Several round of talks are expected to be held this year before the finale at Cancun in Mexico in December.
Kamal Nath is in New York attending several meetings, including McGraw-Hill Construction, which is one of the largest construction industry events.
With India still keen to join an ambitious gas pipeline project involving Iran and Pakistan, the United States has warned all countries against engaging in transactions with Tehran at a time when sensitive talks are on to consider additional sanctions on it over its nuclear issue.
Speaking on Neo-Liberalism, Secularism, and the Future of the Left in India, Yechury stressed that the "two Indias" could not survive together.
Following the decision that the Independent Commission of Inquiry will delay disclosing its findings, the United Nations said on Wednesday that the Commission will not reopen its investigations into the death of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in light of Islamabad's assertions that two heads of state have additional information on the matter.
The top UN human rights official in the country stressed that the root cause of poverty in Afghanistan was human rights violation that took the shape of patronage, corruption, impunity and opting for short-term solutions over long-term developmental goals.
The United Nations on Tuesday delayed till April 15 the release of its probe panel's report on the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto following a request from Islamabad.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy made a strong pitch for India's inclusion as a permanent member of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, which he said needs to be expanded to make it more inclusive."Did you know that India... in 30 years time... the world's most populous nation, doesn't have a permanent seat on the Security Council?" said the French president, hosted by Columbia University as part of the World Leaders Forum.
Securing a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council is India's top priority for the year and it seems "eminently doable" with India putting a concerted effort, Indian envoy to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri has said.
Pakistan is expected to object to 'India's growing role in Afghanistan' in its key strategic dialogue with the United States this week as Islamabad seeks to torpedo New Delhi's offer to train Afghan forces with a similar offer of their own.
Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is in-charge of Department of Atomic Energy, said the country lacks a law under which compensation could be awarded in the case of a nuclear accident.
Underlining the importance of stability in Afghanistan for regional security, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Thursday said Washington 'fully recognises' India's role in the war-torn country and reiterated that New Delhi will not be 'scaling down' its operations there following the recent attacks targeting Indians. "The United States fully recognises that India has legitimate interests in Afghanistan. It appreciates the development work we do there," said Rao.
Underlining that the UN will lead the climate change negotiations, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has rejected the possibility of a "double track" approach being adopted on Climate Change where simultaneous talks between the big economies run in parallel with the United Nations negotiations.
In September 2000, world leaders had agreed to tackle eight developmental challenges including poverty, employment, education and health.
The United Nations has launched an independent review of the functioning of its top climate change body IPCC, which has come under much criticism in the recent months for some errors in its reports.
India and China on Wednesday formally backed the Climate Change Accord hammered out in Copenhagen last year calling for voluntary cut in greenhouse gas emissions.
"I made clear to President (Mahinda) Rajapaksa that I intend to move forward on a Group of Experts which will advise me on setting the broad parameters and standards on the way ahead on establishing accountability concerning Sri Lanka," Ban told media-persons I New York, referring to a conversation he had with Sri Lankan President on Thursday.
Mosab Yousef, the son of a founder of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, says he was a spy for Israel's Shin Bet for a decade as he felt that the spy agency had more morality than his own people.
The hacking of Google that emanated from China could be the work of amateurs and was not linked to the government of that country, according to a study by a by a US-based technology firm.
The Indian envoy to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri asked the Security Council to devise clear and achievable goals for missions serving in post-conflict areas around the world and provide greater resources for their implementation.
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