Hong Pingfan (R), chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Unit of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), speaks during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, on May 23, 2013. The DESA released its mid-year World Economic Situation and Prospects (WEPS) report on Thursday, which states that the world economy is expanding at subdued pace and a moderate pick-up in growth is expected for 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]