Two teenage cousins found hanging from a mango tree may in fact have been murdered in an honour killing by members of their own family.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is the 23rd most powerful woman in the world in Forbes magazine's annual list published overnight.

The spring rainy season had already brought death and destruction to northern Afghanistan.

Stephen Hawking explains why he believes Artificial-intelligence could be the worst thing the human race does to itself - and the last thing it does too.

Governments must switch from fossil fuels to nuclear, wind and solar energy to avoid a global warming catastrophe in a move costing about 300 billion ($578 billion) a year.

Twenty years ago this month, I arrived in Rwanda just days after about 800,000 people were slaughtered in a genocide.

A disease damaging banana crops in Southeast Asia has spread to the Middle East and Africa, posing risks to world supply and trade totalling $8.9b.

Businesses across Syria have been devastated by the destruction inflicted by the three-year civil war, and the economy could take 30 years to recover to its pre-conflict level, a United Nations survey warns.

As the world prepares to celebrate the International Day of Happiness today, Nasa bursts our bubble with a study which suggests we are on the brink of global collapse, writes Dana Wensley.

A disturbing video put out by Save The Children has shown what Syria's civil war and refugee crisis would look like if it was set in the West.

Former prime minister Helen Clark, whose Labour government froze relations with Israel in 2004, now hopes to strengthen United Nations-Israel ties.

The European Union has imposed its first sanctions against Ukraine, joining the United States in a two-pronged campaign of public pressure and backroom diplomacy.

New Zealand has agreed to take 100 refugees from Syria after the United Nations called on the international community for help.

Kiwis, regardless of political leanings, can applaud the fact that Helen Clark has been touted internationally as the next Secretary-General of the UN.

John Key says the Govt would throw its weight behind any bid by Helen Clark for the top job at the UN in 2016, but said it would be a tough ask for her to secure the post.

The United Nations has launched the biggest aid appeal in its history, calling for more than $7.9 billion to be dedicated to the crisis in Syria.

The UN Handbook - which the Govt calls a "valuable reference guide that helps all states to navigate the UN system" - has been turned from a 400-page tome into a mobile app by a Wellington tech firm.

Iran has struck a historic nuclear deal with the US and five other world powers, after more than three decades of estrangement,

An old rift between rich and poor has reopened in UN climate talks as developing countries look for ways to make developed countries accept responsibility for global warming - and pay for it.

An al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group has claimed responsibility for twin suicide attacks on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged governments to put forth more ambitious plans to cut carbon emissions, saying "current pledges are simply inadequate".

In the last of a three-part series, Young New Zealander of the Year and CEO of the Sustainable Coastlines Charitable Trust ,Sam Judd, discusses the United Nations Environment Programs’ Global Partnership on Marine Litter.