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Voicing “profound concern” at continuing institutional and large-scale racism and xenophobia worldwide, a panel of experts appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for renewed counter-efforts at the international and national levels, including education and awareness-raising campaigns.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has enlisted one of the world’s most famous military strategists, Alexander the Great – aka Irish film actor Colin Farrell – to help lead its war against global hunger, following in the footsteps of arguably the world’s most famous spy, James Bond.

A mass immunization campaign against polio spearheaded by United Nations agencies and their partners started today for 100 million children in 22 countries in the first drive this year to stop the resurgence of the disease, as reports came in of a new case in Ethiopia.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is stepping up airdrops in Afghanistan in collaboration with the Government and the United States-led coalition in an effort to reach tens of thousands of people isolated by snow in the harshest winter in many years in the mountainous central Asian country.

The United Nations Mission of Inquiry into last week's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri began its work today with a meeting with top local officials and a pledge to work "with absolute impartiality and professionalism."

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to help the United Nations track down the unidentified militia members who ambushed and murdered nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving in the country's remote northeast – the worst-ever attack against the UN's forces in the DRC.

A board of inquiry into a Haitian woman's accusation that she was raped last week by two civilian police officers serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Caribbean country has begun its work.

A day after United Nations refugees chief Ruud Lubbers stood down amid controversy over alleged sexual impropriety, the world body today announced a far reaching search for a successor, contacting both governments and civil society groups as part of a new transparent approach to recruit the best people as agency heads.

Reforming the security sectors and reintegrating former militia members into their communities in West Africa need funds that have not been forthcoming and the high youth unemployment has created a desperation that could create unrest even in countries that are now calm, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.

The situation in the Middle East dominates the agenda of a day-long visit to London next Tuesday by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, his second trip to the British capital in a month.