New York  - An ambitious goal to eradicate extreme poverty in the world was thwarted by the recent upward trend in food prices, the United Nations said Friday in a report reviewing its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Poverty and hunger worsened in Africa, while China - with a population of 1.3 billion - was praised for pulling an estimated 400 million out of poverty.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Bolivian parties on Friday to seek a political settlement to their conflict, which has caused deaths and damage to the country's economic infrastructure.

New York, Sept. 12 : Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama should focus more on Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s readiness to lead, says a former Hillary Clinton loyalist, adding that she still needs to be “tested” on that ability.

“I would deal with this differently, and not because (Palin) is a woman,” Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California told FOX News.

New York  - Wall Street stock indices rose Thursday as transportation firms were helped by falling oil prices, and banking shares staged a late-day rally on takeover speculation about embattled Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

US railroad company CSX Corp surged more than 10 per cent as crude oil for October delivery fell another 1.68 dollars to 100.90 dollars per barrel in New York.

New York  - Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain cast aside politics on Thursday to pay their respects to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, appearing together at the former site of the World Trade Center in New York.

Democrat Obama and Republican McCain shook hands and quietly chatted as the walked down the ramp leading to "Ground Zero," where ceremonies had taken place to mark the seventh anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

New York  - The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned in the "strongest terms" the attack in Lebanon that killed Saleh Aridi, a member of the Lebanese Democratic Party.

The council urged the Beirut government to bring before justice the attackers and those who planned or financed the assassination. The attack on Wednesday injured several other people.