New York  - A United Nations panel of economists Friday proposed a new global currency reserve that would take over the US dollar-based system used for decades by international banks.

The proposal came on the heels of the controversial call by China's Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan to create a new world currency reserve to replace the US dollar as part of a sweeping overhaul of global finance, which is suffering its worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

New York - The United Nations' role in Afghanistan is expected to increase in order to meet the new strategy launched by US President Barack Obama on Friday to deal with terrorism and the al-Qaeda network in that country, a senior US official said.

The official, who briefed some UN-based correspondents Friday on the new US Afghan strategy on background only, said the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) will assume a "very important role the stabilization and development."

"UNAMA will have a critical role," the official said.

New York, Mar. 27 : The US Senate has approved a major national-service bill that triples the AmeriCorps program to 250,000 participants and designates Sept. 11 as a "National Day of Service and Remembrance."

"Sept. 11 should not only be a day for mourning - it should be a day to think about our neighbors, our community and our country," the New York Daily News quoted Senator Chuck Schumer, as saying.

New York, Mar. 27 : The Freedom Tower''s patriotic name has been swapped for the more marketable One World Trade Center, Port Authority officials revealed to the New York Post on Thursday.

The paper quoted Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia as saying: "One World Trade Center is its address. It''s the address that we''re using. It's on the one that''s easiest for people to identify with and frankly we''ve gotten a very interested and warm reception to it."

New York, Mar 27 : Indian-American cookbook author Padma Lakshmi has revealed that she still finds Carl''s Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger to be finger-licking delicious.

The `Top Chef' host, who credits the beefy burger for taking her out of her vegetarian world, is teaming up to promote Carl''s Jr. in a steamy commercial.

New York, Mar 27 : Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson seems to have forced herself into a rigid diet regime to get rid of her famous curves.