UNITED NATIONS

Investors are likely to pour more funds into Egypt in 2011 as a strengthening economy and attractive yields outweigh a fragile social backdrop and uncertainty ahead of a presidential election.

The World Health Organization launched a plan on Wednesday to stop a form of drug-resistant malaria from spreading from Southeast Asia to Africa, where millions of lives could be at risk.

Food prices around the world reached record highs last year, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Ivory Coast's incumbent President has yet again reiterated that despite domestic and international pressure, he would not abdicate. Observers fear that a renewed civil war in the country is almost inevitable.

The United Nations' relief program for the flood-ravaged and conflict-ridden northwestern town of Kahr in Bajaur tribal region turned into a bloodbath when a suicide attacker blew up a bomb when more than 1,000 people gathered on Saturday morning to receive free ration.

Amid large-scale South Korean military drills near the border with North Korea, a top official from the North warned against intrusion into its territory, threatening war and citing possible use of nuclear weapons, while an unofficial U.S. ambassador said the situation was like a tinderbox.

Chinese officials expect the country's exports to slow next year and trade surplus to narrow as the government comes under pressure to increase its imports.

Cote d'Ivoire's disputed president, Laurent Gbagbo, has announced that he would be willing to engage with the rival faction of Alassane Ouattara. In a televised address, he announced that the international community had declared a war on the African nation. The incumbent president also called on the Opposition to leave Abidjan's Golf Hotel and return to their homes.

India and Russia signed a deal worth $30 billion to design and make fifth generation fighter aircraft taking defense co-operation between the two nations to a new level.

Is North Korea finally, though momentarily perhaps, willing to throw away the mantle of a cranky child angrily throwing toys from the pram?

The European Union agreed on Monday to ban Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo and his aides, the BBC reported. The Gbagbo regime is likely to be slapped with harsh sanctions from the West. The sanction could also include freezing the personal overseas assets of the president and his men and issuing visa bans.

Israel’s policies in West Bank and other districts are depriving Palestinians of basic necessities while providing lavish amenities to Jewish settlements, Rights group says. Human Rights Watch, in a report released on Sunday slammed the Israeli government for what it called, violations of ‘International laws’ and Palestinian Rights. It also demanded a withdrawal from the settlements.

Despite mounting international pressure, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe would run in the country’s polls likely to be scheduled for June next year. Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) unanimously endorsed him as a candidate for the elections on Saturday. The party cadres, along with their leader, also pledged for a ‘harmonious’ ballot in 2011.

Just over half of Irish people support a multi-billion euro EU/IMF rescue package but 56 percent believe the country has surrendered its sovereignty by accepting the assistance, a poll published on Saturday said.

Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo's aides have called upon their followers to prepare for a battle against the opposing Alassane Ouattara faction. The country seems to be on the brink of civil war as neither of the both groups refused to stand down.

Developing countries lose between $20 billion to $40 billion per year to bribery, embezzlement, and other corrupt practices by public officials.

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday on a three-day visit seeking to boost mutual trust and understanding, and cement trade and economic ties between China and India.

The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has named six high-profile Kenyans including senior politicians and a former police chief who were suspected to be behind the violence that followed the disputed 2007 elections. Close to 1,200 people lost their lives while over 650,000 were displaced in the riots. Kenyan police are on high alert after the announcement which observers say could spark renewed clashes in the region.

Visitors will be able to tour the sealed zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where Chernobyl reactor No. 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, contaminating a large part of Northern Europe including Belarus and Russia, with harmful radiations. The tragedy left many dead and the city was evacuated within a radius of 48 kilometers.

The ministry’s decision came within few days from the recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico in which, role of tourism in climate change agenda was equally positioned.

Delegates at the UN climate change conference in Cancun have agreed on a deal to curb climate change and fund developing countries on Saturday. Bolivia however, raised objections to the proposals drawn up the host Mexico. The draft comes as respite as the last summit in Copenhagen failed to agree on the best way to cut emissions.