New York  - Stocks retreated on Wall Street Thursday after US economic growth was less than analysts had predicted.

The US economy grew at 1.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, the government said Thursday, shaking off an ongoing credit and housing crisis that had some predicting a recession in the first half of the year.

The gross domestic product (GDP) figure was up from a revised 0.9 per cent in the first quarter, but less than the 2.3 per cent economists had predicted for the world's largest economy, according to Bloomberg financial news.

New York  - The Eastman Kodak Company, manufacturer of cameras, film and other photography company, said Thursday that profits fell in the second quarter on higher materials costs.

Net profits fell 14 per cent to 459 million dollars, or 1.62 dollars per share, from 575 million dollars, or 2 dollars per share, in the year-earlier period.

Revenue rose just 1 per cent to 2.5 billion dollars, the Rochester, New York-based firm said.

New York  - A United Nations rapporteur is scheduled to visit Myanmar next week to discuss human rights concerns, it was announced Thursday.

The UN rapporteur for human rights, Tomás Ojea Quintana, will be in Myanmar, formerly Burma, from Sunday to Thursday for a first visit to the country ruled by the military for more than four decades, and which has not considered human rights issues a top priority.

New York  - The UN military observer mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea began Thursday to liquidate its headquarters in the capital cities of both countries, one day after the UN Security Council terminated its mandate.

The council's decision stemmed from the failure of both countries to accept a compromise solution over their border dispute. The two- year war between Ethiopia and Eritrea ended in 2000 with a ceasefire that was to be monitored by the UN mission. The UN said the war claimed at least 70,000 lives on both sides.

New York  - US tabacco company Altria, whose brands include Marlboro, said Thursday second-quarter profits rose after it spun-off its international operations on higher cigarette costs in the United States.

Earnings rose 30 per cent to 930 million dollars over year-earlier earnings excluding international operations. Revenue rose 4 per cent to 5.1 billion dollars, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said.

New York  - Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni reiterated Thursday a warning often heard from her government that the current conflict in the Middle East is between extremist and moderate militants and not between Israelis and Palestinians.

Livni was at United Nations headquarters in New York for talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the situation in the region and the "global threat" of Iran.