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The United Nations refugee agency has asked Pakistan to temporarily suspend the closure of a major camp for displaced Afghans amid fears that tens of thousands are being pressured into leaving and may not be able to settle down in Afghanistan before winter begins.

A United Nations-supported expert team probing the recent slaughter of nine mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today wrapped up its visit to the country by stressing that local communities must be central to efforts to preserve the endangered species and to any profitable activities related to the primates.

Early warning systems are the most efficient way to save lives in disasters such as Hurricane Dean now rampaging across Mexico and need to be further enhanced at local levels, the United Nations body seeking to mitigate their impact said today.

United Nations emergency food deliveries for victims of devastating floods in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will begin immediately following an agreement with the Government for distribution over a three-month period to 215,000 people, but more donor support is needed to sustain the pace.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has warned that countries in Asia and the Pacific will face serious difficulties in sustaining their response to the disease unless they become less reliant on external donors and commit more national funds to their AIDS programmes.

Greek Cypriot leader H.E. Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader H.E. Mehmet Ali Talat will meet on 5 September at the official residence of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the United Nations Protected Area in Nicosia, the island’s capital, it was announced today.

A senior United Nations official in the Middle East today voiced concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation inside the Gaza Strip, where the closure of border crossings and other restrictions have cut exports and forced factories to shut, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians without jobs or income.

Experts from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in Iran to hold talks as part of efforts to resolve outstanding issues pertaining to the country’s past nuclear programme and to clarify safeguards implementation issues.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has assured refugees from several African countries living in Zambia that his agency will continue to assist them in their efforts to either return to their homes or to settle in local communities.

Another 3,500 ex-militia members from one of the most volatile corners of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have agreed to disarm, demobilize and try to reintegrate into the community, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the vast African country has reported.