A major new report has revealed that the numbers of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people worldwide has soared to 50 million for the first time since World War II.

India will offload about a quarter of its rice stockpiles and ease restrictions on selling fruit and veggies as a weak monsoon threatens crop output.

The United Nations hasn't seen so much fun in ages.

Ex-Prime Minister Helen Clark says going for a seat on the UN Security Council is part of the responsibility of membership of the UN for countries like NZ.

Prime Minister John Key says he would support Helen Clark making a bid for United Nations Secretary-General if she put up her hand for the job.

Let's call them what they are: junkets, writes Toby Manhire. They might be effective, they might bring in crucial votes, but the whole approach leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.

Eleven UN ambassadors are being schmoozed in Queenstown in an attempt to win support for a New Zealand seat on the UN Security Council.

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.

Are we doing enough? As another report lays out the benefits of a green economy science reporter Jamie Morton looks at what we're doing to achieve it.

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.

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has been tipped as a possible candidate for the United Nations' top job, the UK's Guardian reports.