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Washington, Jan 22 – The US proposes to engage Russia, China and India this year as it tries to bring stability to Afghanistan and Pakistan while it continues its mission to “disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda and its safe havens in Pakistan”.

Washington  – US President Barack Obama will embark on a nine-day tour of Asia next month, including stops in Japan, China, South Korea and Singapore, the White House said Wednesday.

London  – Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 (G20) leading world economies began a formal meeting in London Saturday, amid divisions over dealing with the global economic crisis.

Paris  – Improvements in the US and British housing markets, rebounds in equity markets and falls in the cost of money market funding are among the favourable reports that suggest the economic recovery will be more rapid than expected, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Thursday.

Geneva  – Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis reported Thursday progress in clinical trials on a vaccine for swine flu saying one dose had led to successful immunization in 80 per cent of subjects.

Stockholm  – Asia needs to improve irrigation and introduce water reform to feed growing populations in the coming decades, a new study said Tuesday.

Bangkok  – The world economic crisis is expected to shift more economic power to Asia, where signs of recovery are showing sooner than elsewhere, the World Trade Organization’s chief economist predicted Monday.

Yemen will ship the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its giant LNG project in September, the state-run Saba news agency reported on Monday.

Beijing  – Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama discussed North Korea by telephone on Wednesday, the Chinese government said.

Geneva  – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday said its expenditure in 2008 reached a record high owing to increasing humanitarian problems worldwide.