoys told the SUNS.

United Nations : COVID-19 must be a wake-up call, says UN chief (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
COVID-19 must be a wake-up call and it is time for an end to the hubris, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday.

COVID-19 : We cannot let the education gap widen (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we estimated that 75 million children and youth - of whom 39 million are girls - were not able to access a quality education in countries impacted by armed conflicts, forced displacement, natural disasters and climate change-induced emergencies.