The UN’s top official in Afghanistan has warned that with the formal launch of direct peace negotiations imminent, near-record violence in the country is creating an atmosphere of mistrust that risks derailing long-sought talks between the Government and the Taliban. 

The Government of Myanmar should embrace upcoming national elections, scheduled for November, as an opportunity to take a new and fully inclusive democratic path, and to address the root of causes of abuses suffered by ethnic minorities, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has urged. 

Three years into the Rohingya refugee crisis, women, men and children – driven from their homes in Myanmar into camps across the border in Bangladesh – are more vulnerable than ever, UN agencies have reported. 

Polio, a deadly, debilitating, yet easily curable disease, is eradicated in most countries, but is still endemic in Pakistan, partly due to a reluctance to vaccinate amongst some parts of the population. Dennis Chimenya, a health worker with the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is part of a team trying to counter misconceptions, and save lives.