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WASHINGTON: The World Bank today approved a $1.5 billion Credit and Loan for the Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Program, or the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to continue improving rural accessibility of roads for hundreds of millions of residents especially in lagging regions.

NEW DELHI – Inadequate sanitation causes India considerable economic losses, equivalent to 6.4 per cent of India’s GDP in 2006 at US$53.8[i] billion (Rs.2.4 trillion), according to The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India, a new report from the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), a global partnership administered by the World Bank.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review under the three-year Policy Support Instrument (PSI) for Rwanda. The Executive Board also approved modifications of assessment criteria under the PSI.

New York: While the hard-pressed shipping industry is recovering from recent declines, it is still being hindered by fragile global economic conditions as well as depressed freight rates and an oversupply of vessels, says a new United Nations report.

New Delhi: India and Russia are likely to sign some new agreements for cooperation in hydrocarbons sector, civil nuclear energy, space, science and technology and defence as the Russian President Dmitry A Medvedev arrives on a two-day visit on December 21.

New York: The United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire today accused President Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down despite his electoral defeat, of distorting its position and launching a new wave of harassment against its staff, including night-time knocks on the door by armed men.

New York: A project executed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in West Africa has succeeded in slashing the use of toxic pesticides, increasing yields and incomes, and diversifying farming systems.

New York: There is an increasing sense that conditions for reconciliation in Afghanistan are becoming more favourable and that there may soon be a real opportunity for a political dialogue leading to a settlement, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the war-torn country.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the fourth review of the Dominican Republic’s economic performance under a program supported by a 28-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The completion of the review enabled the immediate disbursement of an amount equivalent to SDR 109.45 million (about US$168.1 million at current rates), bringing total disbursements to an amount equivalent to SDR 547.25 million (about US$840.4 million at current rates).

New York: The Security Council today decided that the expert body providing advice to the Counter-Terrorism Committee assisting States to prevent terrorist acts both within their borders and across regions will continue to operate as a special political mission for another three years.