View Articles

New York: As the General Assembly wraps up the main part of its 65th session, its President today hailed the summit with which it opened for galvanizing momentum towards achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reverse a global legacy of poverty and attendant ills.

New York: Powered by China, the Asia-Pacific region posted a growth rate of some 20 per cent in both exports and imports in 2010 despite “murky” protectionist steps by developed countries, and is expected to grow at a robust, if slower, pace in 2011, according to a United Nations report issued today.

New York: Human rights officers in Côte d’Ivoire have substantiated allegations of more than 170 killings, hundreds of arrests and dozens of cases of torture, ill treatment and enforced disappearance of people over the past one week, a senior United Nations rights official said today.

New York: A senior United Nations official today condemned the demolition of two refugee homes in East Jerusalem, stressing in particular the trauma caused to Palestinian children forced to witness their homes being destroyed.

New York: While China has made great economic and social progress in recent years, land degradation and the widening income gap between rural and urban are posing challenges to ensuring the right to food for its population, says an independent United Nations human rights expert.

New York: A landmark treaty to deter enforced disappearances entered into force today with United Nations experts tasked with assisting families determine the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared urging States to ensure the eradication of the crime by bringing those responsible to justice.

New Delhi: The Report of the Third National Handloom Census 2009-10 was released here today by Smt. Panabaaka Lakshmi, the Minister of State for Textiles. Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) was used, for the first time, to interview 27.8 lakh handloom workers households in connection with this Census. The Minister also gave away the first series of Photo Identity Cards to handloom weavers, assembled from various States, viz., Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West Bengal, U.P., Haryana etc. during the function organized to release the Report.

Did the Burari AICC Plenary session make a realistic assessment of all issues including why the Congress is weak or why the coalition era continues? No doubt the Congress President Sonia Gandhi herself observed in her presidential speech, ”Our party has seen many ups and downs, many challenges. We can look back with pride. It is important for us to introspect the inheritance we have got, how far have we stayed steady on it”. But the 125th anniversary is also the time to look forward. Is the Congress ready for a future to regain its lost glory?

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Ukraine’s economic performance under the program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The completion of the review enables the immediate disbursement of SDR 1 billion (about €1.2 billion, or US$1.5 billion). Drawing the full amount would bring total disbursements under the program to SDR 2.25 billion (about €2.6 billion, or US$3.4 billion).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today released results from its inaugural Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS), the first worldwide survey of foreign direct investment positions. The results, published as an online database, cover investment positions at end-2009 for 72 participating economies. The survey will be carried out annually and the intention is to broaden coverage in terms of both geographical representation and breakdowns of the data.