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United Nations humanitarian agencies have appealed to all parties in the conflict in Nepal to allow safe passage for food convoys to hundreds of thousands of people, and the distribution of vitamins and de-worming tablets for 6 million children, as roadblocks, curfews and strikes make reaching remote areas increasingly difficult.

Welcoming the first sentencing of army soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for crimes against humanity stemming from massive rape, United Nations officials have called for further investigations to help prosecute other military personnel who may be implicated.

Dead bodies in natural disasters pose a negligible threat to public health and unnecessary mass burials and cremations can not only increase the mental suffering of victims’ families but also lead to legal and other long-term difficulties by preventing proper identification, according to a new United Nations set of guidelines.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), which helps developing countries fight hunger, today announced that Russia has become a member, more than 60 years after the agency’s founding.

The United Nations tourism agency today announced a multi-partner initiative to respond to bird flu and prepare for a possible human pandemic that could wreak havoc on an industry that was worth $622 billion in 2004, hosted more than 763 million travellers and is projected to expand at an annual rate of nearly 6 per cent.

The United Nations today announced the launch of a new Global Alliance for Information Technology (ICT) and Development which will bring together a wide variety of interested participants as part of broader international efforts to harness technological advances for use in the fight against poverty.

As fighting that had flared on Chad’s border with Sudan’s Darfur region today exploded in its capital, N'Djamena, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council condemned any attempt to seize power by force as well as attacks on Darfur refugees.

The United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) for another month, but warned that unless both sides fulfilled its earlier demands – including lifting restrictions on UN personnel and recognizing a boundary decision – it will review other options ranging from transforming the operation into an observer mission to withdrawing it altogether.

The advancement of cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States in fighting terrorism and fostering understanding topped the agenda of a meeting today in Vienna between the two organizations.

As fighting erupted in N’djamena, the capital of Chad, the United Nations has begun the evacuation of all non-essential staff as well as personnel of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the city, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN’s lead logistics agency in the troubled country.