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The senior United Nations envoy to Sudan and the country's Foreign Minister have signed an agreement committing Khartoum to take "detailed steps" in the next 30 days to disarm the militias responsible for deadly attacks in the Darfur region, improve security for the 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and alleviate the humanitarian crisis, a UN spokesperson said today.

The Security Council today welcomed the recent agreement by Côte d'Ivoire's leaders to resume the country's stalled peace process, and called on them to observe deadlines for disarming militias and drawing up a selection process for presidential candidates.

The United Nations emergency feeding agency today launched an urgent appeal for $82 million for immediate aid to 2.3 million drought-afflicted people in Kenya, a number that could swell by another million if rains fail again later this year.

With the summer season shaping up as vital in determining whether the locust infestation in West Africa turns into a plague, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is appealing to the global community for additional funds for massive national operations to control the crop-devouring insects.

Bangladesh will need at least a year to recover from the devastating floods that have caused massive damage to its land, people and economy, with tens of millions of people facing grave food shortages, waterborne diseases, a badly mangled infrastructure and extremely poor prospects for the next rice crop, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

United Nations agencies are mobilizing aid for Paraguay in response to a government request for assistance in dealing with the aftermath of Sunday's disastrous mall fire that killed nearly 380 people, wounded 170 more and left 43 others missing.

The United Nations environmental agency today praised Pakistan and Italy for using the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of K-2, the world’s second highest mountain – and the one deemed hardest to climb – to cast a spotlight on the need to protect mountain resources that are vital to at least half of humanity.

For the second time in two weeks, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has decided to relocate international staff out of the strife-torn Gaza Strip because of Israeli incursions and general instability.

Three generic HIV/AIDS medicines have been removed from the international list of medicines available to developing countries because the manufacturer had not ensured the drugs were equivalent to the original medicines they were supposed to copy, the United Nations health agency said today.

With less than 10 days to go before the start of the Olympic Games, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Julian R. Hunte, today appealed to all States to demonstrate their commitment to peace by observing the traditional truce during the quadrennial competition.