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Ethiopia is experiencing its worst drought in 30 years according to the United Nations, with levels of acute need across all humanitarian sectors having already exceeded levels seen in the Horn of Africa drought of 2011, and which are projected to become far more severe in 2016.

Asia and the Pacific, the most disaster-prone region of the world, has been struck by 1,625 disasters during the last 10 years amounting to over 40 per cent of the global total, thereby calling for a collective political commitment from the regions' leaders to mitigate risks posed by disasters, according to a new United Nations report.

United Nations human rights expert Ben Emmerson today urged governments across the world to ensure that civil society be included in global, co-ordinated efforts to counter the spread of terrorism.

Applauding the decision by Member States to include gender equality as a key plank of the newly-adopted 2030 Agenda, a senior United Nations labour agency official has stressed the importance of empowering women in employment, salaries and the working environment, and urged governments to commit to this achievable, basic right.

The top UN official in Afghanistan has condemned the killing of two human rights workers today by a remote-controlled explosive device in the eastern city of Jalalabad, saying “the climate of fear created by such attacks, threatens vital human rights work” being carried out throughout the country.

The United Nations mission in Mali has condemned the explosion of a mine or an explosive device in the Kidal region of the country Saturday, killing three civilians and wounding two peacekeepers.

United Nations agencies are mobilizing and stand ready to support Government-led relief operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, adding that his thoughts are with the people of the two countries after a powerful earthquake struck Badakshan province in Afghanistan.

Earth has just had the hottest January-September on record, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today, adding that the average air and sea temperatures in September logged the greatest rise above monthly average in the 136-year historical record.

As European leaders met this week to hammer out a 17-point plan of action on the Western Balkans migration route for refugees and migrants fleeing Syria and other strife-torn regions, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees commended the fact that a consensus had been reached.

After reports of alleged violations and abuses of human rights committed by both parties to the conflict in South Sudan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is deploying a 10-member mission to the country to assess the situation.