There are about 100 million hungry children in the world.

Recent poor performances by the Indian football team resulted in the country falling two places in the latest rankings.

With this, the total cost of the worldwide war on terror and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan has crossed $300 billion since 9/11.

3 Pakistani peacekeepers in Haiti have been charged with rape, the UN said.

A factbox on the FIFA World Player of the Year.

The state department has launched the 2006 Diversity Visa Lottery, a programme by which 50,000 permanent resident visas are issued annually to individuals from countries with low levels of immigration to the United States.

India is ranked 90th on a list of 146 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index, according to Transparency International ratings. India was ranked 83rd last year.

Ronaldo took his new girlfriend to watch him training with Brazil on Tuesday while coach Carlos Alberto Parreira thanked her for helping the Real Madrid forward lose weight.

Brazil remain optimistic over striker Ronaldinho's chances of being fit for Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Bolivia.

The UN Security Council has endorsed a multi-national force to help maintain peace in the island.

In the Global Corruption Index, a survey of 133 nations conducted by Transparency International (an anti-graft watchdog), India stood 83rd, recording a score of 2.8 out of 10.

India have been drawn in along with Japan, Oman and Singapore in the Asian qualifying group for the 2006 World Cup football finals.\n\n

Former US President Bill Clinton on Friday launched a major medical initiative to make available Anti-Retroviral Drugs to millions affected by HIV/AIDS around the world at almost one-third of the existing market costs.

Miss India Nikita Anand did not make it to the top ten.

The American edged past Australian Patrick Johnson in 10.04 secs Japan Grand Prix.