General News

Finding a safe area in war-torn Gaza is becoming harder now that 44 per cent of the territory has been declared a no-go area by the Israeli army.

The Gaza Strip is just 45 kilometres long and 6 kilometres wide.

Ms Valerie Amos, the UN humanitarian chief confirmed during a briefing to the Security Council that over 440,000 Gazans are now displaced.

Jocelyne Sambira has more.

Duration: 2'25"

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa may be higher than reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) Spokesperson says.

Gregory Hartl told Patrick Maigua that one of the big challenges in this outbreak was tracking all the cases. A lot of cases may have not been reported or come through the health system.

So far WHO has recorded 728 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from the deadly disease. One death has been recorded in Nigeria.

Public emergencies have been declared in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Syrian refugees at a camp in northern Iraq are enjoying what have been described as “dignified shelters.”

The white, solid, rectangular shelters are replacing the fabric tents that are typically found in refugee camps across the world.

They’ve been developed by the Swedish retail giant, IKEA, in collaboration with the UN refugee Agency. As Warda Al Jawahiry reports from northern Iraq the shelters are already improving people’s lives, helping in one case a sick newborn child to survive.

Duration: 2'09"

A UN treaty to protect the rights of older people is being championed by a group that builds awareness on global ageing issues.

HelpAge International hopes that a UN panel on ageing, which is meeting in New York this week, will lead to the adoption of the treaty.

Kenneth Hemley, an activist with the group, told Anzhelika Devis that the rights of older people were being trampled on by neglect and abuse.

The exploitation of children in the worldwide tourism industry cannot be tolerated according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

In South East Asia where the tourism sector is continuing to grow, the organization is working to protect children from exploitation, trafficking and abuse.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating at a “rapid and terrifying” pace, according to Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

He told Patrick Maigua that a school sheltering civilians had come under fire killing many civilians, including children.

This is a “flagrant violation” of humanitarian law, Laerke said, adding that the parties to the conflict must stop the fighting and “put people first”.

Women are the most affected by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, according to Laurent Duvillier, Regional Communication Specialist for UNICEF’s West and Central Africa office.

He told that Anzhelika Devis that this is because many of the healthcare workers dealing with the epidemic on the ground are women.

Also, women are also most likely to look after family members at home who have contracted the disease.

The Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people.

Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles could become a common sight in humanitarian crises across Africa, if a United States-based scientist has her way.

Pia Zaragoza received funding from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to build a prototype model which could be built cheaply with a 3D printer.

The drone would enable emergency workers to operate more quickly and efficiently.

Daniel Dickinson asked her to explain how the drone works.

Duration: 3'02"

Over the past three years, Syria's civil war has left more then 130,000 dead and forced millions to flee to neighbouring countries like Jordan.

Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan has become home to thousands of Syrian women and adolescent girls who fled the violence in their homeland. In the midst of this catastrophe, one extraordinary woman remains focused on her work, changing lives for the better.

Francis Meade reports.

Duration: 3’02

Access is still restricted in many affected areas in the Gaza strip for relief workers trying to deliver living-saving support such as the evacuation of injured people and the distribution of food and water.

A humanitarian pause in the Gaza strip, largely observed on 26 July, has also allowed for utility workers to carry out basic maintenance and repairs as well as retrieve some of the dead.

Significant damages has been made to major infrastructure in the Gaza strip including water and electricity lines, sewage pump stations and storage facilities for food.