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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was saddened to learn of the tragic fire that occurred at a nightclub in Brazil on Saturday night, which led to the death of hundreds of people.

A group of United Nations independent experts urged Iran to halt the execution of five activists belonging to the Ahwazi Arab minority, who were sentenced to death on charges of corruption, propaganda and “enmity against God.”

Spanish authorities must show leadership in the fight against racism and xenophobia in the country, an independent United Nations expert said today, adding that, against a backdrop of pervasive unemployment, the Government must ensure vulnerable groups such as immigrants are not blamed for the nation’s economic woes.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, praising regional and national leaders for striving to improve conditions for the people of Africa, urged the step-up of efforts to reach agreed development goals as he touched on a range of issues in Addis Ababa today.

Ahead of a major humanitarian pledging conference for Syria, a senior United Nations relief official today urged greater funding to assist millions of people in need amid a deteriorating situation inside the country and a particularly harsh winter in the region.

Ambassador Néstor Osorio of Colombia was elected today to serve as President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), marking the annual handover of leadership for one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and the main body tasked with confronting the world’s economic, social and environmental challenges.

The United Nations peacekeeping operation in South Sudan is sheltering around 2,500 people who fled an outbreak of violence over the weekend in the eastern town of Pibor, a spokesperson for the world body said today.

The story of an indigenous family in west-central Brazil which now uses clean, economical and green cook stoves provided through a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project is among 12 winners of an annual storytelling competition and featured in the second edition of a newspaper presented today by the agency.

The Americas along with Asia and the Pacific were found to be the most ‘open’ regions for tourists in terms of requiring a visa to visit their countries, while European destinations had higher visa restriction levels, according to a United Nations study released today.

Speaking at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the continent's leaders to boost efforts to lift millions out of poverty and end recurrent cycles of violence to accelerate development in the region.