PARIS/GENEVA (Reuters) – Senior Roman Catholic and Lutheran officials announced on Monday they would mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 as a shared event rather than highlight the clash that split Western Christianity.

The Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) presented a report in Geneva admitting both were guilty of harming Christian unity in the past and describing a growing consensus between the two churches in recent decades.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The European Union said on Thursday it had lodged a complaint at the World Trade Organisation against China’s imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel tubes, six months after Japan filed a similar case.

The complaint centers on high-quality steel products that China needs to build new power plants, crucial for its plans to upgrade and clean up its electricity infrastructure.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The death toll in Syria reached at least 93,000 at the end of April, but the true number of victims from the violence now in its third year may be much higher, the United Nations human rights office said on Thursday.

Navi Pillay, U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced fears that the bloodshed in recent battles for the Syrian border town of Qusair would be repeated in the northern city of Aleppo.

GENEVA, June 12 (Reuters) – Turkey told the World Trade
Organization on Wednesday that it would retaliate against a
Ukrainian tariff on car imports, while Japan and the European
Union signalled they could follow suit.

Turkey’s retaliation was tiny in global trade terms,
amounting to a 23 percent tax on Ukrainian walnuts which Turkey
estimates will raise $6.1 million, equivalent to the damage done
to Turkey’s car exports by Ukraine’s tax.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Major economies competing to restore export-led growth are stealthily imposing more protectionist measures than at any time since the financial crisis began, a leading trade monitoring group said in a report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The findings, to be published on Thursday, appeared to underline fears voiced by World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy, when he said in April the threat of protectionism “may be greater now that at any time since the start of the crisis.”

GENEVA, June 10 (Reuters) – South American metals and energy
producer Suriname, which signed deals last week with U.S. and
Canadian miners, said on Monday that it plans to improve
safeguards for investors and set up a sovereign wealth fund.

The World Bank ranks Suriname 164th out of 185 economies for
ease of doing business, and 183rd in the category of “protecting
investors”, according to written questions for the country’s
review at the World Trade Organization.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations launched a $5 billion (3.2 billion pounds) aid effort on Friday, its biggest ever, to help up to 10.25 million Syrians, half the population, who it expects will need help by the end of 2013.

The appeal comprises $2.9 billion for refugees, $1.4 billion for humanitarian aid and $830 million for Lebanon and Jordan, the biggest recipients of Syrian refugees.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations expects 10.25 million Syrians, half the population, will need humanitarian aid by the end of 2013 at a cost of more than $5 billion, U.N. humanitarian agencies said on Friday.

The new forecasts, in an updated Syria response plan, include more than a doubling of the refugee population to 3.45 million from 1.6 million now, spread across Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

GENEVA (Reuters) – A conference on ending the Syrian war could take place in July but there is still a lot of work to do, international envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday after preparatory talks with U.S. and Russian officials.

“We have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to hold this conference in June. We will be continuing our consultations with Russia and the United States to see about windows of opportunity to hold the conference as soon as possible – hopefully in July,” he told reporters in Geneva.

GENEVA (Reuters) – A conference on ending the Syrian war could take place in July but there is still a lot of work to do, international envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said on Wednesday after preparatory talks with U.S. and Russian officials.

“We have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to hold this conference in June. We will be continuing our consultations with Russia and the United States to see about windows of opportunity to hold the conference as soon as possible – hopefully in July,” he told reporters in Geneva.