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The United Nations and its diplomatic partners in the search for Middle East peace today underlined their appeal to Israel and the Palestinians to create an atmosphere conducive to the resumption of stalled peace talks and urged both parties to refrain from provocative actions.

The UN has “never been so needed” to deal with the planet’s most pressing challenges, from climate change to human rights to helping people facing humanitarian crises, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

The United Nations-backed genocide tribunal in Cambodia ruled today that Ieng Thirith, a 79-year-old former senior member of the Khmer Rouge who was found unfit to stand trial, will not be released as ordered last month but remain in detention.

Two companies from India and South Africa announced today their commitment to provide banking services to 30 million low-income people living in rural areas by 2015, as part of their support for a United Nations-backed initiative to fight poverty.

The Security Council today expanded the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping force for the Abyei area, which is contested by South Sudan and Sudan, to include, among other tasks, assisting the two parties to abide by and implement their agreements on the demilitarization of the area.

The Security Council today decided to extend the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus until 19 July 2012, and called on the leadership of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities to accelerate the pace of talks aimed at reunification.

As demand for livestock increases, efficient methods to increase production will be crucial to meet global needs, a new United Nations report stresses, warning current production practices lack the necessary capabilities to provide sustainable solutions over the next few decades.

The Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), created to try those alleged responsible for the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, has informed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he will not seek a second term for health reasons, the tribunal reported today.

The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up after the Rwandan genocide today reduced the jail sentence of a former local official who was convicted last year of his role in a notorious massacre in which thousands of ethnic Tutsi civilians died.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of a United Nations panel of experts monitoring compliance with sanctions imposed on Liberia in connection with the country’s civil war, noting a lack of progress in the implementation of financial measures stipulated in the sanctions regime.