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The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom has condemned the murder earlier this month in Nepal of Uma Singh, a journalist and activist, characterizing the killing as “a blow to Nepalese society as a whole.”

Voicing relief at Israel’s unilateral decision to halt its 22-day military offensive in Gaza and Hamas’ announcement of a temporary ceasefire, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed his determination to do everything possible to assist Gazans and begin the reconstruction process.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, found today that the United States had breached its orders when Texas last year executed a Mexican national who had not been informed on arrest of his right to contact his consular representatives.

Hitting business in the developed world hardest, foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped by over 20 per cent last year and is projected to fall further in 2009, according to a new United Nations report which warned policy-makers to resist calls for more protectionism to aid recovery.

The top United Nations envoy in Iraq today condemned in the strongest terms the third assassination of a political figure in the country in the past three weeks, calling on the Government to guarantee safe and democratic campaign for provincial elections slated to be held at the end of this month.

The United Nations has already started assessing the devastating damage and relief needs in the Gaza Strip on the first full day of a truce in fighting between Israel and Hamas, with the overall bill possibly reaching billions of dollars, amid a feeling of “overwhelming grief” among the 1.5 million inhabitants there, senior officials said today.

The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today welcomed progress toward a key agreement between the Congolese Government, Rwanda and a rebel militia that last year launched a devastating offensive in the eastern region of the vast central African country.

A senior United Nations official today strongly condemned the increasing number of attacks using and targeting children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including both as victims and perpetrators of suicide bombings, which have been claimed by the Taliban and other armed groups.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have announced a $5 million donation for Zimbabwe’s besieged health sector to help it battle an out-of-control cholera epidemic and the effects of collapsing health services.

A United Nations-backed scheme aimed at reducing hunger and the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people in Kenya has brought hope to children from the ancestral homeland of United States President-Elect Barack Obama.