UN News Centre

Five United Nations peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali earlier today, with another &#39blue helmet&#39 seriously injured, according to preliminary information reported by the country&#39s UN mission, which deplored the &#8220heinous act of terrorism&#8221 as all the more shocking because it occurred on the day set aside for the global community to honour UN peacekeepers.

Against the backdrop of the Taebaek Mountains, the United Nations flag was raised alongside that of the Republic of Korea today, ahead of the sixty-sixth Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organizations Conference beginning in Gyeongju to focus on education in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today praised the &#8220invaluable partnership&#8221 between Rotary International and the United Nations, telling delegates gathered in Seoul, Korea, for the organization&#39s annual international conference that Rotarians had been instrumental in working with the UN to defeat polio.

With unprecedented opportunities ahead to enhance the work of the United Nations, as well as that of the wider multilateral system, UN Member States have before them a straightforward &#8220but not easy&#8221 road, the President of the General Assembly said today, starting by working harder to make their societies, their economies and their politics more inclusive and more sustainable.

More than two dozen journalists from the world&#39s least developed countries are in Antalya, Turkey, to report on a United Nations conference focused on the state of their homelands, and to ensure that key messages are disseminated as widely as possible thanks to their local news outlets.

Ahead of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers &#8211 celebrated annually on 29 May &#8211 the UN Postal Administration (UNPA) today announced the issuance of a set of six new stamps for the occasion.

The United Nations Security Council today approved a two-month extension of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), allowing adequate time for the 15-member body to consider the outcome of its recently-concluded visit to the Horn of Africa country.

Dr. Catherine Buzmion-Cheong, a United Nations peacekeeper, was working in Liberia when the first case of Ebola was confirmed in the West African nation.

As the week-long annual session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) came to a close in Vienna today, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted that bonds had been strengthened between efforts in crime prevention and criminal justice and work undertaken to promote sustainable development.

In the wake of protests in Guinea-Bissau, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged all political stakeholders and their supporters to act responsibly, refrain from violence and avoid an escalation of the situation by settling their concerns through dialogue.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the meetings of the political dialogue for Burundi, held in Arusha, from 21 to 24 May under the auspices of the Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC), Benjamin William Mkapa, former President of Tanzania.

“Seriously concerned” by what it termed sub-standard conditions at several sites in northern Greece where refugees and migrants were evacuated this week from the makeshift site at Idomeni, the United Nations refugee agency today urged the Greek authorities, with the financial support provided by the European Union (EU), to quickly find better alternatives.

Addressing world leaders at an event on the side lines of the G-7 meeting currently under way in Nagoya, Japan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the gathering to remain focused on key UN and global priorities: climate change; humanitarian action, refugees and migrants; global health; and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Some 31 natural and cultural World Heritage sites in 29 countries across the world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new report released by the United Nations has found.

The United Nations refugee agency said today that it is delivering emergency relief supplies to families who managed to escape the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah over the past few days.

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in South Sudan said today it will receive 37 new explosive detection dogs as part of an increase in the presence of such dogs throughout the country.

Following a visit to Hatay in southern Turkey, the top United Nations humanitarian official has called for greater assistance for Syrians in need, both inside the country and across the region, warning that the humanitarian situation for millions of people remains “unrelentingly distressing and dire.”

A United Nations conference focused on the world&#39s least developed countries (LDCs) kicked-off today in Antalya, Turkey, to assess these 48 States&#39 progress over the past five years, and to find ways of accelerating their path towards sustainable development.

The United Nations human rights office today said it is disturbed by the severe financial crisis the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is facing, warning that the Commission&#39s capacity to respond to victims of rights violations across the Americas may be seriously diminished if it doesn&#39t receive the necessary funding in the coming weeks.

At a meeting today in the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, senior UN officials stressed that climate change plays a direct role in the region’s security, development and stability by increasing drought and fuelling conflict.