Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organisation, speaks to journalists from ACANU (Association of the Accredited Correspondents to the United Nations), at the trade body’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, 11 February 2026. (Keystone/Martial Trezzini)

🚢‘Status quo is not an option’, says WTO chief ahead of major meeting focused on reforms The Nigerian head of the World Trade Organization said long overdue reforms of the 30-year old body would be “front and centre” at next month’s ministerial conference in Cameroon, as it grapples with an existential crisis.

💉Biodiverse developing countries stake claim to global health security, demand clear terms to govern access to pathogen information and sharing of benefits. World Health Organization member states are discussing technical issues this week as they try to resolve a key bone of contention in the pandemic treaty.

🦠Danger remains despite a drop in measles in the European region. The WHO said over 200,000 in the region contracted the disease over the past three years.

⚖️French government alerts prosecutor to diplomat with Epstein ties. The former UN employee had shared documents and reports with the sex offender and had access to his Paris apartment.

✈️Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines. Notorious for uprooting earlier climate policies at home, the Trump administration appears “constructive” in talks at the International Civil Aviation Organization to cut carbon emissions.