Press Release

BIRD FLU IN ASIA:  CONTROL CAMPAIGNS NEED TO CONTINUE, SAYS UN AGENCY

ROME, 25 February (FAO) -- Outbreaks of avian influenza are still occurring in some Asian countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today, stressing the need for continued control campaigns.

UNITED NATIONS TEAM ARRIVES AT MOROCCAN QUAKE SITE

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 25 February (OCHA) -- A United Nations Disaster and Coordination Assessment (UNDAC) team has arrived in Morocco after a powerful earthquake killed more than 550 people in northern part of the country near the coastal city of Al Hoceima.  The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) dispatched the six-member team.

PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

ON ISRAELI WALL CONCLUDES AT THE HAGUE

(Reissued as received.)

THE HAGUE, 25 February (ICJ) -- The public hearings in the case concerning the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the OccupiedPalestinianTerritory (request for advisory opinion) concluded today.

At the hearings, held from 23 to 25 February 2004, the following oral statements were presented:

Fifty-eighth General Assembly                              

BARCELONA, UNIVERSAL FORUM OF CULTURES TO HOST WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2004;

THEME:  ‘WANTED!  SEAS AND OCEANS -– DEAD OR ALIVE?’

(Reissued as received.)

NAIROBI/BARCELONA, 24 February (UNEP) -- The city of Barcelona, known for its commitment to culture and urban renewal, will be hosting World Environment Day 2004, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced today.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RELEASE OF MOROCCAN PRISONERS OF WAR

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan:

The Secretary-General welcomes the release by the Frente POLISARIO, with the assistance of a MemberState, of an additional 100 prisoners of war, who were repatriated on 24 February to the Kingdom of Morocco by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES REPORT OF WORLD COMMISSION

ON SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

SECRETARY-GENERAL PROMISES UN ASSISTANCE FOLLOWING EARTHQUAKE IN NORTHERN MOROCCO

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan:

UNITED NATIONS OF TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY NEEDS JAPAN’S WISDOM,

EXPERIENCE, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL IN TOKYO ADDRESS

Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s address to the Japanese Diet in Tokyo, 24 February:

BRIEFING TO SECURITY COUNCIL DESCRIBES ‘TIME OF HOPE’ FOR IRAQ,

WITH MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OVER PAST THREE MONTHS

United States, United Kingdom Say, against Backdrop of Success,

Attacks Continue by Elements Bent on Sabotaging Reconstruction Efforts