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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There seems to be no respite for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy from the problems plaguing the United Democratic Front (UDF) Government headed by him.

The annual four-month religious festival season beginning September, which also ushers in the busiest economic activity in the whole of South Asia until the end of March every year, is half way through. Onam, Id ul Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali are over. Bakr Id, Guru Nanak’s birthday, Muharram and Christmas are due. The period also marks the annual Hajj season.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Philippines and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed on a new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2011 to 2016 that will target governance reforms and other measures needed to drive broad-based growth and poverty reduction efforts. The program amounts to a total of $3.8 billion for the six year period.

New York: The international community must urgently consolidate efforts to tackle the global jobs crisis, a top United Nations official said today, calling for countries to adopt a more inclusive growth strategy that can enhance nations’ productivity and capacity to generate income sources.

Brazil has made strong progress over the past decade in the fight against misconduct in the public sector, but there is still room to improve procedures to detect and prevent improper acts by officials, according to a new OECD report.

New York: Ridding the world of leaded petrol, with the United Nations leading the effort in developing countries, has resulted in $2.4 trillion in annual benefits, 1.2 million fewer premature deaths, higher overall intelligence and 58 million fewer crimes, according to a new study released today.

New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today presented a proposed budget of nearly $5.2 billion for the United Nations to carry out the important work that Member States have entrusted to it in areas ranging from peace and security to human rights and development over the next two years.

Following a negotiating session at which nearly all remaining differences were resolved and after thorough consultations among all members it has been decided that a final formal session of the Working Party on Russia’s accession to the WTO will be held next month.

New York: Four United Nations agencies have prepared a plan to limit the degradation of oceans and address issues such as overfishing, pollution and declining biodiversity to encourage countries to renew their commitment to improve oceans’ governance, the UN announced today.

New York: A United Nations report released today on the use and management of water in the Nile River basin calls for new methods to boost agricultural productivity and warns that governments must take action to keep population growth and resource degradation from intensifying poverty.