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A former Rwandan local government official convicted and jailed by the United Nations genocide tribunal for failing to prevent the massacre of Tutsis seeking refuge in a church has been released from prison after completing his sentence.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his deep concern about the deadly clashes between demonstrators and police forces in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, where the results of recent presidential elections have been disputed.

The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has sent a team to the eastern part of the country after one of its helicopters crashed there today, amid reports that there have been fatalities.

The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Myanmar is set to depart tomorrow for his third visit to the troubled South-East Asian nation since the Government forcefully cracked down on peaceful protesters last year.

Some 24,000 Afghan women die every year while giving birth, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which is working with the Government and other partners to reduce maternal mortality and improve the overall health of women and girls in the war-torn nation.

This year must be devoted to helping the “bottom billion” of the world’s poorest to tap into global economic growth, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) today.

A substantial gap remains between the positions of Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the official name of the latter country, despite their willingness to continue the process of negotiations, the United Nations envoy on the issue reports after the latest round of talks.

The United Nations envoy tasked with helping implement the September 2004 Security Council resolution that calls for free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon without interference from foreign influences and for the disbandment of all militia groups operating in the country has held talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

After more than a week of repeated blockages by Eritrean forces, United Nations peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa country have finally completed regrouping to the capital, Asmara, in preparation for their planned temporary relocation across the border to Ethiopia.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged restraint among Colombia and its neighbours as troops from Ecuador and Venezuela amassed at their borders with Colombia following a weekend attack that left a rebel leader dead.