22 July 2010 – Jatropha, a wild plant that grows well in dry areas on degraded lands and can be processed into biofuel, has potential as a low-cost energy source for poor farmers, according to a new United Nations report, which adds that further research is still needed on this crop.

The report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) notes that the seeds of the jatropha plant can be processed into lower-polluting biodiesel than fossil diesel to provide light and cooking fuel for poor rural families.

Seed cake, a by-product from this process, can be used as fertilizer and animal feed after detoxification, the agencies add.

22 July 2010 – More than 1,100 people affected by the violence that erupted in southern Kyrgyzstan last month have been given short-term jobs under a United Nations scheme aimed at injecting much-needed cash into the local economy and providing incomes so people can restart their lives.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched the cash-for-work initiative in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad, which bore the brunt of the deadly clashes between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks that uprooted nearly 400,000 people and sent many fleeing to neighbouring Uzbekistan.

According to UN agencies, many families have returned to their places of origin with some sheltering in camps or staying with host families since their homes have been destroyed.

22 July 2010 – The United Nations is expressing concern about the humanitarian situation in northern Yemen, where the needs of the local population displaced by ongoing fighting vastly outstrip the funds provided so far by donors.

Less than $70 million, or 36 per cent, of the $187 million sought this year by aid agencies for assistance in Yemen has been received, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.

UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been providing relief to civilians in Yemen’s north, where Government forces have engaged rebels in sporadic armed conflict in recent years.

Press Release No. 10/304

July 23, 2010 -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the fourth review of Burundi’s economic performance under a program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF)1. The Board’s decision enables the government to request a disbursement for an amount equivalent to SDR 6.6 million (about US$10 million), bringing total disbursements to Burundi under the program to an amount equivalent to SDR 33 million (about US$49.9 million). The Executive Board also approved the modification of performance criteria.

The Executive Board also concluded the 2010 Article IV consultation. Details of the findings of the Article IV will be published in a Public Information Notice in due course.

23 July 2010 -- Trading in natural resources creates a great many challenges both for importing and exporting countries and governments need to cooperate more intensively if these challenges are to be adequately addressed, according to WTO economists. Director-General Pascal Lamy said: “I believe not only that there is room for mutually beneficial negotiating trade-offs that encompass natural resources trade, but also that a failure to address these issues could be a recipe for growing tension in international trade relations”.

Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 10/96

July 23, 2010 -- Public Information Notices (PINs) form part of the IMF's efforts to promote transparency of the IMF's views and analysis of economic developments and policies. With the consent of the country (or countries) concerned, PINs are issued after Executive Board discussions of Article IV consultations with member countries, of its surveillance of developments at the regional level, of post-program monitoring, and of ex post assessments of member countries with longer-term program engagements. PINs are also issued after Executive Board discussions of general policy matters, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board in a particular case.

21 July 2010 – As Somalia remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, it is vital to ensure adequate funding to assist the 3.2 million people – or more than 40 per cent of the population – who rely on international aid, a senior United Nations aid official stressed today.

UN agencies and their partners have so far received only 56 per cent of the $600 million needed to fund critical areas such as health, water and sanitation, nutrition and livelihood support in Somalia, which is recovering from drought and years of chaos and is also in the throes of ongoing violence.

13 July 2010 – Clashes between the army in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and remnants of a Ugandan insurgency forced an estimated 20,000 people to flee their villages in the troubled North Kivu province of the vast African country, the United Nations reported today.

While the number of those newly displaced as a result of skirmishes between the national army and fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is small in relation to DRC’s estimated 1.85 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), the movement of people is noteworthy because the territory of Beni in North Kivu had until now hosted only 10,000 IDPs, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 10/94

July 22, 2010 -- Public Information Notices (PINs) form part of the IMF's efforts to promote transparency of the IMF's views and analysis of economic developments and policies. With the consent of the country (or countries) concerned, PINs are issued after Executive Board discussions of Article IV consultations with member countries, of its surveillance of developments at the regional level, of post-program monitoring, and of ex post assessments of member countries with longer-term program engagements. PINs are also issued after Executive Board discussions of general policy matters, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board in a particular case.

Press Release No. 10/299

July 21, 2010 -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved the full cancellation of Haiti’s outstanding liabilities to the Fund, of about SDR 178 million (equivalent to US$268 million). The Board also approved a new three-year arrangement for Haiti under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) requested by the authorities to support the country’s reconstruction and growth program.