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To meet Afghanistan's immediate needs during a crucial transitional period, the United Nations today said that $1.18 billion was still required for the humanitarian and recovery assistance to the country in 2002.

The United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed an agreement reached early this morning in Kosovo on the province’s President and Government, breaking the deadlock that had prevented the formation of new governing institutions since last November’s general elections.

Afghanistan’s opium cultivation – which had dropped sharply in 2001 – is back up to a “relatively high level” throughout the country, according to the results of a survey released today by the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).

Reacting to intensifying clashes and bloodshed in the Middle East, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the Israel Defence Force (IDF) to immediately withdraw from Palestinian refugee camps and urged both sides to halt attacks against civilians.

Expressing grave concern about a recent report of widespread abuse of children in West African refugee camps, the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) today said that protection of children’s rights was a top priority for UN peacekeepers.

The proportion of the world’s elderly people is projected to grow sharply in the coming years, with significant economic and social implications, a United Nations population expert said today.

As the United Nations Security Council wrapped up on Wednesday evening its debate on the volatile situation in the Middle East, new ideas for resolving the conflict – including Saudi Arabia’s recent proposal – received close attention from many speakers who stressed the need for the Israeli and Palestinian sides to return to the negotiating table.

Reporting on the results of its recent visit to Ethiopia and Eritrea, a high-level Security Council delegation has congratulated the leaders of the two countries on the progress made in the peace process and conveyed its satisfaction that a final legal settlement of the border issues is about to be reached in accordance with the Algiers Agreements.

Welcoming yesterday’s summit meeting of the Mano River Union countries, the members of the United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday hailed the decisions adopted by the leaders of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

East Timor and Indonesia will begin a 10-day joint survey next month to demarcate their common land borders, the United Nations Transitional Administration (UNTAET) said today.