New York, Feb. 6 : The United Nations has said that it is ready to address Hamas''s use of children as human shields during last month''s IDF offensive in Gaza.

UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday: "We have not yet dealt directly with the human shield issue, but we will now mention it in our reports."

"It is still very difficult for us to say that it was actually happening and we still need to conduct a full investigation into what exactly took place... but we are not denying that it happened; it is absolutely possible that Hamas was using its civilians as human shields," she said.

Geneva  - The United Nations' new Human Rights Council was suffering from a deep funding crisis, the president said Thursday, warning that the future work of the body was in danger.

Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, the Nigerian ambassador to the UN and the current president of the council, told dpa in an interview that the financial constraints, if not solved, could hamper projects like the universal country reviews and damage the new body's credibility.

Beirut  - Five rockets were found late Wednesday near Naqoura close to the southern Lebanon border with Israel, a Lebanese army statement said, adding that they were not primed.

Islamabad  - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced Wednesday the formation of a UN commission to probe the assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The announcement was made during Ban's meeting Bhutto's widower and President Asif Ali Zardar, Pakistan's state-run news channel PTV said.

Ban met Zardari during his first visit of the Islamic country since taking office in late 2006.

Bhutto was murdered in a suicide attack on December 27, 2007 during an election rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

A Taliban commander named Baitullah Mehsud was initially blamed for the slaying, but he denied the allegations.

Kabul  - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived on a surprise visit to Afghanistan Wednesday, a day after the world body asked international donors to provide 603 million dollars for humanitarian aid for the war-wracked country.

The UN chief was scheduled to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and leaders of the national assembly during his second visit of the country since taking office in late 2006, the UN office in Kabul said in a statement.

Geneva  - The United Nations issued an appeal Tuesday for Afghanistan, asking donors to give 603 million dollars for aid as the humanitarian situation in the country continued to deteriorate.

Mounting insecurity along with natural disasters, specifically drought, have set the country back from gains made earlier this decade, the UN said.

"Poverty indicators, maternal mortality and infant mortality rates, are all very poor," said John Holmes, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs.