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United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged a probe of reports that civilians were killed by Israeli forces on a beach in Gaza today, and reminded all concerned to exercise restraint and avoid further bloodshed.

The United Nations mission in Iraq, which has been pushing for an all inclusive government in the war-torn country ever since it was set up after the United States-led invasion three years ago, today hailed the completion of a new cabinet and offered its support in dealing with the many problems facing it.

Fresh from the global success of the world’s first humanitarian video game designed to arouse children’s interests in the challenges of fighting hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the launch of a blog, an interactive internet chat site, that allows youngsters to talk directly to aid workers on the battle’s frontlines.

A United Nations human rights expert today condemned “in very strong terms” the reported public execution by Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban regime of an alleged murderer in Daikundi province.

The United Nations refugee agency today praised the rescue of 22 migrants, including at least one asylum seeker, whose vessel had sunk in the Aegean Sea, by the crew of a Dutch-registered cruise ship of the Holland America Line.

With roughly three quarters of Yemen’s population living in over 100,000 isolated villages and settlements, the Government will upgrade dirt roads in the most disadvantaged areas, improving access to markets, health centres and schools for 300,000 people under a new pact reached with the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Dozens of young Liberians have graduated from an intensive six-week project organized by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to train them in such skills as tailoring, generator mechanics, first aid and computer operations.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today the reported death in Iraq of the Jordanian insurgent Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a “relief” since such a “such a heinous and dangerous man” will no longer be around to continue harming Iraqis, even though violence was unlikely to end with his elimination in the war-torn country.

Agricultural commodity prices are likely to keep rising in the months ahead as the volatility in global commodity markets continues, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today in its latest report, forecasting an increase of over two per cent in this year’s world food import bill compared with last year.

An international media seminar on peace in the Middle East, mandated by the United Nations General Assembly, opened in Moscow today with Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressing the vital need for Israelis and Palestinians to deal with each other face to face so as to achieve lasting peace and security for both.