United Nations' poorly-funded aid operations received a boost on Friday when Valerie Amos, the UN's humanitarian chief, announced the allocation of $100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support relief work in twelve countries in need.
The vast majority of the money - around...
At least 35 people are reported killed after Syrian government warplanes bombarded areas outside Damascus late Friday, according to news reports citing activists of the Local Coordination Committees.
Other reports citing a Syrian monitoring group, said at least 42 people have been killed including...
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today urged the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to promptly conduct a thorough, independent investigation into any excessive force used by law enforcement authorities against demonstrators in Kinshasa and Goma.
The...
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday hailed the peace deal reached between opposition factions in South Sudan, and called for an immediate implementation of the accord. He also urged commitment from the country's leaders to follow through with ongoing negotiations towards a final agreement...
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia has died in a hospital, according to a Saudi state TV announcement in the early hours of Friday. King Abdullah was ailing from lung infection and acute pneumonia, and was hospitalized a few weeks ago. He was 90.
The Saudi state television also indicated...
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya - UNSMIL on Thursday condemned the reported armed attack against the country's Central Bank branch in the eastern city of Benghazi. The UNSMIL has also called for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate into the reported attack on the bank.
U.N....
The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged maximum restraint on all sides in the ongoing confrontation between demonstrators and security forces in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Meanwhile, the head of United Nations peacekeeping operations briefed the Security...
The U.S. has accused pro-Russian separatists of land grabbing in eastern Ukraine, even as foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany called for an immediate cessation to hostilities after talks in Berlin on the escalating situation.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the developments...
The United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) on Wednesday confirmed the use of force to repulse machine gun fire attack on its troops and the town inhabited by civilians in Tabankort, in the restive north of the country.
The attack was carried out with a heavy-vehicle mounted machine gun belonging...
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) on Wednesday hailed the launch of a new web-based platform that will provide global access to critical information on earthquakes and enable 'cutting-edge' risk assessment aimed at limiting the hazard of potentially devastating natural events.
Margareta...
Madagascar is in danger of losing the battle against a plague of locusts, as funding to continue efforts against widespread infestations is running out, the Food and Agriculture Organization said Wednesday. The locust attack puts about 13 million people at risk of food insecurity, the United Nations...
In a video posted over the Internet on Tuesday, the Islamic State militant group has demanded a ransom of US$200 million for the release of two Japanese hostages being held by them at an undisclosed location. Similar to the earlier videos of American and British captives who were killed subsequently,...
The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday, confirmed that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has established unlawful, 'shari'a courts' in the territory under its control and have been carrying out cruel and inhuman punishments against men, women and children.
At a briefing in...
Severe flooding in Malawi has displaced over 100,000 people and reportedly killed some 48 others, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday. United Nations agencies are gearing up for relief efforts in Malawi and neighboring Mozambique, where heavy rains...
Martin Kobler, head of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), has expressed 'full solidarity' and support for the country's Government in its continued fight against armed groups operating in the eastern part of its territory.
The top United Nations official...