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Alarmed that nuclear and radiological materials in Iraq may no longer be under control after looting and destruction at nuclear sites, the United Nations nuclear watchdog today called on the United States and other coalition authorities to allow its experts to return to address a possible radiological emergency there.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today said Asia and the Pacific now has more “middle to high income” consumers – those earning more than $7,000 per year – than Western Europe and North America combined, raising concerns that aspirations for further growth may come at a high environmental price.

The top United Nations human rights official today strongly condemned the brutal killing of two UN military observers, whose bodies were recovered over the weekend just north of the town of Bunia in war-riven northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The Road Map peace plan may be the last chance to achieve a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict for a very long time, since ongoing Palestinian terror radicalizes both communities while Israeli settlement expansion makes creation of a viable Palestinian state ever more difficult, the senior United Nations envoy to the region, Terje Roed-Larsen, told the Security Council today.

Following the collapse of talks held over the weekend between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement to resume implementation of a peace accord, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the parties to do their utmost to restore the peace process in the north-western province.

A United Nations envoy for human rights in Cambodia has expressed deep concern over the recent murders of two judicial officials in that country, and warned that such "odious crimes" could undermine efforts to build a strong and independent justice system.

A year after Timor-Leste gained independence, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission there for another 12 months, until 20 May 2004.

United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have called on Israel to immediately re-open the border into Gaza to all their members, protesting "in the strongest terms" against a closure that they said crippled their aid efforts for 1.2 million Palestinians and was in direct contravention of international law.

The top local security liaison official for the United Nations system in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif was killed during factional fighting over the weekend, and all factions are to be removed from the city tomorrow in a "critical" effort to restore security.

A United Nations-backed global fund for the environment has approved a targeted assistance plan aimed at making it easier for countries affected by severe land degradation to get direct financial resources to address problems such as desertification and deforestation.