While commending efforts by the French government to combat terrorism, a United Nations rights expert has raised concerns about the effect recent counter-terrorism laws are having on fundamental human rights there, including freedom of movement, religion and association.

Praising efforts by African countries to alleviate poverty and build more stable societies, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres pledged his on-going support for ending conflict and building peace across the continent.

The escape of three patients infected with the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from the hospital where they were being treated is “not unexpected”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, underlining the need to step up efforts to explain the dangers of the deadly disease to affected communities.

Following a series of armed attacks on camps hosting displaced Sudanese in central Darfur, the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission there has urged all parties to respect designated humanitarian areas, which it says should be free of weapons, threats, and violence.

An escalation in fighting, increasing obstacles to aid delivery and lack of food and fuel, is compounding Yemen’s dire humanitarian crisis, the United Nations top relief official warned on Thursday, calling on all parties to the conflict to end the violence.

A group of international experts has been tasked with helping the planet to better prepare for outbreaks, pandemics and other emergencies that have an impact on health.