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New York: With nearly 800 million people unable to read or write, the United Nations today marked International Literacy Day with a warning that illiteracy undermines efforts to eliminate a host of social ills such as poverty and sickness and threatens the very stability of nations.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission visited Sierra Leone during August 23-September 6, 2011 to conduct discussions for the combined second and third reviews of the program supported under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) approved by the IMF Executive Board in June 2010.

New Delhi: India has planned to prune its negative list of imports by 20% (from 400 to 320 items) by October-end this year. This will be applicable only for the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries and is expected to boost intra-regional trade and investment in South Asia.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has given a jolt to the India-Bangladesh water diplomacy by not accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Dhaka this week. The soft-spoken Singh hoped till the last minute that Mamata would join him in his trip along with four other North Eastern chief ministers.

New York: Persons with disabilities must enjoy full human rights and fundamental freedoms and enabling them to do so benefits society as a whole, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today at the opening of a United Nations forum that is seeking to improve their lives.

New York: Pressures on the world’s limited amounts of soils available for agriculture together with land degradation are threatening global food security and imperiling long-term efforts to avoid widespread famine, a senior United Nations official warned today.

New York: Current unrest in neighbouring Syria must not be allowed to affect the stability of Lebanon, a senior United Nations official warned today, calling for agreement on the issue between the country’s various political parties.

New York: International tourist numbers surged by nearly 5 per cent in the first half of this year as the industry continues its recovery following the global dip in the wake of the recent financial crisis, new United Nations figures reveal.

New York: Normal to above-normal rainfall could return to famine-ravaged southern Somalia over the next three months but there may not yet be much easing of the drought there since the September-to-December rains are a relatively small part of the annual total, the United Nations reported today.

A staff mission led by Brian Aitken visited Colombo August 29 – September 7 to conduct discussions for the seventh review of the Stand-By Arrangement. The team met with government and Central Bank officials, as well as representatives of civil society and the private sector.