GENEVA/WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Countries negotiating a
treaty to fight global trade in pirated goods released the text
of a 99-percent complete draft of the pact on Wednesday.

“We are at the final stage — about to cross the finishing
line,” said a European Union official close to the talks, who
asked not to be named.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations released a controversial report Friday documenting hundreds of atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and suggesting ways to end the climate of near-total impunity for the violence.

The report is an attempt to cover rights abuses in the former Zaire between 1993 and 2003, in which tens of thousands of people were killed and many others raped, mutilated or otherwise victimized.

GENEVA, Sept 29 (Reuters) – U.S. measures that effectively
banned imports of Chinese cooked chicken broke international
trade rules and caused injury to China’s economy, a World Trade
Organization dispute panel said on Wednesday.

The U.S. measures challenged by China were unscientific and
discriminatory, the panel found.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Trade Organization called on Wednesday on the United States — criticized by many trade partners for a lack of interest in trade policy — to show leadership in global commerce.

In a two-yearly review of U.S. trade policy, part of a regular survey of all 153 members, the global trade referee urged the United States to show leadership in the fight against protectionism by opening up further to trade and investment.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) responsible for hundreds of violent rapes are not being brought to justice in the vast, lawless country, United Nations officials said Friday.

A report by the U.N. human rights office in Congo pointed to serious shortcomings by the Congolese army and police and said their failure to prevent or stop the attacks was compounded by further failings in the U.N. peacekeepers in Congo, known as MONUSCO.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Nearly 40 countries are launching a renewed push for an anti-counterfeiting accord in Tokyo this week, a non-governmental organization monitoring the secretive talks said on Thursday. Civil society critics of the negotiations say the new deal would provide a platform for rich nations to impose on developing countries tough intellectual property rules that go well beyond existing global agreements.

They say that could disrupt trade in legitimate generic drugs going to poor countries by allowing searches and seizures of the products when in transit in participating countries, something that has already occurred in the European Union. James Love, president of Knowledge Ecology International, a non-governmental organization (NGO) monitoring intellectual property questions, said the Tokyo talks could try to narrow the scope of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

GENEVA (Reuters) – Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization picked up steam on Tuesday and the United States said there was new energy in the 17-year-old talks.

The comments suggest Washington is still keen to get Russia into the body that referees global trade as soon as practicable, despite a series of issues dogging bilateral trade ties.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemen hopes to conclude its 11-year-old bid to join the World Trade Organization this year, enabling the impoverished Arab state to accede in 2011, a senior Yemeni trade official said on Tuesday.

Membership of the body that umpires world trade would boost its economy and provide access to technical assistance from the WTO and its 153 members, said Farouk Kassem, director-general for marketing and trade in the ministry of agriculture.

GENEVA, Sept 21 (Reuters) – The World Trade Organization
adopted a ruling on Tuesday condemning controversial European
duties on electronics products after the European Union declined
to appeal against the verdict by WTO judges.

The United States, Japan and Taiwan had challenged the EU
tariffs on flat-panel displays, multi-function printers and
television set-top boxes which they said violated the WTO’s
Information Technology Agreement.