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A recap of Thursday’s top stories: Guterres in Turkey underscores successes of mediation; 45 million lack food across Southern Africa; rights experts push to release Palestinian hunger striker; new UN health report targets causes of urban deaths; Climate change conference finds a new home; Iraq protests put country at ‘a crossroads’

Mediation is “one of our most important tools to reduce and end conflict”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the sixth Istanbul Mediation Conference, in Turkey's largest city on Thursday.

A recap of Wednesday’s stories: new Syria talks begin in Geneva; Chile pulls out as host of major climate conference; UN calls for national talks to break cycle of violence in Iraq; UN chief voices ‘serious concern’ over Guinea-Bissau political crisis; IOM suspends South Sudan Ebola screening; UN atomic watchdog appoints new leader.

Work on drafting a new foundational text for war-torn Syria officially began at the UN in Geneva on Wednesday with representatives from the Syrian Government and opposition sitting face to face and preparing to discuss the country’s future for the first time in the nearly nine-year conflict.

A recap of Tuesday’s top stories: ‘Real change’ too slow for women’s peace and security role; UN rights chief urges India to ‘unlock’ Kashmir restrictions; UN chief welcomes milestone Syria constitution meeting.

The world’s mountain and glacier regions are facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change, imposing a crippling effect on the people and economies that rely on them, the UN’s weather agency explained on Tuesday, ahead of a summit to address the world’s rapidly-changing water systems.  

A recap of Monday’s top stories: ‘Multi-generational tragedy’ in Israel and Palestine demands viable two-State solution; gender gap persists in Latin America’s workforce; Syria envoy urges prisoner release ahead of talks in Geneva; Egypt urged to end repression of protesters and rights defenders; future of digital communications discussed at  world conference. 

More women are entering the workforce across Latin America, with an increase in 11 per cent in the last 30 years, putting the region ahead of the curve when it comes to growth in female labour force participation, according to new data published by the United Nations on Monday. 

Pervasive deteriorating facts on the ground in Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “are pushing us every further” from achieving a viable two-State solution, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council on Monday.

On Sunday, marking the annual World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, the United Nations recognized the hard work of thousands of preservation experts, from librarians to archivists and caretakers, whose knowledge and devotion is helping ensure the world does not lose valuable history written on film, and in radio and television.