Armed groups increasingly use water as "weapon of war" From Syria to Iraq and Gaza, water services are being deliberately attacked or used as leverage in negotiations, members of the UN Security Council have heard. The Council examined the role of water as a driver of conflict and the need to protect this essential resource [...]

Murder, abduction, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in Sudan's Darfur state happen on a regular basis, a protection officer with the UN-African Union Mission there or UNAMID has confirmed. The UN estimates that between 200,000 and 300,000 people have died in Darfur since the start of the current conflict in 2004. [...]

How can the United Nations ensure its historic library meets the demands of the digital age while still maintain its collection of books? That's the question Mereani Vakasisikakala, Acting Chief of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library at UN Headquarters in New York, has been battling with. The library has been providing research and information services to [...]

Space-based technologies such as satellite imagery and data can be useful tools for achieving global development objectives. That's according to the head of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Simonetta Di Pippo. More than 100 representatives from the global space community, including heads of national space agencies, have been meeting in Dubai to [...]

Safety nets need to be provided for the elderly, the disabled and the poorest in Ukraine, the head of the UN refugee agency chief, Filippo Grandi has urged. Two and a half years of conflict between Government forces and separatist rebels has displaced two million people and forced others to flee to neighbouring Russia. The [...]

  War-related trauma care established outside Iraqi city Two fully equipped medical facilities to treat people with war-related traumas are being set up by the World Health Organization (WHO) outside the city of Mosul in Iraq. The military operation to retake the city from extremists began a month ago. WHO anticipates that around 40,000 civilians [...]

AU-led peace operations need "predictable and sustainable" financing "Predictable and sustainable" financing is needed to sustain African Union-led peace operations over the long term, the UN Security Council has heard. That was the clear message conveyed to the council by Ambassador Tete Antonio, Permanent Observer of the African Union or AU. The UN and AU [...]

Exposing young girls to science and maths might help end the "macho" culture in the tech industry, according to a senior executive with one of the world's biggest computer companies. Astrid Tuminez is a Regional Director for Microsoft in South-East Asia. She believes it would be a shame if one half of humanity were excluded [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Jocelyne Sambira and Daniel Dickinson. Today: Sudan guerrilla group signs dealt to end use of child soldiers And… space technology is contributing to the reconstruction of an iconic heritage site in Mali named Timbuktu.

What's been described as a "digital classroom in a box" could provide a much-needed boost to rural education across Africa. That's the hope of Alex Masika, Head of Business Development for a Kenyan technology company called BRCK, which unveiled its new product called the Kio Kit, at the recent ITU Telecom World conference, in Thailand. [...]