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New York: The United Nations telecommunications agency today announced that it has reached agreement with two international satellite organizations to expedite the restoration of vital telecommunications services in the aftermath of natural disasters.

New York: Half the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs) can “graduate” out of their impoverished status within 10 years if they benefit from better targeted development aid, duty- and quota-free access for exports and doubled farm productivity and school enrolment, according to a United Nations report released today.

Tonga’s economy is recovering from the effects of the global financial crisis, the domestic credit crunch, and adverse weather-related shocks. The recovery is being supported by increased construction activity and improvements in the external environment.

New York: Diversifying production rather than relying on commodity exports is crucial to boosting the economies of the least developed countries (LDCs), a quarter of the world’s total, according to a United Nations report slated to be issued today.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $293 million loan to support a $1 billion metro rail project in Ha Noi.

The WikiLeaks cables pertaining to India, summarised by The Hindu newspaper, have created a furore. The most sensational disclosure they contain is about the cash-for-votes scandal of July 2008, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh staked the survival of the United Progressive Alliance government on the India-US nuclear cooperation deal. The Left parties, on whose support the minority government depended, withdrew their backing. The Congress recruited other parties by bribing them.

The secret cables put out by the WikiLeaks have been reasonably accurate. They have shown that the US embassy staffers are not far off the mark when it comes to analyzing the Indian scene. Except for their assessment of CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, of which more later, they have been nearly always right. As a result, it is the BJP which is likely to be more embarrassed in the long run by the revelations than the Congress.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Emerging East Asia's local currency bond markets expanded by 13.6% to $5.2 trillion in 2010, driven by strong growth in corporate bonds that helped to offset a decline in issuance by central banks and some governments in the last quarter of 2010.

New Delhi: The bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan is gradually moving towards a more defined institutional format for deeper engagement as both the countries agreed to set up a Hotline between Home Secretary of India and Interior Secretary of Pakistan for facilitating real time information sharing relating to terrorist threats.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the Netherlands' growth to decelerate slightly in 2011-12. The outlook hinges critically on global developments and is unusually uncertain, but risks appear tilted downward. Bank capital buffers seem robust, but proactive measures to increase them further are advisable in light of Basel III standards.