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The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), holding its annual session in Geneva, met today with four top officials of the world body’s agencies to examine ways of enhancing cooperation for international development.

The United Nations health agency today removed Toronto, Canada, from its list of areas with recent local transmission of SARS, leaving Taiwan Province as the only region in the world still to have experienced recent local transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed for $308 million to assist 6.5 million people in southern Africa as food shortages persist in the wake of erratic weather patterns, deteriorating economies, and the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on communities across the region.

Three United Nations World Heritage sites - the world's first national park at Yellowstone in the United States, Srebarna nature reserve in Bulgaria, and the Kotor region in Serbia and Montenegro - were removed from the endangered list today following ecological and conservation improvements.

The United Nations Security Council today discussed Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s recommendation to phase out by 6 October the UN peacekeeping operation that for nearly 12 years monitored the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait, and is set to vote tomorrow on a draft resolution approving the measure.

United Nations envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello met today with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in Baghdad to discuss the current situation in Iraq, the UN role and the best way to give Iraqis the chance to establish their own democratic institutions as soon as possible.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) called today for the reduction and elimination of agricultural subsidies and urged developed countries to implement the commitments they made at the Doha trade conference in 2001 to facilitate market access for the products of developing countries.

The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the announcement that President Joseph Kabila has signed a decree setting up a new power-sharing government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The number of companies worldwide participating in the United Nations Global Compact, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's initiative to advance good corporate citizenship and responsible globalization, doubled to more than 1,000 over the past year, according to its latest annual report released today.

In a message to Caribbean Heads of State gathered in Jamaica to discuss crucial issues affecting the region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said the United Nations would continue to work in partnership with them on a range of challenges including international trade and HIV/AIDS.