The UN Security Council will discuss the contentious issue lifting of sanctions against Iraq next week for the first time.

THE United Nations has asked for a fresh report from its chief weapons inspector Hans Blix as it considers sending teams back to Iraq.

The UN Security Council has asked chief weapons inspector Hans Blix to brief members next week as the US fielded its own disarmament teams inside Iraq and Secretary-General Kofi Annan pressed for UN experts to return as quickly as possible.

The UN Security Council put pressure on the Israeli and Palestinian envoys last night to step up diplomatic efforts to halt the bloodshed in the Middle East.