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With the crisis in Lebanon continuing to escalate and hundreds of thousands of displaced people finding it increasingly difficult to obtain food and other essentials, United Nations humanitarian agencies are stepping up their appeals for safe corridors to deliver the supplies they are preparing to ship to the country.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said today that heavy exchanges of fire have continued unabated over the past 24 hours along the length of the line of withdrawal that separates the country from Israel.

Developing nations should take more initiative in determining economic policies that address their specific needs and chart their own reform path, the United Nations contends in a report issued to the current session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Documenting repeated violations of the Security Council’s arms embargo against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a team of experts appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned today that illicit trafficking represents a “genuine threat” to peace and called for close cooperation with the UN mission in the country to address the problem, particularly in the run-up to the 30 July elections.

Though the economies of the world’s 50 least developed countries (LDCs) grew in 2004 at the impressive rate of 5.9 per cent due to high demand for natural resources and a growth in aid, that surge has not translated into an increase of employment for the reduction of poverty, according to a new United Nations report.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), meeting in Geneva, has adopted a resolution that would strengthen the coordination of the world body's humanitarian assistance.

Describing the escalating violence in Iraq as a “catastrophe and a national tragedy”, the senior United Nations envoy to the country called today on all Iraqis to end the vicious cycle, warning that it threatens to erode the Government’s authority to enforce security and the rule of law, without which no initiatives and reforms can be implemented.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) today expressed “serious concern” about civilian casualties and new risks to health from escalating violence in Lebanon and Israel, warning of the serious psychological impact of the conflict and stressing the need for unobstructed access for humanitarian assistance.

Expressing condolences for the hundreds killed by the latest tsunami to hit Indonesia, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today offered humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, as the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Agency (UNESCO) assessed the strengths and gaps in the Indian Ocean warning system revealed by the event.

Endorsing commitments made by regional leaders to advance the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire earlier this month, the United Nations Security Council today said it was “fully prepared” to impose sanctions against those who block that effort.