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The growing sophistication of organized drug gangs, combined with the emergence of difficult-to-control smuggling routes, and high opium harvests in Afghanistan are just some of the major threats highlighted in a new report released today by the United Nations drug watchdog.

The President of the General Assembly today called on both the Government of Myanmar and the opposition to resume substantive dialogue without preconditions and without further delay, after meeting with the United Nations envoy who just returned from a visit to the South-East Asian nation.

The Joint African Union-United Nations Chief Mediator tasked with resolving the conflict in Darfur has congratulated the Sudanese Government and a key rebel group for making strides in the process to bring peace to the war-ravaged Darfur region.

Young scientists from around the world working on projects ranging from working to conserve mangrove forests in Iran to conserving orchids in Cuba have been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for their work on biodiversity.

Last summer’s Beijing Olympics set new records for eco-friendly mass spectator sporting events by raising the bar on many of the high environmental standards it set itself, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report released today.

The United Nations agency charged with coordinating the fight against HIV/AIDS today welcomed a Senate decision in Burundi overwhelmingly rejecting a bill which sought to outlaw homosexuality.

The United Nations system must play its role in ensuring that farmers can increase their production, at a time when the global financial crisis is compounding the impact of the food crisis, making the challenges facing the world’s most vulnerable all the more difficult, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

United Nations agencies and their partners in the global fight against diseases that can be prevented by vaccines are meeting in New York to assess the coverage provided by immunizations, which prevent two million children’s deaths annually.

The global financial crisis may have a dramatic impact on the lives of migrant workers in South-East Asia, participants at a United Nations-backed meeting held in Bangkok stressed, noting in particular the negative repercussions for migrants’ health and their risks of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is slated to leave early next week for Africa where he will make his first official visits to South Africa and Tanzania, as well as stops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Egypt, his spokesperson announced today.