Geneva - There was a 12 per cent rise in the number of asylum seekers in industrialized nations in 2008, the United Nations said Tuesday, in part due to the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
In all, 383,000 new asylum requests were made in 51 industrialized countries last year, with about 40,000 coming from Iraqis, the largest group seeking refugee status.
Geneva- The United Nations was marking Tuesday the 50th day that John Solecki, who worked for the organization in Quetta, Pakistan, was being held in captivity.
Solecki was abducted on February 2 this year, in an attack that killed another UN staff member. His health was said to be deteriorating and the UN was worried about his medical condition.
Currently, 19 UN staff members are under arrest, detained or missing, around the world, said UNHCR, the refugee agency that employs Solecki.
Geneva - Airlines will suffer losses of 4.7 billion dollars in 2009, the International Air Transport Association said Tuesday, downgrading a previous forecast.
"The state of the airline industry today is grim," Giovanni Bisignani, the head of the IATA, said.
A forecast at the end of last year had predicted a 2.5 billion dollar loss.
The IATA also revised its estimate losses for 2008 from 5 billion dollars to 8.5 billion, citing a particularly bad fourth quarter.
Geneva - The World Trade Organization on Monday said the volume of global trade is expected to contract by 9 per cent in 2009, the largest such contraction since World War II and significantly worse than previously predicted.
The contraction in developed countries would be particularly severe, with exports falling by 10 per cent this year, while in developing countries exports would shrink by some 2-3 per cent, according to a statement released by the WTO.
Global trade has been growing consistently since 1982.
Geneva - The World Trade Organization on Monday said the volume of global trade is expected to contract by 9 per cent in 2009, the largest such contraction since World War II and significantly worse than had been predicted.
The contraction in developed countries would be particularly severe, with exports falling by 10 per cent this year, while in developing countries exports would shrink by some 2-3 per cent, according to a statement released by the WTO.
Global trade has been consistently growing since 1982.
Geneva - There was a 12 per cent rise in the number of asylum seekers in industrialized nations in 2008, the United Nations said Tuesday, in part due to the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
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Geneva- The United Nations was marking Tuesday the 50th day that John Solecki, who worked for the organization in Quetta, Pakistan, was being held in captivity.
Geneva - Airlines will suffer losses of 4.7 billion dollars in 2009, the International Air Transport Association said Tuesday, downgrading a previous forecast.
Geneva - The World Trade Organization on Monday said the volume of global trade is expected to contract by 9 per cent in 2009, the largest such contraction since World War II and significantly worse than previously predicted.
Geneva - The World Trade Organization on Monday said the volume of global trade is expected to contract by 9 per cent in 2009, the largest such contraction since World War II and significantly worse than had been predicted.
