Geneva  - The World Health Organization said Tuesday that developed nations should not be lax in taking steps to make sure their hospitals are safe in times of emergencies, particularly in light of the earthquake in Italy.

United Nations agencies noted that a hospital in the medieval town of L'Aquila had to be evacuated owing to severe structural damage caused by the quake.

"If we are prepared, we certainly can save an untold number of lives," said Fadela Chiab, WHO spokeswoman in Geneva.

Nyon, Switzerland - Cre

Geneva - Eight people drowned and another 22 were missing and presumed dead, the United Nations said Tuesday, after two boats heading from Somalia to Yemen encountered troubles at sea over the weekend.

One boat, which capsized, carried 40 Somalis, only 20 of whom made it to shore in Yemen, the UN quoted survivors as saying, and the second boat with 23 people saw eight drown and two went missing, presumed dead.

Geneva - A watch commissioned most likely by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the late 1800s will go on sale in Geneva next month, Sotheby's auction house said Monday.

Ludwig II, an eccentric who was removed from power on grounds of insanity, most likely ordered the watch, which is decorated on the back with a depiction of the Virgin Mary standing on a crescent moon, to pay tribute to the Royal Military Order of Saint George.

The watch is estimated to be worth between 27,000 and 44,000 dollars, the auction house said.

The Bavarian ruler was known for building fantasy estate houses and fortresses, including the Neuschwanstein Castle. He was also a patron of composer Richard Wagner.

Zurich  - The Swiss banking giant UBS was preventing some 1,000 of its wealth management personnel from leaving the country owing to legal concerns, local media reported Sunday.

Those advisers can longer visit their clients abroad and if a meeting is needed, it would have to take place in Switzerland.

Spokespersons for the bank said travel abroad to meet clients in the cross-border wealth management division had been suspended.

Bern, Switzerland  - E-mail, internet bill paying and other electric substitutes had already been hitting the world's postal services hard when the global economic crisis struck, leading individuals and companies to cut back anywhere they could including in the mail.

"Some of our largest mailers are in financial services, catalogue sales, manufacturers," said Lea Emerson, the head of the international division at the United States Postal Service (USPS). "Those are some of the ones hardest hit by crisis, and they are mailing much less."