Situation in Juba "calm but tense" with heavy military presence South Sudan's capital Juba remains "calm but tense", with heavy military presence on the streets, the UN Mission (UNMISS) in the country reports. Meanwhile, peacekeepers continue to carry out limited patrols in and around the protection of civilian sites (POC) and UN House. Some 33,000 [...]

Men and boys are being encouraged to "think differently" about gender relations in order to achieve full equality between the sexes. The call has been made by Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, who says gender equality is critical to realizing social and economic change, as well as sustainable peace following conflict. Pierre-Marc [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Dianne Penn and Jocelyne Sambira. In today's programme: Security Council action needed to permanently end South Sudan violence And, Jordan to open its border for aid delivery to 100,000 refugees  

Jordan is to open its border for an aid delivery to an estimated 100,000 stranded Syrian refugees, the World Food Programme (WFP) has confirmed. The border with Syria in the remote Ruqban area was closed in June after an attack claimed by the ISIL terrorist group. The WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin has been visiting [...]

Peace in South Sudan can only be salvaged through "a strong political and coordinated approach," UN peacekeeping chief HervĂŠ Ladsous told the Security Council on Wednesday. Deadly violence over the past week between rival forces in the capital, Juba, has killed hundreds of people, including two UN peacekeepers. South Sudan has only been independent since [...]

  Ending human rights abuses against LGBTI "great cause": UN chief Ending human rights abuses against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people is a "great cause", the UN Secretary-General has said. Ban Ki-moon spoke in a video message on Wednesday to participants of the Global LGBTI conference co-hosted by Uruguay and the Netherlands. [...]

The pressure of having more than a million refugees from Syria living in neighbouring Jordan has created a full-blown "development crisis" there. That's the view of Edward Kallon, UN Humanitarian Coordinator, and Resident Representative in Jordan for the UN Development Programme (UNDP). He said that public services such as health, sanitation, water and education are [...]

Iconic Mali towns join "most-at-risk" list In Mali, the iconic Old Towns of Djenné have been added to the list of world heritage sites in danger, UNESCO said Wednesday. The UN cultural agency said that the historic settlements, which date back to 250 BC, are at risk from ongoing insecurity in the sub-Saharan country. The [...]

  Famine could be "imminent" in north-eastern Nigeria Famine could be imminent in the worst affected areas in north-eastern Nigeria recent assessments by the UN and aid agencies have shown. Humanitarian convoys have uncovered alarming levels of malnutrition and famine-like conditions in Borno State, particularly in satellite camps, says OCHA, the UN's relief agency. These [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Daniel Dickinson and Jocelyne Sambira. In today's programme: a ceasefire appears to be holding in South Sudan…we hear from the streets of the capital Juba And, Candidates for UN chief face a "challenging" town hall meeting on Tuesday evening in New York