New York - The UN Security Council discussed Wednesday ways to improve cooperation with the African Union after a study showed that peace still does not exist in many parts of Africa despite the deployment of largescale UN peacekeeping operations.

"From the Horn to the Great Lakes to West Africa, conflict is endemic," said the study by a six-member panel headed by former Italian Prime Minister and European Union statesman Romano Prodi.

New York - The family of Natasha Richardson gathered at her hospital bedside Wednesday for a final, tragic vigil after the British born actress, 45, was critically injured in a Canadian skiing accident.

Richardson's family has declined to comment on her condition as speculation swirled as to the extent of her injuries.

But numerous outlets reported that she was brain dead and that her family was facing the agonizing decision to take her off life support.

People magazine quoted a family friend as saying that Richardson had "no chance."

New York  - Acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea trebled in 2008 with the pirates taking an estimated 30 million dollars in ransom, the United Nations said Wednesday in an updated report on shipping lanes between the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean.

The International Maritime Bureau recorded 293 acts of piracy in 2008, 111 of which took place off the Somali coast, for a total increase of 200 per cent last year in the Suez Canal-Indian Ocean corridor alone.

New York, Mar 18 (ANI): Cosmetic surgery industry in New York is getting nipped and tucked by the declining economy, show figures.

"We''ve had a dropoff just because of the economic environment," The New York Daily News quoted Manhattan cosmetic surgeon Lawrence Milgrim, as saying.

"Some of the larger procedures have dropped off more than some of the smaller procedures. I think today the gestalt is, ''Don''t change me, just make me look better than I am now,''" he added.

According to a study, cosmetic surgical procedures have dipped 15 percent in the past year, and nonsurgical procedures are down 12 percent.

New York  - US stocks rose Tuesday as the construction of new homes in the United States unexpectedly surged in February and investors speculated about Federal Reserve efforts to bolster the economy.

Privately owned housing starts in February were 583,000 at an annual rate, up 22 per cent from January but still down 47.3 per cent from the same month in 2008, the Commerce Department said. Economists had expected a further monthly decline to 450,000 last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called on all parties in troubled Madagascar to behave responsibly and carry out a "smooth transition through democratic means."

"This peaceful path can only be the result of transitional arrangement arrived at by consensus and enjoying wide support," Ban said in a statement.