New York - Major US stock indices rose Friday on the back of some better-than-expected economic data, giving investors hope that a nationwide slowdown in growth may be slowly coming to an end.

The Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders rose 0.8 per cent in June, marking the first consecutive monthly rise since July of last year. Economists had expected a 0.3-per-cent decline.

New York  - China on Friday asked the international community for 33.4 million dollars for a first phase of recovery programmes for areas stricken by the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

The appeal was worked out by UN agencies based in China for mid- to-long-term assistance plans aimed at rebuilding the lives of earthquake victims, by paying for shelters, water and sanitation, health and nutrition, education and protection of vulnerable groups and the environment.

New York  - US small appliance maker Black & Decker said Friday profits shrank in the second quarter as declining demand in Western Europe and the United States coupled with rising costs.

Net profits fell 18 percent to 97 million dollars. Revenue fell 3 per cent to 1.6 billion dollars, and the Towson, Maryland-based firm predicted the week sales would continue in the second half of the year.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday sent a "warm welcome" to the decision by Cypriot leaders to restart full- fledged peace talks in September for a comprehensive solution to the ethnically divided island.

Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed to start the peace talks on September 3. They announced the new schedule for the peace talks in Nicosia Friday.

New York  - The United States said Thursday that it would seek to impose "stronger measures" if Myanmar's military regime continues to refuse to implement democratic reforms and release political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said following a UN Security Council meeting that UN special envoy for Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari must bring back "concrete results" from his scheduled mid-August visit to Myanmar.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday Israel's intention to erect new Jewish housing in the West Bank would violate agreements reached in negotiations to resolve the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

Ban's spokesperson Michelle Montas said, "The secretary general has stressed many times before that settlement construction or expansion is contrary to international law and Israel's commitments under the road map and the Annapolis process."