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A new $3 million project to help rehabilitate Palestinian farmlands was announced today in conjunction with a United Nations-backed international forum meeting in Beirut to address the damaging effects of the Israeli occupation.

After refusing to allow a group of refugees to return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the country's authorities have reversed their position, opening the border and allowing the first group of 200 back in, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) announced today.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today mourned the sudden passing of Maj. Gen. Lalit Mohan Tewari of India, the former Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The United Nations has developed a new children's board game called Riskland which harnesses the power of fun to teach youngsters what to do in the event of a natural disaster.

Culminating a two-year negotiation process, Abdullahi Yusuf has been elected as the transitional president of Somalia - a move welcomed today by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and members of the United Nations Security Council, who all said it marks an important step towards the reestablishment of peace and stability in Somalia.

Opium cultivation in Myanmar dropped 29 per cent this year compared to 2003, continuing a steady decline that began nearly a decade ago, according to the annual country survey released today by the United Nations anti-drug office.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the Afghan people for their historic presidential election on Saturday and urged the candidates to lawfully resolve their dispute over polling irregularities, as the United Nations named two experts to serve on a panel which will probe the complaints.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan held talks today in Beijing with China's Foreign Minister, reviewing key regional developments, including the nuclear programme in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the weekend's elections in Afghanistan.

With some 2 million children dying annually from vaccine-preventable diseases, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) chief Carol Bellamy today called on the world's leaders to form a "coalition of the powerful," to provide effective immunization for the children who presently have no access to it.

With women in Africa's Great Lakes region comprising both a regional majority and the more vulnerable group on many fronts, their representatives have called on governments in the area to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address gender-based crimes and other rights violations.