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The current system of Internet governance seems to be working well, but the question was how to better coordinate the work of specialized bodies and ensure the involvement of all stakeholders, participants told a United Nations forum today in New York.

One hundred countries representing 4.5 billion people have signed the global treaty aimed at curbing tobacco use, which now claims nearly 5 million lives every year and causes an estimated annual net loss of $200 billion in treatment and lost productivity, the United Nations health agency reported today.

West Africa's problems stem from abuses of the region's governance, human rights and transparency obligations, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council today.

Government, business and civil society representatives convened today at United Nations Headquarters in New York to examine issues surrounding the regulation of the Internet, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan urging participants to ensure that the benefits of this revolutionary medium are made available to everyone around the world.

Despite China's impressive economic achievements, the country's elderly women suffer disproportionate poverty rates, the incidence of female suicide is rising, and the skewed gender balance among newborns will have severe future demographic consequences, according to a United Nations report published today.

Following clashes at protests in Côte d'Ivoire that reportedly left up to two dozen people dead, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for calm and dialogue.

The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) held a solemn ceremony today at UN Headquarters in New York to mark the Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members.

The United Nations refugee agency has opened its first camp in the southern section of Chad's eastern border zone with Sudan, providing a safe shelter for Sudanese refugees fleeing civil war in the Darfur region.

Three weeks after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) resumed its voluntary repatriation programme from Pakistan to Afghanistan, the pace of returns has stepped up to more than 1,000 people a day.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with Security Council members to review the workings of a proposed independent panel to probe allegations of corruption within the United Nations Oil-for-Food humanitarian programme for Iraq.