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African governments must strongly support the development of new technologies to spur sustainable development and shield the continent from the global economic crisis, a senior United Nations official said today.

A course that shapes future military, police and political leaders for international peacekeeping operations will be held for the first time in Austria, the United Nations announced today.

The head of the United Nations trade and development body has stressed the need for temporary debt relief for poor nations struggling amid the global economic downturn, stressing this would give them some breathing space and assist in recovery efforts.

An independent United Nations human rights expert today spoke out against reports of religious intolerance in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and expressed disbelief at the backlash targeted against a recent court decision to restrict religious teaching in public schools.

United Nations agencies and their partners are assisting the Government of Afghanistan in responding to flash floods, landslides and earthquakes which have struck various parts of the country in recent days, killing at least 15 people and leaving thousands homeless.

As it continued to intensively monitor the spread of the influenza A(H1N1) virus, the United Nations health agency today held its pandemic alert to Phase 5, put in place yesterday, and reiterated its call for heightened vigilance.

The Security Council today urged the political leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to accelerate momentum gained in United Nations-backed talks aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island.

The United Nations has released over $3 million in emergency relief funding in response to the devastation caused by torrential rains in southern Africa, which have led to the deaths of over one hundred people and left tens of thousands homeless, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.

The top United Nations humanitarian official today condemned a resurgence of violence against civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid a serious of offensives against a Rwandan militia group.

Poverty eradication efforts in developing countries are set to receive a cash injection of over $200 million from the United Nations rural development arm this week to help off-set the impact of the global financial crisis.