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Warning that a ban on nuclear testing is more vital than ever given the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on 12 key nations whose ratification is essential for the treaty to enter into force to do so forthwith, specifically naming the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Warning that crop failures have left 45,000 people in Rwanda in dire need of food assistance, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is appealing for urgent contributions to prevent malnutrition among refugees and drought victims in the Central African country.

The United Nations health agency today called for the urgent vaccination of people at high risk of contracting influenza, in part to prevent the disruption of health services and costly precautionary measures resulting from suspect cases of the potentially deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, today strongly condemned the recent series of attacks in Kosovo, calling them an assault on the crucial process of democratic reforms and appealing for an immediate end to the violence.

The government in Djibouti has extended by two weeks the deadline for the departure of illegal immigrants from the East African country, where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been struggling to cope with thousands of people who thronged a transit centre in a last bid to apply for asylum and legalize their stay.

The number of asylum seekers in industrialized countries decreased almost across the board in the second quarter of this year, with asylum applications from Iraqis seeing the most dramatic drop, the UN refugee agency said today.

The number of Sudanese refugees heading to eastern Chad for safety since April - fleeing clashes between the Government and rebels in the western part of the country - has now reached some 65,000, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

United States productivity accelerated in 2002, surpassing Europe and Japan in terms of annual output per worker for the first substantial period since World War II, and widening the productivity gap with the rest of the world, according to a new study by the United Nations labour agency.

The United Nations human rights expert on Myanmar today voiced deep concern over reports that Aung San Suu Kyi, General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD), is on hunger strike and called on the Myanmar government to release her immediately and unconditionally.

A top United Nations envoy today called on ministers and senior government officials from 47 Asian nations not to ignore the threat of HIV/AIDS and its devastating impact on communities.