New York  - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Thursday said reductions in violence will allow Iraq's security forces to take the lead from foreign forces in all provinces by the end of the year and invited diplomatic missions back into the country.

Talabani said ongoing efforts at national reconciliation and the coming of age of Iraq's police and military had both helped improve the security situation over the past year.

New York  - Major charity foundations, government leaders and politicians of all stripes joined forces on Thursday to push for progress in ending poverty, hunger and fighting diseases, and warned that a massive financial crisis could not detract from those efforts.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched the one-day session to review progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of ambitious UN targets on slashing extreme poverty, improving health and education across the developing world.

New York  - Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama on Thursday warned of the high stakes for the US economy of a proposed 700-billion-dollar government bailout plan for financial firms.

Republican McCain on Thursday warned the US Congress that a misstep on the financial crisis could make things much worse than they already are, and repeated his call for a bipartisan solution.

New York  - Governments and private-sector groups announced Thursday pledges of 4.5 billion dollars to bring 15 million children to school over the next three years, dubbing the programme "Class of 2015: Education for All."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown led the campaign that included a line up of supportive governments, faith groups, non-governmental organizations and education advocates.

New York  - The shareholders of Northwest Airlines on Thursday approved the planned merger with Delta Air Lines.

At an annual meeting held in New York, more than 98 per cent of Northwest's stockholders favoured the creation of the largest airline in the world in terms of passengers, Northwest said. Northwest is the fifth-largest airline in the United States.

Delta shareholders were expected to decide on the merger later Thursday. Delta is currently the third-largest airline in the United States.

New York  - Major charity foundations, government leaders and politicians of all stripes joined forces on Thursday to push for progress in ending poverty and hunger and fighting diseases that continue to kill thousands of people each year.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched the one-day session on reviewing progress achieved so far on implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He warned that a financial crisis sweeping across advanced economies would actually have its greatest effect on the poor.