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New York: All parties in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been urged to forge ahead with preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections, which were originally scheduled for earlier this year but have been postponed several times.

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), headed by Mark Flanagan, visited Reykjavik during June 14-28 to hold discussions for the 2010 Article IV Consultation and the third review under the US$2.1 billion Stand-By Arrangement.

New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy for Kyrgyzstan have welcomed the peaceful and orderly conduct of the constitutional referendum held yesterday in the Central Asian nation, noting the good turnout for the poll despite the recent violence.

New York: Calling for more people in tea-producing countries to drink tea, the United Nations agriculture agency has spotlighted the potential for the industry to enhance food security by increasing farmers' incomes.

New York: The head of United Nations relief operations in Gaza has deplored yesterday's morning attack on a recreational facility used by children in the territory, the second such incident in a month.

New Delhi: Dr. M. S Gill, Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports will inaugurate the newly built Cycling Velodrome here tomorrow in the presence of Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, and Shri Suresh Kalmadi, Chairman, Organising Committee, Commonwealth Games, 2010. The new velodrome is constructed at the cost of Rs. 150 crore to suit the latest international requirements of Track events for Commonwealth Games. It is fully covered, air-conditioned and has 250 m long Timber Track with a seating capacity of 3800.

Luck, politically speaking, seems to be favouring Prem Kumar Dhumal. Even after completing half his term, Himachal Pradesh's BJP Chief Minister finds himself politically in a comfortable position. He faces no major challenges which usually confront state Chief Ministers before they reach midway of their term.

Doubts whether the global recovery will continue has become the central question following the events of the past 6 weeks. We have had terrible financial contagion type developments in the eurozone. There have been fears of a China slowdown consequent to the crack down on the housing market. Economic data in the US has hit a soft patch, especially with the pace of US job creation disappointing. There has been an overload of unusual events and headlines all undermining confidence. Political and social tensions are on the rise globally and there appears to be a leadership and a policy deficit in coping with them.

The national rural employment scheme and farm loan wavers have been among the positive factors that had immensely contributed to the Congress party's election victory in 2009. Began as part of the Left-mandated common minimum programme, these were subsequently appropriated by Sonia Gandhi as her welfare package. Since then the party establishment had resisted every attempt by the PM's reform camp to dilute the aam aadmi programmes like food security, right to information and right to education. The Congress establishment argues that such schemes alone had helped the Manmohan Singh government shed its elitist image and avert a 'Shine-India'-like disaster.

KOLKATA: Bangladesh is effectively utilising its regional location in South Asia to upgrade its strategic importance and connectivity with major neighbour India and ally, China.