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New York: The number of people hit by deadly floods across West Africa has now topped 600,000, and the heavy rains have also destroyed crops and infrastructure in a region already hard hit by poverty, the United Nations humanitarian arm has reported.

New York: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the international community to step up efforts to slash the “staggering” number of people worldwide unable to read and write, in a message marking International Literacy Day.

The report released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has held the predominance of excessively deregulated purely financial activities over real productive activities as responsible for the current global financial and economic crisis. It says that this crisis “was not a bolt from the blue”, it was predictable.

The Congress's dynastic tradition has two contradictory aspects. Even as it encourages the practice of partymen rooting for the children of politicians to succeed their parents in high posts, the sense of loyalty to the First Family prevents such demands from getting out of hand.

The strife and bloodletting in the Bharatiya Janata Party has turned out to be far more prolonged, violent and self-destructive than the party's most inveterate critics, including this writer, had expected. Not a day passes without senior BJP leaders calling their colleagues names which would embarrass street-level thugs.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) current five-year strategy for Lao People's Democratic Republic remains relevant but more work is needed to respond to challenges posed by the country's rapid economic growth, climate change and human resource and capacity constraints, a midterm review said.

New York: The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog warned today that the agency has reached a deadlock with Iran over most aspects of its nuclear programme as he urged the country to credibly answer the international community's concerns over potential military dimensions to the programme.

New York: Respect for human rights must be central to police work, a senior United Nations official in Liberia has told the new members of an elite unit within the West African country's police force as she warned them never to misuse their strength and power.

New York: The scourge of violence against women has worsened as a result of the global financial downturn over the past year, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today as she urged some of the world's richest countries to lead the way in turning the many international pledges to support women and girls into concrete results.

Congress may have been on the ascendancy as reflected by its successes in the recent Lok Sabha and some state Assemblies elections. But the party is in a 'dilapidated' state in the north-western region states. In Punjab, its organizational structure stands crippled and non-functioning both outside and inside the State Assembly hit by factionalism and infighting. The situation is not much different in Himachal Pradesh. In Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saiffudin Soz are at loggerheads. The party in Haryana is in a somewhat \better state but is destined to experience rumblings during the run-up to the elections scheduled for October 13.