"Guns will not help" to bring peace in South Sudan; that's the view of one prominent elder in the world's newest nation. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 in a referendum in which almost 99 per cent of the population voted to secede. The most recent upsurge in fighting is just [...]

Hopes for upcoming UN-US-Russia talks on Syria in Geneva The office of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria has expressed hope that an upcoming meeting between Russia, the United States and the UN in Geneva could help kick-start a new round of peace talks between combatants. Jessy Chahine is spokesperson for UN Special Envoy [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Jocelyne Sambira and Matthew Wells. In today's programme: the threat of terrorism remains "persistent and credible" the head of the UN counter-terrorism arm warns; and, funds are urgently needed to help Iraqis who will likely be caught up in the battle to [...]

As the Iraqi army moves to retake the city of Mosul from the terrorist group ISIL, or Daesh, aid groups are preparing to assist as many as 1.5 million civilians who might be affected. However, the UN and partners say they urgently need more than US$280 million for the operation, and they warn that time [...]

Income inequality and unemployment in South Africa remains the highest in the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has found. South Africa faces significant challenges and needs decisive action to revive growth, the agency said in its latest economic review. However, the report also acknowledges considerable economic and social progress made by Africa's largest economy [...]

A bid to improve the lives of billions of people in cities by using Information Communication Technology (ICT) to maximum effect is under way at the UN. The focus on so-called "smart cities" involves 56 cities in Europe, Central Asia and North America. UN agencies UNECE and ITU are behind the initiative, and they say [...]

Over 6.5 million people in Malawi in need of emergency food aid  The largest ever emergency food relief operation in Malawi's history has kicked off this week, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). More than 6.5 million people are facing hunger because of a drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. The food [...]

10,000 Kenyan female entrepreneurs connected to global market An initiative which is aiming to connect 10,000 Kenyan women involved in running businesses to global markets, will empower women across the world, according to one of the entrepreneurs who has joined the network. The SheTrades network which is backed by the UN's International Trade Center provides [...]

Impact of Syria war on children "monstrous and brutal" The impact of the war in Syria is becoming more "brutal and monstrous" on children, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said. More than 20 young people reportedly died in air strikes in the north of the country in Man-bij, 80 kilometres to the east of [...]

  First six months of 2016, hottest ever recorded The first six months of 2016 have been the hottest ever recorded, making it likely that the year overall will be a record-breaker. That's according to the latest data released on Thursday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). WMO Secretary-General said that "decades-long trends of climate [...]