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With tobacco killing 4.9 million people each year, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has called for extra measures going beyond those required by the new tobacco control treaty unanimously adopted by the 192-member agency in May, including increased taxes.

A major threat to food production in northern Afghanistan has been averted thanks to a successful locust control campaign coordinated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the face of the worst outbreak in living memory, the agency reported today.

The United Nations police force in Kosovo suffered its first fatal attack last night when an officer was shot and killed in a sniper ambush while driving towards the former flashpoint town of Mitrovica in what the top UN envoy in the area called a “despicable” and “repugnant” act of murder.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced its new advocacy partnership with the biggest international rugby competition to draw attention to the plight of 800 million people around the globe impacted by chronic hunger.

The United Nations environmental agency today called for urgent action to map and protect the world's wild forests following an “ecological disaster” in Chile, where forests made famous by a television series have been almost destroyed by fire, killing monkey puzzle trees dating from the days of Jesus Christ.

The new Secretary-General of the United Nations civil aviation agency, Taïeb Chérif of Algeria, has assumed office bringing over 30 years of commercial airline experience to the position.

The United Nations Security Council today renewed for six months authorization given to States participating in the West African and French forces policing a peace agreement in Côte d’Ivoire.

Continuing his tour of neighbouring countries to drum up support for the political, humanitarian and economic reconstruction of Iraq, top United Nations envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello held long and “very productive” talks in Ankara today with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.

In a bid to fight the most preventable cause of death among children in Afghanistan, the country’s government, with support from two United Nations agencies, successfully vaccinated more than 5 million children during a recent month-long campaign.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone has released the body of former rebel leader and indicted war criminal Foday Sankoh to members of his family, after first performing an autopsy to determine his cause of death.