Syrians protest against Assad after Russia UN move
The recent killing of 27 soldiers by army deserters has raised the spectre of a slide into civil war
Displacement crisis threatens to overwhelm South Sudan
World's newest nation struggling to build up state institutions, end tribal and rebel violence, and provide basics to its people
2.7 million S.Sudanese to need food aid in 2012-U.N.
Africa's newest nation struggles to build up state institutions, end violence and overcome an economic crisis
U.N. calls for protecting gay rights worldwide
Violence against LGBT people tends to be especially vicious, with "a high degree of cruelty", first official U.N. report on the issue finds
Closing gender gap seen key in food security fight
Given help, smallholder farmers - many of them women - can also be "very effective as custodians of the environment", says UN official