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New York: Although concerted international action has successfully eliminated the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus from poultry in nearly all 63 countries infected by the world outbreak in 2006, it persists in five nations, posing a continuing threat to global animal and human health, a senior United Nations official warned.

Deputy Director-General of WTO, Harsha V. Singh, in opening the presentation of the Asian Development Bank's “Asian Development Outlook 2010” at the WTO headquarters on 16 April 2010, welcomed the projected rebound of the developing Asia this year and underlined the importance of open trade in world economic recovery.

New York: The United Nations refugee agency today voiced its shock after more than 30 people, including children, were reported to have been killed by this week's clashes in Mogadishu which residents of the strife-torn Somali capital have described as some of the worst in months.

New York: The United Nations human rights chief today voiced her alarm and disappointment that Hamas has resumed executions in the Gaza Strip, and called on the de facto authorities to abolish the use of the death penalty.

Since, 1844, the Indian Railways has had a rich evolution. In 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bombay and Thane. The year following that witnessed Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India, formulating a plan to have a network of trunk lines connecting the principal regions of India. Today, the Indian Railway stands as one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the World, catering to over 18 million passengers and carrying more than 2 million tonnes of freight daily, it traverses the length and breadth of the country - a gigantic route of more than 64,000 kms. With a workforce of 1.4 million, it is the single largest employer in the World.

The leather industry for economic reasons holds a prominent place in the Indian economy. Its massive potential for employment, growth and exports makes it a source of livelihood for many in India. It provides economic empowerment and employment especially to the weaker sections of the society. With an annual turnover of over US $ 7 billion, the export of leather and leather products increased manifold over the past decades and touched US $ 3.59 billion in 2008-09, recording a cumulative annual growth rate of about 9.58%.

The existing National Environment Policy and the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 are conducive for protection of environment and ecology in the country. According to one of the principle of the policy -'human beings are at the centre of sustainable development concerns'. It also says that environmental protection is an integral part of the development process.

Less than 16 months ago when the economy was reeling under the heat of another double digit inflation along with the impact of a large current account deficit and the nation was preparing for Lok Sabha elections, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its wisdom, did what it should normally do under the circumstances: the monetarist forced banks to raise interest rates, for both lending and borrowing to control inflation. The National Housing Bank, a RBI subsidiary, itself increased its term deposit rates up to 11 per cent. Commercial banks followed. Non-priority sector lending rates were high, varied from 14 per cent to 16 per cent.

KOLKATA: Formal peace talks with ULFA have not yet started but the ground is slowly being prepared for bringing the two sides to the negotiating table. On the other hand, prospects of an early peace accord with the NSCN(I-M) remain as elusive as ever, mainly because of the stubborn insistence of the Naga leaders on the two demands of Naga sovereignty and integration of all Naga-inhabited areas in a greater Nagalim.

Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the Peruvian authorities for their impressive track-record of prudent macroeconomic policies which helped limit the impact of the global crisis and jump start a vigorous economic rebound. Given its strong fundamentals, the economy is expected to return to rapid growth. Peru's medium-term outlook remains bright, supported by the authorities' ambitious reform agenda.