The FINANCIAL -- According to RIA Novosti, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Afghanistan on November 2 for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and leading opposition figure Abdullah Abdullah, the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan said.

The FINANCIAL -- BEIJING, More than 285,000 people in southwestern China were affected on November 2 by an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale that shook the province of Yunnan, Chinese media reported.

The FINANCIAL -- The Health Ministry is set to begin administering vaccines against H1N1 influenza, popularly known as swine flu, starting with health workers and pilgrims embarking on hajj, according to Today's Zaman.

The FINANCIAL -- According to RIA Novosti, ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said he will refuse support to the country's reconciliation government if he is not be reinstated ahead of national elections next month, the EFE news agency reported on November 2.

The FINANCIAL -- According to RIA Novosti, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived on November 1 in Morocco to discuss advancing the Middle East peace process with Arab and Group of Eight countries, the Voice of America reported.