Baghdad - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived Friday in Baghdad on an unannounced visit, media reports said.

Ban, whose visit comes a week after Iraq's historical provincial elections, met with President Jalal Talabani, Al-Arabiya news satellite channel reported.

A UN spokesman said Ban's visit was meant to reassure Baghdad about the UN's commitment to the country and to congratulate the Iraqi people on the success of provincial elections, Al-Arabiya reported.

Ban was expected to meet later with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose list prevailed in preliminary election results.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decided Thursday to send an envoy to assess first-hand the "tense political situation" in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar.

Haile Menkerios, a UN assistant secretary general for political affairs, will "assess the situation in the country and explore what the United Nations could do to help avert further violence and contribute to peace and stability in Madagascar."

Menkerios will visit the country from Saturday to Wednesday for meetings with government officials, the UN said. Menkerios was sent to Zimbabwe last year to help resolve the political crisis.

New Delhi, Feb. 5, : United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday complimented the Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss for his leadership in the health sector and described him as a public health champion.

Ban Ki-moon, who is in Delhi to attend Sustainable Development Summit, will also be presented Sustainable Development Award.

Ban Ki-moon discussed a wide gamut of health related issues with Dr. Ramadoss including National Rural Health Mission, impact of global financial crisis on health and climate change.

New Delhi - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a comprehensive agreement to tackle the climate change crisis while stressing that developed countries should reduce emissions by setting ambitious targets.

The UN chief was speaking at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, organized to discuss the impact of climate change and global warming.

The summit with "Towards Copenhagen: an Equitable and Ethical Approach" as its theme comes ahead of negotiations in the Danish capital in December, which aim at cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions after the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012.

New York - The comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and southern Sudan would unravel unless the two sides take steps to implement it, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday in an progress report.

The 2005 agreement ended a decades-long civil war between the Muslim-led Khartoum government and Christian groups in the south, with the inclusion of southern leaders in the Khartoum government. But key benchmarks in the deal remain unfulfilled, including north- south border demarcation, disarmament and census.

Islamabad - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday afternoon after a brief stop in Kabul where he held talks with Afghan leaders.

During his first visit since taking office in late 2006, Ban is expected to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari, an official of Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

The visit came two days after unknown gunmen kidnapped a senior UN official in north-west Pakistan.