Latest News

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today condemned the murder of Indian journalist Chaitali Santra and called for an investigation into her killing.

Radical Islamists who seized northern Mali earlier this year are maintaining their control through fear and drug money, imposing an extremist version of Muslim Sharia law and restrictions that target women in particular, a top United Nations human rights official said today.

Almost 870 million people, or one in eight, are suffering from chronic malnutrition, according to a new United Nations report released today, which shows a sharp decline in the number of undernourished people over the past two decades, but warns that immediate action is still needed to tackle hunger particularly in developing countries.

Six people died and 10 are still missing after a small vessel carrying 24 people capsized on Monday morning off the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

The United Nations global post agency, the world’s second oldest international body created at a time when the postage stamp was at the cutting edge of communications innovation 70 years before the UN itself was founded, marked World Post Day today with a pledge to fully embrace the digital age with logistical and financial services.

A new global initiative ensuring the social protection of the world’s poorest people is a growing necessity, two United Nations independent experts said today, noting that without such a programme, chronic unemployment, food insecurity, and natural disasters would pose continuous impediments to those seeking to emerge from poverty.

Concluding a four-day visit to Mali, a top United Nations human rights official today cited ongoing abuses in the northern part of the country, and highlighted the plight of women, whose rights have been particularly restricted.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi as his new Special Envoy for the Sahel region in West Africa.

The United Nations and its partners announced today that Pakistan has become the first country in South Asia to introduce a new vaccine that protects children from pneumonia, the leading killer of children worldwide.

Despite the impending drawdown of international forces and chronic challenges in governance and security, Afghanistan remains on the path to a hopeful future, the United Nations envoy to the country said today.