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President Barack Obama, humbled by the “shellacking” defeat, as he put it, for Democrats in the mid-term elections - widely viewed as a vote against his own administration - will be battling with hostile Republicans for the next two years over the entire range of economic and other domestic issues, even as he plans for his second term contest in 2012.

New York: Talks aimed at reaching an agreement that will lead to the reunification of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus have gathered pace since Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities earlier this month, the United Nations special adviser on the issue said today.

New York: The number of poor people in Latin America will fall this year to 180 million – the pre-crisis levels seen in 2008 – thanks to robust economic recovery in most of the countries of the region, says a United Nations report released today.

Director-General Pascal Lamy announced at a Trade Negotiations Committee meeting on 30 November 2010 an “intensive work programme” to finish the Doha Round by the end of next year. He said: “We have the political signal, we have the technical expertise and we have the work programme. We now need to translate these into a comprehensive deal which you can all take back home.”

As the 2G scam reverberates, shocking revelations have emerged of another, related scandal involving collusion between big corporate houses, political parties and the media in influencing key policy decisions and ministerial appointments. Outlook and Open magazines have reproduced partial transcripts of telephone conversations between Ms Niira Radia, a corporate lobbyist for the Tata and Mukesh Ambani groups, and several top journalists, industrialists and politicians, which show journalists playing political roles well beyond the legitimate bounds of their profession.

For all the expressions of satisfaction over the Bihar outcome, the BJP cannot but harbour deep reservations about its long-term implications. For a start, the party is in danger of losing its place as the NDA’s numero uno. First, the 24-member alliance in Atal Behari Vajpayee’s heyday has come down to four – the BJP, the JD (U), the Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena. Now, the BJP has lost the first place in the group since there is little doubt that there cannot be anyone other than Nitish Kumar who will be NDA’s prime ministerial candidate.

New York: The United Nations said today it is not in a position to comment on the authenticity of the document disclosed by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks on information-gathering activities on UN officials and activities.

New York: The United Nations Climate Change Conference opened today in Cancún, Mexico, with the world body’s top official on the issue calling for a balanced and concrete outcome to meet one of today’s biggest challenges.

New York: Freedom of information, and universal access to it, is crucial to promoting cultural and linguistic diversity, and the United Nations is at the forefront of the battle to protect these rights, a senior information official has said.

New York: The run-off presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire yesterday proceeded “in a democratic atmosphere” despite tension and violent incidents that left three people dead, the United Nations envoy to the West African country said today, calling for calm as the provisional results are awaited.