An orchestra of volunteer musicians is preparing for its biggest performance yet…in front of an audience of 4,000 people which is set to include UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Founded and directed by professional conductor Antoine Marguier, the United Nations Orchestra will also be hoping to fulfil another mission, namely raising funds for vital humanitarian work. [...]

  100,000 people trapped and in South Sudan town In South Sudan, a humanitarian and security alert has been issued for 100,000 people trapped in the town of Yei, which has until now been largely spared from an upsurge in fighting. According to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, deadly and direct attacks on civilians and [...]

Around 27,000 lives have been saved in the past two years by a charity set up by one American family who felt a "call to action" to help refugees and migrants. That's according to Christopher Catrambone, founder of Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) who was at UN Headquarters in New York this month, taking part [...]

It's been a little over a decade since the UN Human Rights Council started work to address abuse wherever it is reported and push for accountability against perpetrators of such violations. On Friday, Member States agreed to set up a high-level Commission of Inquiry probe into Burundi, where there's ongoing violence linked to President Pierre [...]

Negative attitudes about ageing can reduce an older person's lifespan by more than seven years, according to research cited by the World Health Organization (WHO). Ahead of the International Day of Older Persons, observed this Saturday, the UN agency is urging people across the globe to take a stand against stereotyping or discriminating against older [...]

A mother who tried to stab her one-month old baby to death in Aleppo, Syria has told the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) that she did so because heaven would be better than the hell her daughter is living in. The more than five year civil war in Syria has intensified in recent weeks following the [...]

"A green oasis in the middle of a desert". That's how the mayor of Riyadh described his city, at a new exhibition at the UN this week, which revealed new perspectives on the Saudi capital's past, present and future. Mayor Ibrahim Al-Sultan attended the launch of A Day in Riyadh; a 4-day-long installation showcasing the [...]

  UN inquiry launched to investigate Syria aid convoy attack An investigation has been launched by the UN into a recent attack on an aid convoy in Syria travelling west of Aleppo city. A Syrian Red Crescent convoy carrying UN emergency aid was attacked on 19 September by an airstrike in the town of Urem [...]

Women's economic empowerment is "uniquely important": UN chief Women's economic empowerment is a "uniquely important" way to give women more control over their lives and promote genuine equality. That's the view of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the launch of a High-Level Panel report on the issue. The UN chief set the panel up [...]

  Children's lives in northeast Nigeria "hanging by a thread": UNICEF The lives of children in northeast Nigeria are literally hanging by a thread, a senior UN official has warned Thursday. Since 2013, several states in the region have been wracked by violence as the government battles insurgents from the Boko Haram terrorist group. According [...]