Latest News

Newly arrived Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad report that marauding militia groups continue to kill, burn, loot and empty entire villages in the Darfur region of western Sudan in a conflict that has sent some 95,000 people fleeing across the border since early last year, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has condemned the killing of five journalists in recent weeks and deplored the fact that more reporters were killed in the line of duty in 2003 than in any year since 1995.

Securing adequate funding for disarmament campaigns in post-conflict areas remains a key concern in dealing with the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today.

A Dutch team from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has rescued 265 Liberian refugees who were returning from Ghana when their ship's engine failed and they became stranded at sea.

With the Security Council stressing the importance of bolstering the army and police forces of Sierra Leone, the United Nations peacekeeping mission there carried out a joint exercise with the country's armed forces today.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan may recommend that the Security Council send a full peacekeeping force to Côte d'Ivoire, but only if the parties carry out their existing peace agreement, maintain a unitary government and disband disruptive militant groups, according to a document published today.

With 19 million workers jobless in Latin America's cities and unemployment hovering at above 10 per cent despite a modest economic recovery in 2003, the United Nations labour agency today called for a reorientation of economic priorities and a more equitable globalization process.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed two new cases of poliovirus in Benin and Cameroon - countries where the disease had previously been eradicated.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan met in New York today with coalition representatives in preparation for 19 January talks on the future role of the United Nations in the country.

With smoking set to continue declining in developed countries while rising in poorer States, world tobacco demand is expected to increase until the year 2010 due to population and income growth, but at lower rates than in the past, according to a new United Nations study published today.