Moscow, Russia (6 July 2009) -- Development progress in the Commonwealth of Independent States has declined, in part as a result of the on-going global economic and financial crisis. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2009, launched in Geneva by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, says that in almost all areas, the two groups of countries that are part of the CIS—one in Asia and the other in Europe—have experienced a very different pace of progress. Read: Russian Language Version of Article Read: Millenium Development Goals Report 2009.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (April 20, 2009) – From April 21-24 Bishkek will host a regional conference titled ““Uranium tailings: local problems, regional consequences, global solutions”, initiated by the Kyrgyz Government with assistance of UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Delegations from Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, also, representatives of other interested states, donors, international organizations, development agencies, expert communities, private sector and NGO’s are invited to participate at the conference.

New York, USA (March 31, 2009) - The United Nations General Assembly this morning unanimously approved Helen Clark of New Zealand as the new Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for a term of four years.  

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon nominated Helen Clark last week to replace outgoing Administrator Kemal Derviş of Turkey.    

“Helen Clark was selected, amongst a group of excellent candidates, for her outstanding qualifications and numerous accomplishments in her long career,” said Michèle Montas, the Secretary-General spokesperson, in an official statement.