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WASHINGTON, ─ The World Bank has approved two projects worth US$515 million to India, consisting of a US$450.60 million loan for the Andhra Pradesh (AP) Water Sector Improvement Project and a US$64.15 million loan/credit for the Capacity Building For Industrial Pollution Management Project.

New Delhi: The President of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma and Shri Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry launched the India-South Africa CEOs Forum in Mumbai today. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sharma said this Forum will provide an institutional platform for sustained business interaction and guidance on policy issues to both sides. He hoped that the Forum will give dynamic push to the economic relations between the two countries. The CEOs Forum will be headed by Mr. Ratan Tata, from the Indian side and Mr. Patrice Motsepe, Executive Chairman, Africa Rainbow Minerals from the South African side. The South African Trade & Industry Minister, Mr. Rob Davis, President of Business Unity South Africa, Ms Futhi Mtoba, and representatives of chambers of commerce and industry were present.

New Delhi: India's first vaccine against H1N1(Vaxiflu-S) indigenously manufactured by Ahmedabad based pharma major, Cadila Healthcare was launched today by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare. The egg based, inactivated vaccine based on conventional technology has been developed by the group's experts at its Vaccine Technology Centre (VTC), Ahemdabad.

Is the Congress Party's grip on Andhra Pradesh loosening? Signals emanate form the state show that all is not well in the state. The recent visit of the film star turned politician and Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi to the capital and his meeting with the Congress President Sonia Gandhi gives an indication to a change of strategy.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing EUR20 million to an integrated cement plant in Azerbaijan to expand output and improve fuel efficiency. The loan marks ADB's first ever private-sector infrastructure investment in the Central Asian nation.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank (EIB), and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), announce support for the African Capitalization Fund, a new private equity fund to be created by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Asset Management Company. The Fund will seek to capitalize systemically important private sector commercial banking institutions in Africa to spur economic recovery and job creation. The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) also announced today that a commitment to the fund is under consideration.

Organized by the OECD Development Centre and the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Forum on African Perspectives has grown to become the largest and most important annual event on Africa in Europe.

New York: For the first time, biosphere reserves in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe are joining the United Nations network that was created in an attempt to halt the loss of biodiversity and promote sustainable development.

New York: A United Nations independent human rights expert has sounded the alarm about the practice of targeted killings, saying it had a tenuous legal basis and could undermine the rules that aim to prevent extrajudicial executions and guarantee people the right to life.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved an amount equivalent to SDR 41.88 million (about US$61.4 million) three-year arrangement for the Kingdom of Lesotho under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The arrangement will support the authorities' medium-term adjustment program and help reduce balance of payments risks.