Wellington  - New Zealand has withdrawn

Washington  - The United States on Tuesday s

The Hague  - The European Commission said Tuesday it was providing 60 million euros (80 million dollars) in additional funds to Afghanistan to support the country's elections, its police force and its farmers.

The money is being added to the commission's existing 700-million-euro fund for the 2007-10 period, External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said at a UN conference in The Hague.

About a third of this extra money will go to help Afghanistan hold elections in August, in which President Hamid Karzai is vying for a new term in office.

The Hague  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was Tuesday due to outline her administration's new strategy for Afghanistan at a conference in The Hague attended by more than 70 countries, including Pakistan and Iran.

The so-called "big tent" meeting, organized by the Dutch government and co-hosted by the United Nations, was taking place amid tight security in the Netherlands' administrative capital.

Geneva - The United Nations Human Rights Council ended its winter meetings on Friday, after passing a host of resolutions in the final days of the four week session, with some, like on the question of defamation of religion, of a controversial nature.

Among the issues discussed and voted on were the rights of people with disabilities, child rights, the right to food and the matter of human rights and climate change.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday asked the group of 20 leading economies meeting in London next week to support 1 trillion dollars to assist developing countries suffering from the deep global recession.