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New Delhi: “India is a player on the global stage. The country’s status as a rising economic power is closely connected with how it manages this next phase of growth, balancing rapid development with the environment and most importantly, the need to ensure all people have opportunity,” says World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. He said India’s needs, especially for financing its ambitious infrastructure and human development programs, are growing rapidly, as it strives to improve the lives of a billion people, one-third of whom are desperately poor.

New Delhi: The President of India, and the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, Smt Pratibha Devi Singh Patil awarded the prestigious Presidential Standard to 31 Sqn AF and Colours to 9 Base Repair Depot (BRD) AF, during a grand ceremonial parade held at Air Force Station, Lohegaon in Pune, this morning. The Commanding Officer of 31 Squadron Wg Cdr Ashutosh Srivastava received the Standard whereas Air Officer Commanding of 9 BRD, Air Commodore BR Chandran received the Colours from the President. Both formations of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are based at Pune.

New Delhi: Gulf countries have provided a welcoming atmosphere and have encouraged Indian migrants to come for work. The prosperity of the Gulf has had a positive impact on India as the region is the source of a large proportion of remittances from overseas. According to the World Bank Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011, India received $55 billion of remittances in 2010, the highest inflow received by any country. About one quarter of the amount are from West Asia.

KOLKATA; Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh has suffered a major setback, as the country’s Supreme Court recently ordered the government to restore ”Bangali nationalism” in the Constitution and do away with ”all relics” of the martial law rulers in the body politic.

KOLKATA: For the ruling Left Front, these are tough times in West Bengal. What has queered the pitch for the Left is a sudden swing in the attitude of the Congress at the centre, from the glacially indifferent to hyper sensitive. Between the Left and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state, the Congress has long remained the favourite whipping boy .Both sides feel free to take potshots at India’s biggest party. State Cong leaders have been requesting their central leaders to crack the whip occasionally, if only to let everyone know where the real power lies. Now it seems their prayers are being finally answered.

New Delhi: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh said that India’s soft power was an increasingly important element in our expanding global footprint. He called for more effective use of the country’s soft power.

New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the international community to provide urgent military and other support to Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to stop “foreign fighters and other spoilers” turning the region into the next stronghold of international terrorism.

New York: One year after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, more than 1 million people – 380,000 of them children – still live in crowded camps despite extraordinary relief efforts by Haitians and the international community, according to a United Nations report issued today.

New York: The United Nations refugee agency today voiced concern that States trying to prevent the entry of irregular migrants into their territories are doing so without establishing guarantees to ensure the protection of those in need.

New York: An independent United Nations human rights expert today welcomed a new law recently adopted in the Republic of Congo, calling it a “significant” step in ensuring the rights of indigenous peoples.