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KOLKATA: As feared, the much-publicised political dialogue between the West Bengal Government and the CPI(Maoist) party has failed to progress beyond mutual threats and recriminations.

NEW DELHI: The annual summit of the eight member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) scheduled on November 9 and 10 at Maldives gives the South Asian nations another opportunity to impart a big boost to regional cooperation covering both economic and political issues. SAARC as a regional block, has so far failed to make use of its full potential and this does not speak well of India also which is the biggest country in the group in terms of both economic and political strength.

WASHINGTON – A new World Bank Group initiative will help Brazil’s efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in the country, the World Bank announced today.

An IMF mission led by Mr. David Dunn visited The Gambia during October 18-November 1, 2011, to conduct discussions for the 2011 Article IV consultation. The mission met with Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Mambury Njie, Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) Amadou Colley and other senior officials of the government and the CBG. It also met representatives of the National Assembly, political parties, the business community, civil society, labor unions, students, and The Gambia's development partners.

Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have commended Bangladesh authorities’ economic performance and poverty reduction efforts in a fragile global environment. While the near-term growth outlook is favorable, high commodity prices and accommodative policies are contributing to a deterioration in the current account and inflation pressures. To preserve macroeconomic stability and to boost medium-term growth prospects, Directors stressed the need for prudent macroeconomic policies and advancing the reform process.

The Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices, on 24-25 October 2011, reviewed 32 semi-annual reports of anti-dumping actions taken during the first half of 2011.

The Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, on 26-27 October 2011, focused on encouraging more WTO members to notify their subsidy programmes, and on improving the timeliness and completeness of notifications. It decided to extend the transition period for the elimination of export subsidy programmes of 19 developing countries.

Colombia and India asked the WTO Safeguards Committee in separate cases, on 27 October 2011, to find whether or not the procedural requirements of the Safeguards Agreement have been complied with in connection with the safeguard measures taken by Ecuador on glass windshields and by Turkey on cotton yarn, respectively.

New York: Concerted and rapid action is urgently needed to curb resource depletion and ensure human activities do not destroy the very environment that supports economies and sustains life, warned a United Nations report released today, which tracks the environmental changes the planet has gone through over the past 20 years.

New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he is confident that a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus issue can be reached, following progress made during two days of talks with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in New York.