UNITED NATIONS: The Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to renew the mandate of the United Nations mission for Iraq for one year.

The 15-nation council extended for 12 months the mandate of the 1,104-strong UN mission (UNAMI), which expires Friday, and expressed its intention to review the agreement "in 12 months or sooner, if requested by the government of Iraq."

The resolution sponsored by Britain and the United States also called on the Iraqi government and other member states to continue to provide security and logistical support to the UN mission in Iraq.

Last month, Ad Melkert of the Netherlands, an associate administrator of the United Nations Development Program, was appointed to succeed Staffan de Mistura as UNAMI chief.

De Mistura, a Swede, quit after less than two years in the post. He has been named deputy executive director of the World Food Program.

The renewal of UNAMI's mandate came less than two weeks before the world body prepares to commemorate the August 19, 2003 truck bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people, including special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.