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Torture, though on the decline, particularly in urban areas, remains widespread in China, and Government officials have increasingly recognized the problem and undertaken a number of measures to tackle it, the independent United Nations human rights expert on the issue said today.

A controversial European Union (EU) directive on asylum procedures adopted without discussion by the 25 EU member states in Brussels yesterday may lead to a serious downgrading of asylum standards in the EU and beyond, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.

Reaffirming his plea, less than two weeks before elections, for all segments of Iraqi society to be included in the political transition, the senior United Nations envoy in the war-torn country today called for a transparent political process that is responsive to the aspirations of all of Iraq’s communities.

The United Nations health agency will no longer hire smokers in compliance with its campaign to curb tobacco use, which currently causes 5 million mainly preventable deaths and a net loss of $200 billion in treatment and lost productivity every year.

The United Nations commission that aims to foster sustainable development in Europe today adopted sweeping reform of its governance structure, cost-effectiveness and transparency to bring its priorities in line with current conditions, the agency reported.

With the harsh Himalayan winter fast approaching, the United Nations emergency office today laid out December's priorities for bringing relief to the survivors of Pakistan's devastating earthquake, including continued assistance for up to 380,000 people who choose to remain in their homes in remote locations.

Joining in emergency relief operations in the small Indian Ocean country of Comoros, where a volcanic eruption may have displaced more than a third of the total population, the United Nations is assisting national authorities in providing clean water, clearing away dust and debris and assessing damage to agriculture and livestock.

With new challenges to the well-being of civilian populations arising from a new warfare, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for closer UN cooperation with regional organizations on the needs of "a culture of protection" and for the inclusion of civilian protections in the design of peacekeeping missions.

Facing an unprecedented cholera epidemic, the government of the small African country of São Tomé and Príncipe has asked for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff members to work in its hospitals.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the decision by the rebel Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to extend by one month the unilateral ceasefire that it declared in September in its decade-long battle to oust the Himalayan country's monarchy.