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A group of developing countries led by Brazil yesterday sought substantial changes in the General Agreement on Trade in Services architecture on domestic regulation.

An EI delegation met with delegations of WTO members and Chair of the Council on Trade in Services in Special Session to discuss the state of play and country positions in the GATS negotiations, especially in relation of education services

Brazil - along with Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines - said each member has the right to define, in particular, the kind of universal service obligation it wishes to maintain.

There was a clear contrast in basic approach taken by developing and developed countries at a meeting of the Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation held at the WTO on 7 and 9 February.

Many of the developing countries stressed the importance of technical assistance and capacity building.

An attempt to convince developing countries to open up their financial services sector under GATS.

A rights group expressed fears Wednesday that security personnel might use excessive force against anti-globalization protesters at a World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong.

The success of all of the membership, the 148 WTO members, will not occur through spontaneous combustion. We have to plan it. -ALLGEIER

WTO members will be negotiating in the Special Session of the Council of Trade in Services in the week starting 21 February.

The Police Tactical Unit has ordered rubber bullets and lead-filled bean bags, Commandant Suen Kwai-leung said. The thumb-sized bean bags are fired from guns and, like rubber bullets, are intended to be non-lethal.