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New York: The start of the trial of Omar Khadr - arrested in Afghanistan in 2002 for crimes he allegedly committed as a child - before the United States Military Commission in Guantánamo Bay today could set a precedent jeopardizing the status of child soldiers around the world, a United Nations envoy cautioned.

New York: The United Nations has proposed strengthening the capacities of the Central African Republic (CAR) to enable it to effectively tackle security and humanitarian challenges when the world body's peacekeepers withdraw from the country at the end of this year.

New York: United Nations-backed talks aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island of Cyprus continued in Nicosia before the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities adjourned the discussions until 31 August when they will continue to try to resolve the property issue.

New York: The United Nations and its aid partners have voiced concern that immediate humanitarian needs in Kyrgyzstan will go unmet since they have only received 30 per cent of the $96 million requested to provide life-saving assistance to civilians affected by recent violence.

The four-day Extended Central Committee (ECC) meeting of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Vijaywada had to undergo the much needed soul-searching exercise to save its 'heart' and 'skin'. On the one hand its leaders were found to have obsessed with the Trinmool phenomenon in West Bengal and on the other with its 'historical blunders' that it had committed in the past. Obviously, the whole effort does not augur well for the future of the party that bleeds from within and without. The diagnosis seems to be correct but the cure is not. As usual, the 24-page political resolution, adopted by the ECC, was full of rhetoric, that is all.

New York: A rise in insurgent attacks has led to a 31 per cent increase in the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan in the first six months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009, the United Nations said in a new report.

New York: The United Nations health agency has declared an end to the H1N1 pandemic but urged continued vigilance, cautioning that pandemics, like the viruses that cause them, are unpredictable.

The National Agricultural Research System (NARS), one of the largest in the world has been playing a catalytic role in the overall growth and development of agriculture through generation of technologies for enhancing the productivity and production by overcoming production constraints. India, which was once upon a time dependent on imports of food grains to feed its population, has now become exporter of food grains.

A major characteristic of the Indian elite is its insatiable appetite for symbols of grandeur and its obsession with securing entry into exclusive clubs. Examples are the jubilation over India joining the global Nuclear Club (after criticising it for decades as signifying “Atomic Apartheid”) and entering the tiny league of nations which can shoot satellites into space. Not to be ignored is New Delhi's smug satisfaction at being invited into the Group of 20 largest economies of the world, and its tireless effort to get a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Since the covert links between Mamata Banerjee and the Maoists are no secret, it isn't surprising that she decided to hold one of her major political rallies in West Bengal in the Maoist stronghold of Lalgarh. In doing so, she sent out several messages. One is that she has been able to mobilize virtually the entire non-Left Front political segment in the state, which includes the Maoists and the left-wing Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI). There is little doubt that their support will boost the Trinamool Congress's chances during the assembly elections next year.