Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Ana Carmo and Jocelyne Sambira. In today’s programme: portraits of refugees displayed at the UN in Geneva capture the human face of the crisis; and UN peacekeepers provide a "sense of security" in South Sudan refugee settlements.

World hunger on rise again, reversing years of progress: FAO World hunger is on the rise again reversing years of progress, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, has said. José Graziano da Silva made the announcement at the opening of the agency's biennial conference on Monday. Almost 60 per cent of people [...]

Human-trafficking is on the rise in Libya but too little is being done to shut down the multi-million dollar criminal industry, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Monday. With data showing that the number of people arriving in Europe from the North African state continues to rise, the agency has called for action against [...]

A "clear understanding" has emerged of what is needed for a comprehesive settlement in Cyprus, according to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres. He met with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities and their backers at the Conference on Cyprus in Switzerland on Saturday. The ongoing meeting in the Swiss resort of [...]

Schoolgirls from South Sudan are learning gymnastics to help them release stress and heal from war-related trauma, according to the UN Mission in the country, UNMISS. The Mission's Civil Affairs Division has teamed up with a local non-governmental organisation, Spring of Peace, to use sport to promote peace and unity among various ethnicities in Yei [...]

A ban on all nuclear testing would send a "clear message" that the international community is determined to achieve a nuclear-free world. That's what José Luis Cancela, Uruguay's vice minister of foreign affairs, said during the Science and Technology Conference 2017 in Vienna, Austria. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibits all nuclear explosions, was adopted [...]

Families unite in appeal to find Kosovo’s missing persons Relatives of those who went missing in the Kosovo conflict have called on their governments and the international community to take "full responsibility" to find their loved ones. The joint message was delivered on Friday by Bajram Qerkinaj, on behalf of ethnic Albanian and ethnic Serb [...]

Women are being urged by a UN independent expert to "open their eyes" and form a "real sisterhood" to counter the "alarming backlash" against women's rights underway in many parts of the world. Alda Facio, Chairperson of the Working Group on the Issue of Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice made the remarks [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Jocelyne Sambira and Dianne Penn. In today's programme: the UN nuclear test ban treaty needs to be enforced, says Uruguay's vice minister of foreign affairs; and women are being urged to form a sisterhood as the battle over their rights intensifies.

  Security concerns still to be overcome at Cyprus talks Efforts to reunite Cyprus have "overcome significant challenges" but "a lot of work" still needs to be done before a deal can be reached, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday. Mr Guterres was speaking during talks underway in Switzerland involving the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot [...]