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Up to 2,000 people have fled to southern Serbia from villages in the north of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as fighting intensified between Macedonian forces and ethnic Albanian rebels, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

Reacting to Israel's downing today of a small Lebanese aircraft that flew into its territory, a United Nations envoy in the region urged all sides to control their actions, but noted that frequent Israeli violations of the withdrawal line -- known as the Blue Line -- had contributed to heightened tensions.

On a one-day official visit to Washington, D.C., Secretary-General Kofi Annan today met with senior members of the United States Congress to discuss issues of mutual concern, including regional hotspots such as Iraq and the Balkans as well as the AIDS pandemic and the United Nations budget.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed moves by India and Pakistan that could lead to a summit meeting between the two South Asian countries.

The United Nations Security Council mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa arrived in Rwanda today, where it visited a memorial to the victims of the 1994 genocide and met with high-level Government officials.

As the Organization of African Unity (OAU) celebrated today its thirty-eighth anniversary, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed the body as "the voice of Africa in the concert of nations" and a vital forum for regional cooperation.

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today reacted positively to a reported statement by the leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia advising Kosovo Serbs to register for the upcoming elections.

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) signed today a cooperation agreement in a move to address the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has commended the Organization of African Unity (OAU) for its decision to hold a high-level meeting to review the situation of Africa's children and develop recommendations for ensuring the full realization of their rights in the 21st century, the agency said today in a statement.

Both developing and developed countries have failed to demonstrate their commitment to set aside the resources required to achieve the eradication of hunger, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement issued today in Rome.