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New York: The Security Council today voted unanimously to split sanctions it has imposed on Al-Qaida and those against the Taliban, creating two lists of individuals and organizations so that they can be treated separately under efforts to fight terrorism.

New York: The international community will be facing higher food prices and volatility in commodity markets for some time, according to a new report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that calls for greater investment in agriculture.

NEW DELHI: The 100th session of the International Labour Organisation’s International Labour Conference (ILO-ILC), currently being held in Geneva, is to mark a radically new phase in the World of Labour. This phase will be one of concerted worldwide struggle against the “growth model” that has been responsible for the global economic crisis throwing millions out of jobs world over.

KOLKATA: It is early days yet to talk about the new Chief Minister of West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee. However, nearly a month into her new innings, it seems that her faith in populism as a tactic for political survival, an enduring feature of her role as the leader of opposition, remains as ingrained in her as before.

NEW DELHI: Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev’s much hype crusade against corruption has virtually ended in a fiasco. The way he ended his nine-day fast has painted him in a bad light and his credibility has come down. Before Ramdev began his fast his popularity was sky rocketing and he had huge following. But that was more because of the yogic exercise he has been teaching, benefitting thousands of people. It is sad indeed that he crusade against corruption took a political turn and his popularity was sought to be exploited, particularly by the Sangh Parivar.

If the country’s current political and economic trends continue for another two years and both the Congress party and BJP fail to master enough strength in Parliament, the next prime minister could be from either from eastern India, for the first time, or from the south. It may be Ms Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal or Ms J Jayalalithaa of Tamil Nadu. The two states together have 81 seats in Lok Sabha. Going by the current trend, a massive anti-Left mandate in West Bengal and demolition of DMK in Tamil Nadu, Mamata’s Trinamool Congress (AITMC) and Jayalalithaa’s Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) are projected to sweep the next Lok Sabha polls and play a much bigger role in national politics.

NEW DELHI: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said today that the current spell of inflation can not be addressed by monetary tightening alone and the latest rate hike by RBI should be the last amidst growing signs of slowdown in economic and investment activities in the country.

The Reserve Bank of India continues with its monetary tightening, in the face of still elevated inflation, to rein in demand pressures, with a 0.25 per cent increase in key policy rates from June 16, 2011. While growth is already moderating from a confluence of adverse factors, external and domestic, the policy stance would be to mitigate further risks from adverse global developments.

She came, she saw but did she conquer? Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa was in the capital in search of a new political equation with the centre. Among the new crop of chief ministers emerging after the recent Assembly elections she stands alone as the other chief ministers are from the Congress like Tarun Gogoi (Assam) or Omen Chandy (Kerala.) and Congress supporters like Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal). The Puducherry chief minister is an ex Congressman.

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party has launched a massive campaign to capture power on its own in Uttar Pradesh in the next assembly elections in 2012 by unseating the Mayawati Government. Armed with the big success of the two day national convention of the SP in Agra on June 7 and 8, SP national President and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has called upon the people to dethrone the BSP government in the state and rep lace it with SP for ushering in a new era of development and honest administration.