The United Nations Singers celebrate their 70th anniversary with a special concert in New York on Friday. Just a few weeks ago, the choral group – formally known as the UN Staff Recreation Council Singers – took a message of peace from the UN Secretary-General to an international choir festival in the heart of Germany. [...]

Children increasingly bear brunt of CAR violence amid mass displacement Horrific and deadly acts of violence against babies and children have been reported in the Central African Republic (CAR), where fighting has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes in recent months. The warning follows months of renewed conflict involving armed groups in [...]

Skyrocketing humanitarian needs are behind a 140 per cent "spike" in the cost of getting food to vulnerable communities, many of which need more help from their own countries, the UN said on Thursday. The World Food Programme (WFP), it spent US$ 5.3 billion in 2015, whereas seven years earlier, its outlay was US$2.2 billion. [...]

UN Coordinator "deeply concerned" over "surge" in Jerusalem tensions The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said on Thursday he was "deeply concerned" by rising tensions around the holy sites of Jerusalem's Old City. Nickolay Mladenov issued a statement welcoming the commitment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "uphold and respect [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Dianne Penn and Matt Wells. In today’s programme: progress in the fight against HIV, but children still at risk; and: drought in North Korea is affecting food production.

Women and children plead for peace in South Sudan 'ghost town' Women and children are urging authorities in South Sudan to restore peace in the town of Yei. Violence between Government and opposition forces which erupted last year has forced thousands to flee. Yei was once the country's breadbasket but it is practically a ghost [...]

A key milestone has been reached in the fight against HIV, according to UN health experts, who say that more than half of all sufferers now have access to treatment. The announcement from the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) accompanies new data showing that an estimated 37 million people had human immunodeficiency virus in [...]

Food production in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been severely damaged by the worst drought in the country since 2001, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Thursday. Rainfall in key crop-producing areas was well below average from April through June, disrupting planting and damaging crops including staples such as [...]

South Sudan "status quo is unacceptable and unsustainable": UN The status quo for South Sudan's war-ravaged population "is unacceptable and unsustainable," said the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, briefing the Security Council on Thursday. El Ghassim Wane said the peace process faced numerous challenges that must be overcome if the country is to make [...]

In order to meet the challenges of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India should prioritize women's empowerment and education. That's the view of UN Resident Coordinator based in Delhi, Yuri Afanasiev, who's been at UN Headquarters this week attending the High-Level Political Forum which is reviewing progress made so far on the SDGs. He [...]