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A team of United Nations humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) today will carry aid to one of the areas of Haiti worst affected by the raging floods that followed days of torrential rain, killing nearly 400 people and injuring almost 1,000 in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

With United Nations peacekeeping set to expand as new missions are set up, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has emphasized that these operations remain the best investment in ensuring that stability endures.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today proposed appointing the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Carolyn McAskie, as his Special Representative for Burundi and head of the UN operation in that country when it is launched on 1 June.

Following a spate of sectarian clashes that have reportedly left 500 people dead and displaced some 50,000 others in central Nigeria, United Nations humanitarian agencies are rushing aid to terrified families that have sought safety in the Bauchi and Nassarawa State areas.

One member of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accused of sexual abuse is being repatriated early and will be prosecuted by his national authorities, the UN spokesman said today.

The United Nations Security Council today met in closed session to discuss a draft resolution on Iraq, while Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi continued contacts in Baghdad aimed at helping the Iraqis set up a transitional government to receive sovereignty on 30 June.

Warning of an upsurge in locust proliferation in Northwest Africa, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today appealed for immediate action from regional countries and international donors in a race against time to prevent a possible full-scale plague of the crop-eating insect by the end of the year.

Israel's recent weeklong military raid into the Gaza Strip town of Rafah left more than 2,000 Palestinians homeless, bringing to nearly 3,500 the total of those whose residences were demolished or rendered uninhabitable since the beginning of the month, according to a full United Nations assessment released today.

Ocean resources are vital for sustainable development and “the diligent and inspiring work” of the International Seabed Authority proves “multilateral approaches to global challenges can be effective, equitable and enduring,” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the body’s 10th anniversary meeting.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is saddened by reports that severe flooding throughout the Caribbean has caused heavy loss of life and extensive damage, especially in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, his spokesman said today.