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In a report issued ahead of the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommends that the UN's chief legislative body call on Member States to stimulate a new level of commitment in tackling the problem of road traffic injuries, projected to rank third among causes of death and disability by 2020.

While talks aimed at shaping United Nations support for Liberia's transitional government got underway today in the capital Monrovia, the country's interior remains gripped by rumours of fresh rebel violence, forcing relief agencies to scale back operations in camps and along roadsides where anxious families await desperately needed aid.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) today said speculation concerning the discovery of a suspected case of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Singapore could not be confirmed due to conflicting medical analyses.

In the most recent of his continuing efforts to improve the safety of United Nations staff in the field, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged all nations to sign on to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel.

There is no greater threat to individual human security than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, a senior official of the Global Fund set up to help combat those illnesses said today at a briefing at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Marking the first Literacy Day of the United Nations Literacy Decade, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for an all-out effort from all levels of society to eliminate illiteracy as a main obstacle to development in a world where 860 million adults, two-thirds of them women, can at present neither read nor write.

Launching his latest progress report on goals set in 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for renewed world unity on security issues after the Iraq war, increased momentum if global development targets are to be met and rededication by rich countries to fulfil their pledges to the poor.

Malaysian authorities have deported seven asylum seekers to the conflict-torn Indonesian province of Aceh, despite an appeal for a moratorium by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and assurances by the government that there would be no forced returns.

The United Nations food agency and the Ethiopian Government have jointly appealed for an additional $40 million for non-food humanitarian aid and 37,500 tons of food to lessen the effects of the humanitarian crisis crippling the country.

Reacting to developments over the weekend in the Middle East, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned the latest round of violence and voiced hope that the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen would not stall efforts to bring peace to the region.