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New York: With monsoon rains expected to continue pummeling Pakistan for several more weeks, the United Nations has warned that the country's south could also be affected by deadly flooding, which has already affected millions of people.

New York: Rape is one of the world's greatest peace and security challenges, a senior United Nations official has said, adding that rape in times of conflict remains one of the least-condemned war crimes, leading to impunity for perpetrators.

New York: While progress has been made in the latest round of international climate change negotiations, governments must now step up action on the issue if they are to reach a lasting deal later this year, a senior United Nations official has said.

New York: In 1955, 12-year-old Sadako Sasaki began folding a thousand paper cranes to try to heal her leukaemia, in accordance with a Japanese tradition. Despite surviving the bombing of Hiroshima a decade earlier, she had developed the “atom bomb disease.” Over half a century later, United Nations staff members hope to harness that same spirit to remind the world of the horrors wrought by nuclear weapons.

Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have noted that the January 2010 earthquake represented a major setback for Haiti, after several years of improved economic performance. Directors commended the authorities for quickly restoring basic government functions and maintaining sound policies in the very difficult conditions following the earthquake. They welcomed the incipient economic recovery, and stressed that swift disbursement of the resources pledged by donors for reconstruction and steady implementation of the economic program will be crucial to sustain growth.

A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr. Lamin Leigh visited Luanda during July 28-August 6 to conduct policy discussions for the second and third reviews of Angola's 27-month Stand-By Arrangement.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Mr. Nadeem Ilahi, that visited Bishkek from July 27 to August 7, 2010, has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities on a set of macroeconomic policies that could be supported by a disbursement in an amount equivalent to SDR 22.2 million (about US$34 million) under the IMF's Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). The disbursement will be subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to consider the Kyrgyz Republic's request for rapid financial support in mid-September.

A lot has changed in the US perception of its domestic concerns, present and future, since 9/11. On top of these concerns are internal security and energy security. The USA, the world's second largest energy consumer after China and the largest petroleum importer, is determined to replace its overwhelming dependence on imported petroleum and coal and has launched a nation-wide programme to tap alternate energy resources such as wind energy, solar energy, bio-fuel, methane gas, hydrogen gas, etc. Those domestic champions of clean energy also want the country pushes a fresh nuclear energy programme to reduce consumption of both oil and coal.

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly created a history of sorts when, last week, it unanimously passed a Government-sponsored bill. The bill provides that government officials and employees who fail to execute an official work of Public interest within a stipulated time frame will be liable to be fined. The “Madhya Pradesh Public Services bill 2010” says that a fine up to Rs. 5000 may be imposed on errant government functionaries.

New York: Standing shoulder to shoulder with survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima, a deeply moved UN Secretary-General on Friday paid respect to all those who perished there 65 years ago and stressed that the time has come to realize the dream of a world free of nuclear weapons.