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Support for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) became legal tender in Europe today when the Italian Government dedicated its first commemorative euro coin to the agency as it begins its fifth decade of delivering food aid to the world's hungry.

A record number of States have pledged the highest-ever amount in advance – $405 million – for the United Nations refugee agency’s operations for 2005, allowing it to better plan its work in the coming year.

With poor donor response forcing a drastic cut in food rations for refugees in Zambia, United Nations agencies have appealed for immediate help to prevent the situation from deteriorating and threatening a repatriation operation to Angola.

With violence in Iraq remaining a major challenge, the restoration of security, protection of civilians, credible and inclusive elections, and a closing of ranks by the international community to support political and economic reconstruction are more vital than ever, according to the latest United Nations report on the situation released today.

Six leaders of southeast Europe, scene of the worst religious and ethnic fighting in the continent since World War II, have pledged to close the bitter chapter of the past with a new culture of dialogue under a declaration adopted at a United Nations-sponsored conference in Tirana, Albania.

With more than half of the people of Liberia estimated to be living on less than 50 cents a day, a United Nations-appointed expert panel says the West African country is suffering from "widespread financial improprieties by government officials, extremely low economic growth, a high foreign and domestic debt burden" and about 80 per cent unemployment.

The top United Nations envoy for Sudan today condemned "in the strongest terms" the "brutal" murder of two workers of an international humanitarian organization in the strife-torn western Darfur region, and called on all the Government, rebels and militia to respect the principles of international humanitarian law.

Pushing ahead with his agenda for United Nations reform, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today met with regional groups of Member States to discuss the findings of the high-level panel he appointed to submit recommendations on the issue.

With 92,000 cases of HIV infection arising in the Arab world recently, regional religious leaders at a United Nations meeting today signed a declaration pledging to join in the worldwide struggle against the pandemic.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today called on the factions of the national armed forces fighting each other in North Kivu province to end the hostilities and urged anyone handing out arms to civilians in the area to stop.