UN "alarmed" as dozens reported dead in heavy fighting around Syrian village The UN said on Thursday it was alarmed at reports of dozens of deaths during heavy fighting in Syria, in and around the village of Aqareb. News reports suggest that the fighting occurred between ISIL extremists and the Syrian army together with allied [...]

A race against the clock has begun to contain an outbreak of Ebola in a remote northern area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the border with the Central African Republic, the World Health Organization has announced. Twenty cases of Ebola have been reported, two have been confirmed by laboratory tests and [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Jocelyne Sambira and Matthew Wells. In today's programme: Google Ex and other major corporations are at the UN brainstorming on how technology can help advance the sustainable development goals; and a group of UN workers are calling for violence and abuse against [...]

A comprehensive review of the state of the world's health shows progress for many people in recent years, but plenty of challenges too, if Member States are to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. That's according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report, published on Wednesday. Among its findings, it shows that although many [...]

Somali drought "tragedy continues to unfold" Somalia's severe drought which is affecting more than six million people is a tragedy that "continues to unfold" according to a senior UN official in the country, briefing the Security Council on Wednesday. Deputy Special Representative Raisedon Zenenga, said that the humanitarian crisis has deteriorated more rapidly than originally [...]

  One in three young Europeans now obese: WHO One in every three young Europeans is overweight or obese, with the highest rates found in southern and Mediterranean countries. That's the key finding of the World Health Organization's latest study on childhood obesity across the continent, using data from between 2002 and 2014. It finds [...]

Violence and abuse against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI) has to stop, including in the workplace, UN staff said on Wednesday. UN-GLOBE, the group representing the organization's LGBTI workers, made the appeal on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT). The day is held on 17 May to commemorate the World [...]

From drones dropping food and medicines, to handheld devices that can diagnose Ebola with a drop of blood – the latest technological advances are converging to make the "unthinkable happen." To discuss this and more, the UN invited leading innovators, thought leaders and heads of tech companies to discuss how to successfully achieve the sustainable [...]

The emergence of a new nationalism in some Western countries, can be linked to the general feeling that they're losing "influence and hegemony" in the world, according to the CEO of a think tank called Global Compass. Jean Christophe Bas made the remarks after moderating a panel discussion on the global rise of populism and [...]

Afghanistan’s southern provinces have suffered some of the deadliest fighting in the country for the past 10 years, leaving behind damaged infrastructure and displacing thousands of families, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA. The Mission has been working with local media outlets to build support for Afghan-led peace and reconciliation efforts. Last [...]