World | WPN World People News

While some 20 million people have been affected by the floods in Pakistan since July and more are still being displaced in the southern province of Sindh, one group of people are looking on the bright side.

The heads of the United Nations labour agency and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today joined other leaders to call for a broad global commitment to policies that focus on creating jobs to reverse the economic downturn bedevilling the world.

UK people believe retirement as it has been known is generally over.

A BBC Newsnight poll has revealed some 70% of 1,000 asked thought it would not be feasible for them to stop work before living on a pension for up to 30 years.

President Obama is to call for business investment tax breaks.

The president already has a proposal in mind to allow companies to write off new capital spending to allow them to speed up their investment strategies.

The Australian government has been returned after help from two Independent members, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott.

The pair broke Australia's political deadlock on Tuesday by agreeing to back Julia Gillard, the caretaker prime minister, in a Labor minority government.

After more than a fortnight, Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor today revealed they would give Labor their crucial votes, meaning the party has secured the 76 seats needed to rule.

The opposition party, the Liberals, have 74 seats.

US president Barack Obama has announced his government will spend billions of dollars to build huge infrastructure projects in the country, to create jobs and boost confidence in the American economy.

New York officials have announced that the centrepiece tower to replace the World Trade Centre in New York will be complete in 2013.

The head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is visiting Montenegro and Moldova to highlight the two countries’ poverty reduction and social development efforts ahead of the UN summit to review global progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The newly-appointed United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos arrived in Pakistan today, her first day on the job, to witness the humanitarian response to the flood disaster and encourage more donor support to the millions of people affected across the length of the South Asian country.

Pakistan president Asaf Ali Zardari has called for "trade, not aid", to deal with the devastation caused by floods in the country.