The World Food Programme estimates food insecurity in Yemen has reached alarming levels, with almost 5 million people unable to produce or buy the food they need. The Programme has increased its assistance to feed 3.6 million people in the wake of spikes in food prices and displacements of people fleeing conflict.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, has issued a statement saying that, as intense fighting continues in Syria, and people are caught up in the violence, it is increasingly vital that humanitarian organizations have unhindered access to identify urgent needs and provide emergency care and basic supplies.

This morning, the United Nations-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy, Kofi Annan, briefed the Security Council on his mission to Syria in closed session. Mr. Annan also briefed reporters in Geneva, which is available on the United Nations website as a webcast.

An immediate ceasefire was critical to solving the crisis in Syria, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) stressed at a Headquarters press conference today.

Just hours after the International Criminal Court delivered its first ever verdict — convicting former warlord Thomas Lubanga of conscripting child soldiers in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo — civil society actors at United Nations Headquarters hailed the decision as sending a powerful message that the Court “is a strong, credible institution delivering justice for victims”.

Asked today about developments in Syria, the Secretary-General called the issue his top priority. He said it was the international community’s moral and political responsibility to tackle the crisis. We have no time to waste, no time to lose; just one minute, one hour, delay will mean the death of more people, he said.

This morning the Security Council welcomed the appointment of the United Nations-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy, and expressed its full support for the efforts of the Envoy to bring an immediate end to all violence and human rights violations, secure humanitarian access, and facilitate a Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, plural political system.

With its “blue helmets” being called on to carry out increasingly challenging and complex peacekeeping missions, the United Nations was taking steps to bolster their ability to train national police officers, re-build security infrastructure and tackle organized crime in conflict-torn regions worldwide, the head of the Organization’s Police Division said this afternoon.

An integrated approach to water management was crucial in putting the world on the path to a sustainable future, experts said today at a Headquarters press conference to mark the occasion of World Water Day.

The Secretary-General arrived in Singapore from Malaysia just a couple of hours ago. Earlier in the day, he visited Kuala Lumpur's Institute of Respiratory Medicine to meet tuberculosis patients and help highlight Saturday's World Tuberculosis Day and this year's campaign to stop TB in our lifetime. He also delivered a speech at the Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations