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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his alarm at the escalation of violence in Syria, which has reportedly claimed at least 70 lives over the past week alone, and called for independent and transparent investigations into all the killings.

The United Nations envoy for Somalia has proposed the setting up of benchmarks and a monitoring mechanism to encourage the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFI) to abide by obligations requiring them to prepare the country for a new political phase beyond August, when the current interim arrangement expires.

An independent United Nations expert on freedom of expression today warned that governments are increasingly restricting the flow of information on the Internet due to its potential to mobilize people to challenge the status quo.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the appointment of Chinese singer Peng Liyuan as Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Serbian war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic today appeared before the United Nations tribunal trying those responsible for the worst crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s but did not enter a plea on what he called the “monstrous” charges levelled against him.

The Security Council today demanded that the Government of Sudan withdraw immediately from Abyei, the disputed area which is contested by both north and south Sudan.

An initiative that has made hotels in Slovenia more accessible for people with disabilities and a project in Australia that allows people to volunteer to protect biodiversity are among the winners of United Nations awards aimed at encouraging innovation in tourism.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the reinstatement of Honduras into the Organization of American States (OAS), which had expelled the Central American nation two years ago after a military coup d’état ousted former president Manuel Zelaya.

The head of the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend press freedom has condemned the murder of Venezuelan newspaper columnist Wilfred Iván Ojeda, and urged authorities to investigate the crime.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has draw attention to what it describes as grave violations of children’s rights that are taking place every day in Somalia, which has been wracked by factional warfare since the collapse of the government 20 years ago.