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Reacting to an attack which killed over 50 people in Qana, Lebanon, this weekend, the head of the United Nations Children’s Fund has joined her voice to others condemning the incident and calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities as well as special measures to protect the youngest victims of the conflict.

The head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has expressed grave concern over the environmental situation unfolding in the waters off of Lebanon, where an oil slick, caused by Israeli bombardment, is now reported to be affecting vast stretches of the Lebanese coastline and threatening the Syrian one as well.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today strongly condemned the weekend killing of dozens of civilians, including numerous children, resulting from the shelling by the Israeli forces of a residential building in Qana, south Lebanon, and reminded the parties of their obligations under international law.

Saying that Iran has not taken required steps to assure the world it is not developing nuclear arms, the United Nations Security Council today demanded a suspension of the country’s nuclear enrichment and reprocessing activities, threatening sanctions for non-compliance.

The United Nations sent two more emergency aid convoys to southern Lebanon today, including food assistance to the survivors in the town of Qana, where Israeli shelling at the weekend killed dozens of civilians, including numerous children.

Violent clashes between Sudanese Government forces, allied militias and rebel groups continue to plague the strife-torn Darfur region, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported today, while a UN humanitarian convoy has also been ambushed.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the Security Council that Israel will carry out its own investigation into the events that led to the deaths of four United Nations observers in southern Lebanon last week, but he would have preferred a joint UN-Israeli probe.

The Security Council voted unanimously today to extend by another year its arms embargo against militia groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), condemning the continuing illicit flow of weapons into and around the vast African country.

The Security Council today extended for one month the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) while proposals for a new international presence in the violence-wracked region are considered.

Addressing a meeting of the United Nations Security Council today, Lebanon’s acting Foreign Minister urged an immediate series of steps aimed at quelling the violence there, while Israel’s representative said his country was acting in self-defence and called for the authorities in Beirut to take control of their entire nation.