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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the President of Sri Lanka, the Government and its citizens on the first year of the country's political transition.

Briefing United Nations Member States today on the widely varied and devastating impacts of the current El Niño weather phenomenon – which for months has sparked massive floods in some countries while leaving others, often in the same region, bone dry – the top UN relief official urged the international community to act now to help millions of people facing food insecurity.

A joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping patrol was ambushed in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region today by an unidentified armed group, who greatly outnumbered it and seized a machine gun, four rifles and rounds of ammunition.

Welcoming today’s announcement of the results of the first round of the presidential elections in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations envoy for the country has invited the two candidates that will participate in an upcoming run-off poll, “to maintain the spirit of peace and restraint that has prevailed” throughout the process thus far.

Condemning the demolition by Israeli authorities of the homes of Palestinian Bedouins in the West Bank, a senior United Nations relief official today called on Israel to end such destruction and halt its plans to forcibly relocate Bedouin families.

With record numbers of refugees and displaced people worldwide, the new head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is urging greater diplomatic efforts to find solutions to the conflicts and abuses driving people from their homes.

Global growth disappointed again in 2015 – slowing to 2.4 per cent – and is expected to recover at a slower pace than previously envisioned, the World Bank Group said today in a new report, which also warned that a broad-based slowdown across developing countries could pose a threat to hard-won gains in raising people out of poverty.

Condemning the “reprehensible” deadly terrorist attack on a security training centre today in Libya’s coastal city of Zliten, the top United Nations official in the country said the incident again shows the urgent need for all stakeholders to press ahead with forming a recently-agreed unity government.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today condemned the Government of Yemen’s decision to expel the United Nations Human Rights representative in the war-torn country, voicing “extreme concern” for the safety of the remaining national and international staff.

The United Nations is calling today for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach people in need in hard-to-reach and besieged areas of Syria, while welcoming the recent approval by the Government to access the towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya.