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Preparations for a United Nations meeting aimed at seeking solutions to the special problems faced by landlocked countries moved forward today as a text by the conference's chairman was presented in a bid to reconcile outstanding differences between all parties.

Concerned that timber revenues might still be used to fuel conflict in Liberia, the United Nations Security Council today decided to maintain its newly imposed timber embargo but agreed that once the situation on the ground stabilizes, it would consider ways to minimize the possible socio-economic impact of the measures.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed a Security Council resolution on the protection of United Nations personnel and other workers serving in conflict zones, saying the measure would send an unambiguous message to those who target the "servants of humanity."

One week after the terrorist attack against United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, the Security Council today strongly condemned all forms of violence against relief workers and urged countries to ensure that crimes against such personnel did not go unpunished.

Government ministers from around the world are set to meet this week in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for a United Nations conference aimed at seeking solutions to the special problems faced by countries without access to seaports.

United Nations humanitarian agencies in Iraq resumed some of their emergency work in Baghdad over the weekend for the first time since a massive truck bomb destroyed the UN headquarters there last Tuesday, killing top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 22 others, and injuring scores more.

The senior United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed- Larsen, today condemned Israel's extra-judicial assassination on Sunday of four Palestinians, when helicopter gun-ships fired missiles into a car in Gaza City, reportedly killing a Hamas militant and three Islamic University students.

With Afghanistan listed as a key producer of opium, the United Nations anti-narcotics agency has added a new agreement to its largely expanded portfolio of 20 projects, worth $38 million, in the fight against illicit drugs in the central Asian country.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today denounced the terrorist bomb attacks in Mumbai, India, which killed more than 40 peopled and injured many more.

Kicking off a round of regional visits, the United Nations envoy for Liberia has stressed the international community's responsibility to help the promising political changes take hold.