People continue to flee fighting in west Mosul: UN Humanitarian workers continue to respond to rising casualties and displacement in west Mosul because of ongoing fighting between government forces and ISIL terrorists in the area, the UN Spokesperson has confirmed. Quoting colleagues on the ground, Stéphane Dujarric provided an update on the situation of families [...]

Today's peacekeeping budget is less than one half of one percent of global military spending, the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday. António Guterres made the remarks during a Security Council review of UN peacekeeping operations or DPKO. Fifty-four peace missions have completed their mandates and closed; the missions in Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti will do [...]

So-called amphibious homes, which can rise up along with floodwater, provide a cost-effective way of protecting the "resilience of existing communities." That's according to the head of the Buoyant Foundation Project, Elizabeth English, who is based in the architecture school at the University of Waterloo in Canada. She presented her latest field projects as part [...]

Countries worldwide are on an "unceasing march" towards a clean energy future, according to a senior official with the UN Foundation. Peter Ogden is Vice President for Energy, Climate and the Environment at the Foundation, which works to broaden support for the UN. He was also the Director of International Climate Policy under former US [...]

  UN Mission in Iraq condemns suicide bombings in Tikrit The UN Special Envoy for Iraq, Ján Kubiš, has strongly condemned the multiple suicide attacks that took place in Tikrit, a city north of the capital Baghdad. According to media reports, 30 people were killed in Tuesday's explosions. The incident comes as Iraqi Security forces [...]

Medical staff and facilities in Syria's Idlib governorate are "overwhelmed" and short of lifesaving medicines after a deadly suspected chemical attack, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. More than 70 people reportedly died in the attack on Khan Shaykun and hundreds more have been affected, many of them women and children. WHO spokesperson [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Dianne Penn and Jocelyne Sambira. In today’s programme alleged chemical attack overwhelms Syria medical staff; and Piracy off Somalia is still a concern, the UN crime-fighting body warns.

Investigations continue into a suspected chemical attack in Syria which killed scores of civilians, the Security Council heard on Wednesday. UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-Soo informed ambassadors of steps being taken by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Dianne Penn reports. Duration: 3’56″  

Recent attacks on commercial vessels off Somalia indicate that the issue of piracy has never gone away despite a five-year lull in activity. The warning comes from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) after three ships were hijacked or ambushed over the past month. Alan Cole heads UNODC's Maritime Crime Programme which is [...]

"War crimes are going on in Syria" UN chief warns War crimes are going on in Syria, and international humanitarian law continues to be violated frequently, the UN Secretary-General has warned. António Guterres made the remarks to participants at the Brussels Conference on support to Syrians and the region. As conflict lines shift, he said, [...]