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New York: The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) continues to accelerate worldwide, spurred by a steady decrease in the price of telephone and broadband Internet services, the United Nations telecommunication agency reported today.

New York: The world is undergoing “a moment of uncommon turbulence,” facing enormous political, economic, humanitarian and environmental challenges, but the United Nations stands ready to help deal with all of them, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

New York: The cultivation of coca bushes in Bolivia has remained stable over the past year with 31,000 hectares planted with the shrub, the raw material for the manufacture of cocaine, according to a new survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

New York: Millions of victims of humanitarian emergencies, particularly in West Africa, will benefit from a new life-saving partnership signed today between the United Nations and Luxembourg to provide a rapid response in food aid and communications needs.

New York: High levels of crime and insecurity continue to pose a challenge to social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, despite steady improvements in governance over the past two decades, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned.

New York: This year’s dramatic popular support for political change in North Africa and the Middle East showed that democracy is a governance model that people of all cultures yearn for, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, noting, however, that it cannot be imposed from abroad.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. David Cowen of the Asia and Pacific Department visited Dhaka and Chittagong during September 5–15 to conduct the 2011 Article IV Consultation discussions. The mission met with Minister of Finance Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister Mashiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman, Finance Secretary Mohammad Tareque, National Board of Revenue Chairman (NBR) Nasiruddin Ahmed, BB deputy governors, and other senior officials. It also met representatives from civil society, development partners, and the private sector.

A week is said to be long in politics and the Congress President Sonia Gandhi must have realized by this time that five weeks is too long. When she left New Delhi in August she was ailing and when she got back this month she finds the Congress ailing in her absence. What happened in these past five weeks had established her credibility as an undisputed leader even among her critics. It has also brought out the gap in the leadership ranks.

Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have observed that while Russia’s post-crisis rebound is underway, growth has been moderate and inflation high. Downside risks have increased against the backdrop of a worsened external environment.

New York: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has accomplished the tasks it set out to achieve two years ago to prepare its institutions for the responsibilities of statehood, but there remains a widening gap between that progress and the stagnant political process, according to a United Nations report released today.