New York  - The world population is expected to reach 7 billion by 2012, from the current 6.8 billion, with the additional population increase coming mostly in developing countries, the United Nations said Wednesday.

By 2050, the world population is projected to reach over 9 billion people based on an annual average gain of 78 million people. Most governments depend on UN studies in world population to map socioeconomic policy.

New York  - US stocks posted their largest rally of the year on Tuesday, following the lead of European markets after troubled banking giant Citigroup Inc said it was experiencing its best quarter since 2007.

Citigroup's chief executive Vikram Pandit said in an internal memo that the company was profitable in the first two months of 2009 after five straight quarters of losses, Bloomberg News reported.

New york, Mar. 10 : America's billionaire investor Warren Buffett has likened the current global meltdown to "an economic Pearl Harbor", and doesn''t expect the US economy to recover anytime soon.

The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway said the US economy has "fallen off a cliff" and the current financial situation is "close to the worst case" that he had predicted six months ago.

New York, Mar 10 : Maria Sergeyeva, a 24-year-old philosophy student and political activist, is emerging as a rising star in Russian politics.

Since a gushing speech praising Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and president Dmitry Medvedev at a recent pro-Kremlin rally, she has become an Internet sensation as the pin-up of the country's fervently patriotic youth movement.

Russia''s largest political blog had to ban further posts about `Masha' due to excessive traffic.

It may be the first step towards the fulfilment of her political ambitions.

New York, March 10 : Nadya Suleman, who became a history-making mum after giving birth to octuplets on January 26, has agreed to use the services of a non-profit agency to raise her 14 kids.

The 33-year-old, who conceived all her kids through in vitro fertilization, will have Angels in Waiting assisting her round-the-clock with free neonatal intensive care.

New York/Amsterdam  - The history of the Big Apple began 400 years ago when the Dutch ship, the Halve Maen, commanded by Captain Henry Hudson arrived at what is now Manhattan.

The ship embarked on its journey in Amsterdam and both cities are celebrating the anniversary over the coming months with a series of parties, parades and concerts.

Amsterdam is hosting New York jazz nights while the Big Apple has invited some big names from The Netherlands such as Dans Theater II and the country's symphony orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Events begin on April 6 - the 400th anniversary of the day the Maen, flying under the flag of the Royal Dutch East India Company, began its journey westwards with the Englishman Hudson on board.