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The death penalty has no place in the 21st century, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared today, calling on all States take concrete steps towards abolishing or no longer practicing this form of punishment.

Urging health authorities in West African countries affected by the largest Ebola outbreak in history to “leave no stone unturned” in their efforts to contain the spread of the deadly virus, a United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) official today underscored the critical need to engage community, religious and opinion leaders in the region to be at the forefront of the response.

The ongoing Pakistani military offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region has forced more than 75,000 people to flee their homes in the past two weeks, seeking shelter in neighbouring Afghanistan, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

Concerned by recent allegations against the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan’s Darfur region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a review of related investigations and reviews over the last two years to determine what, if any, corrective action needs to be taken.

Aiming to stem the tide of violent attacks and recrimination against Sri Lanka’s Muslim and Christian communities, a group of United Nations human rights experts called today on the Government to adopt urgent measures to stop the promotion of racial and faith-based hatred and end “the atmosphere of impunity” fuelling hate speech and violence by Buddhist extremists.

A newly issued United Nations-backed expert panel report takes a close look at where and how food waste occurs and recommends a number of actions that could help reduce the 1.3 billion tonnes of food that are squandered worldwide each year.

Amid reports of deliberate targeting of women and girls in Iraq, senior United Nations officials today voiced deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian and security situations in the country, where more than 1.2 million people have fled their homes in fear for their lives.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process have both condemned the murder of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem, and called on both Israelis and Palestinians to refrain from exacerbating an already tense situation.

To achieve a sustainable transition by 2050, when more than nine billion people will live on Earth, there needs to be significant adjustment to the current patterns of consumption and production, delegations heard today as a United Nations high-level political forum considered a new report aiming to lay the foundation for a new global sustainable development agenda.

The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, condemned today the killing of Russian television journalist Anatoli Klian, who was shot to death last night in crisis-torn eastern Ukraine.