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Countries that switch from lamps, candles, flashlights and other traditional lighting systems to solar power can recover the costs in less than one year, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said today, highlighting new studies that show the development and climate benefits of ‘off-grid’ lighting.

In the wake of a meteor impact in Russia that shattered windows over a wide area, injuring hundreds of people and terrifying thousands, a United Nations team today called for international cooperation to face the threat of near space objects.

The top United Nations official in South Sudan is urging the communities in the eastern state of Jonglei to break the cycle of violence, following a “very serious” attack and cattle raid, while UN and local officials are poised to distribute humanitarian aid to thousands of people affected by the fighting.

The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has made it easier for anyone, anywhere to search for information on trademarks and brand-related information, thanks to a major expansion of its public database.

Quinoa, a highly nutritious grain-like crop that has made its entry into the food basket of culinary connoisseurs has been a staple for centuries in South America, among pre-Columbian Andean farming communities from Colombia to Ecuador. In fact, most of the world's quinoa is grown on the altiplano, a vast, cold, windswept, and barren 14,000-foot Andean plateau spanning parts of Peru and Bolivia.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the need for policies that promote inclusive development, adding that only by addressing inequality can countries achieve social justice.

A United Nations independent expert today welcomed the reforms that have been taking place in Myanmar while stressing that key human rights issues remain unaddressed, particularly in the states of Kachin and Rakhine where violence has displaced thousands of people.

A year after the international community launched a massive humanitarian response to the food crisis affecting Africa’s Sahel region, millions of people there are still affected by drought and require assistance, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Top officials from the United Nations and the Andean community of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru today launched the ‘International Year of Quinoa’ to raise awareness of the nutritional, economic, environmental and cultural value of a food that has been traditionally cultivated for thousands of years.

The United Nations human rights office today voiced concerns about the draft law on demonstrations approved by the Egyptian Cabinet last week, in particular regarding the type and scope of limitations imposed on the freedom of assembly.