New York  - An international group formed to assist the Palestinian Authority said Monday it had made progress in gaining political and financial support, but much more remained to be done before a Palestinian state is established.

PA's Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said donor countries have delivered their pledges this year to help the Palestinian people. More than 1.3 billion dollars of the total of more than 7 billion dollars have been received.

New York  - The Security Council on Monday condemned "in the strongest terms" a terrorist attack on a hotel in Pakistan's capital that killed some 50 people over the weekend.

The 15-nation council extended sympathy to the victims of the "heinous act of terrorism" during a meeting in New York, adding that terrorism remained one of the most serious threats to peace in the world.

New York  - The UN Security Council on Monday voted to keep international troops in Afghanistan for another year and called on countries to boost their force commitments to deal with growing instability.

The 15-nation council's unanimous decision extends the mandate of the NATO-led force until at least October 2009. The council said more troops and equipment were needed to meet the mission's "operational requirements." A Taliban resurgence has sparked an uptick in violence in Afghanistan since the spring.

New York  - African leaders warned Monday that the financial crisis enveloping advanced economies around the world should not spark a pull-back of aid to poorer countries.

Africa is in danger of falling far short of meeting a series of dramatic poverty-reduction goals set by the United Nations in 2000. Leaders warned during a one-day conference on Africa that they would not be able to get on track without help from the international community.

New York  - The World Food Programme on Monday issued an appeal for nearly half a billion dollars to assist 9.6 million Ethiopians affected by drought and high food prices, for the next six months.

"The Horn of Africa region is facing the worst humanitarian crisis since 1984, and Ethiopia is caught in the middle," said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. "We know what needs to be done. We just need the funds to go out and do our job - protecting the hungry."

New York, Sept. 22: Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and other world leaders.

According to Fox News, the meeting with Manmohan Singh will take place on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the U. N. General Assembly.

Palin will also have separate meetings with Iraqi President Talabani, Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvelli; Ukraine President Victor Yuschenko and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

She will also meet rock star and humanitarian Bono on Wednesday.