New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed Wednesday "deep sadness" at the deaths and destruction caused by an earthquake in Pakistan's Baluchistan region, and offered UN assistance for the victims and families.

A spokesperson said Ban extended "his deepest condolences to the families of those who have been killed, injured or made homeless by the earthquake."

"The UN stands ready to lend its assistance to efforts to respond to humanitarian needs created by the disaster, including by using existing resources and providing grants from emergency funds, and to mobilize international support for that response, if required," Ban said.

New York - The poor and developing countries who make up most of the UN General Assembly will get a chance on Thursday to face off against rich countries in a debate on the global financial crisis.

One target is the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Under the leadership of a former priest and foreign minister of Nicaragua's Sandinista government that fought the US in the 1980s, the assembly will demand a radical reform of those two institutions created at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in the 1940s to help countries recover from the devastation of World War II.

Abu Dhabi - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on the final stage of his Pakistan and Gulf tour, met with top United Arab Emirates (UAE) leaders Wednesday, with the talks concerning his initiative to help Pakistan.

Steinmeier met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Deputy Premier Sheikh Hamdan for political talks and to help prepare for the conference of the "circle of friends of democratic Pakistan" to take place in mid-November in Abu Dhabi.

The initiative which Steinmeier proposed is to provide aid projects in Pakistan's health and energy sectors, in turn contributing to stabilising the country economically and politically.

Stockholm - Swedish state-owned mining group LKAB announced plans to invest 12.5 billion kronor (1.5 billion dollars) to expand its mining operations in Kiruna, northern Sweden.

The investment in a new main level was expected to secure LKAB's iron ore mining and processing operations in Kiruna until 2030, the group said.

"This is in line with the company's long-term strategy and it backs up investments totaling about 20 billion kronor that we have already made in facilities at surface level," LKAB chief executive Ola Johnsson said.

The mine in Kiruna has high-grade iron ore that is converted into pellets.

Washington - Less than one week before the US general election, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin took centre stage in the campaign Wednesday with a major policy speech on energy, while Democratic rival Barack Obama launched his first television ad directed against Palin.

Palin, running alongside John McCain, promised an "all-of-the- above approach" to end US dependence on foreign energy and encourage the production of domestic sources, focussing on renewables as well as more oil drilling. She slammed Obama for a "long, laboured agenda of inaction" on energy.

McCain has touted Palin, governor of oil and natural-gas rich Alaska since 2006, as a key advisor for energy policy should he make it into the White House.

Munich - The annual "Medientage Munich 2008" kicked off Wednesday in the Bavarian capital with the country's top media executives focusing on their rapidly changing industry and its impact on the entertainment industry and society.

Under the motto "Media Summit: The World of Advertising is Changing - Value and Effectiveness in the Glut of Digital Media," top-level managers and over 600 experts at the three-day congress were set to take part in some 90 panels to review trends and developments, backgrounded by the current financial situation.