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New York: The United Nations human rights experts tasked with assisting families determine the fate or whereabouts of disappeared relatives examined over 200 cases during its recent session held in Mexico City, and is now conducting a mission to learn about Mexico’s efforts in dealing with the issue.

An export-oriented recovery is underway. But domestic demand and potential output growth are unlikely to return to their pre-crisis trends, dampening medium-term growth prospects. The main challenges are to manage the deleveraging process, promote sustainable growth, and bring down unemployment. Fiscal policy is appropriately tightening but the quality of the adjustment needs to be improved to ensure its durability. Implementation of the pension reform is a “sine-qua-non” condition to preserve fiscal stability and prevent increases in sovereign financing costs. Banks suffer from weak capitalization and asset quality. Their governance should be strengthened, including by broadening the investor base.

New York: Forested areas in Europe, North America, the Caucasus and Central Asia have been increasing steadily, growing by 25 million hectares over the past two decades, the United Nations said today, citing diseases, insects and storms aggravated by climatic factors as the major threats to the ongoing health of woodlands.

Governments looking to boost their economies, create jobs and meet environmental targets see eco-innovation as part of the solution. Some subsidise research and development. Others stimulate demand by labelling energy efficient appliances and regulating against environmentally harmful products. All are looking for efficient policies to make it work.

New York: An inclusive dialogue on political, social and economic reform is the only way forward for Bahrain, where Government forces have cracked down after weeks of popular protests, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

New York: As senior Arab officials met today to discuss ways to ensure a more equitable future in their region, the United Nations labour agency stressed that the changes currently under way must meet the concerns of governments, employers and workers for achieving decent work.

New York: The United Nations health agency today released its first ever list of the most vital medicines for saving the lives of mothers and children, and stressed the need to ensure their availability in developing countries.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Japan are promoting greater access to clean energy for poor rural women in South Asia.

Legislatures’ Budget sessions, particularly the last of a ruling party’s term, usually witness the Opposition mounting its offensive against the government and the ruling party going into defensive mode. But the Punjab Assembly’s on-going Budget session saw a reversal of their roles. The Akali-BJP government was on the offensive and the Congress, the main opposition party, on the defensive.

KOLKATA: The bomb blast in Assam Pradesh Congress Office at Guwahati earlier this month in which two party functionaries and three others were injured, exposes the despair and desperation of the self-proclaimed ULFA “C-in-C” Paresh Baruah, who has been disowned by the leaders of his own organization, denied shelter and operational facility in Bangladesh and who stands thoroughly discredited before the people of Assam. Even if there are a few more blasts, these will neither disrupt the polls nor influence their outcome. (There was another blast by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland at Kokrajhar the same day, killing eight BSF men and injuring another eight.)