The return of displaced people to their homes in Wau in north-western South Sudan could provide a "model" for other parts of the country, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has said. David Shearer was speaking on a visit to the town which is hosting over 40,000 people who have [...]

The Under-Secretary-General of the newly created United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office believes that "geographical balance and gender equality are pre-requisites for the success of the unit". Vladimir Voronkov was appointed by the UN Secretary General António Guterres in June, after the General Assembly approved the establishment of a new office to help Member States implement the [...]

Listen to our daily bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, presented by Matt Wells. In today’s programme: the UN migration agency in Bangladesh tells us the flow of desperate refugees across the border with Myanmar is “unprecedented”; and we’ve an interview with the new President of the General Assembly who says he’s [...]

Myanmar refugee exodus reaches “unprecedented” levels More than 370,000 refugees have now arrived in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar in recent days, the UN said on Tuesday. Jean Lieby – Chief Child Protection officer for UNICEF in the country – said that 60 per cent of the arrivals are children. Many have arrived [...]

The flow of desperate Rohingya refugees fleeing across the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh is "unprecedented in terms of volume and speed". That's the assessment of the Asia-Pacific Spokesperson for the UN migration agency, IOM, Chris Lom, who is on the ground in the Bangladeshi border town of Cox's Bazar. He said both the government [...]

Aid distribution hub established on Antigua for Irma victims A new operational hub for distributing emergency aid to victims of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean has been established on the island of Antigua, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Tuesday. Irma decimated many islands in the region as it barrelled west towards Florida, including [...]

Building the cities of the future is going to involve "collaborative effort," requiring good leadership and realistic expectations. That's the view of Deputy Executive Director of the UN urban agency UN-Habitat, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, who was the mayor of Rwanda's capital, Kigali, for five years, up to 2011. She is a senior member of the [...]

UN chief saddened by loss of life due to Mexico earthquake The UN chief António Guterres has offered his condolences to the government and people of Mexico following a deadly earthquake that struck the provinces of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco, during the night of 7 September. Latest news reports and government figures suggest that more [...]

Listen to our daily bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, presented by Matt Wells. In today's programme: the exodus of Rohingyas from northern Mynamar appear to be a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" says the UN Human Rights chief. We've a full report from Geneva; and building the cities of the future is [...]

Myanmar violence "putting all civilians at risk" Violence in the northern part of Rakhine State in Myanmar which has driven more than 300,000 mainly Muslim Rohingya across the border with Bangladesh, is "putting all civilians at risk" said the UN on Monday. Humanitarian activities in Rakhine have been either suspended or severely interrupted, resulting in [...]