Tanzania has submitted an application to add 150 miles to the 200 miles of the area that is under its control in the ocean.
Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, a coastal state is entitled to make such a claim in order to exploit natural resources including fish, minerals and off-shore oil reserves.
Tanzania’s submission was presented by Anna Tibaijuka, Tanzania’s Minister of Land, Housing and Human Settlement.
An explosion at a refugee camp in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Thursday has killed up to 7 people according to initial reports.
The blast came just hours after the UN had escorted a group of local and foreign journalists to view a feeding centre there.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility.
Dianne Penn spoke to Ari Gaitanis from the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) who accompanied the journalists.
Duration: 2’19
The international community is making progress on protecting people from genocide and other crimes.
That’s according to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect.
Edward Luck says the agreement signed by heads of state and government in 2005 has made a difference.
Daniel Dickinson has been talking to Mr Luck about the responsibility states have towards protecting their citizens.
Duration: 3'17
An increasing amount of economic data is being published which is showing that economic global recovery is faltering at least in the developed world.
On Wednesday the World Bank lowered its growth forecast for 2012 to 5.4 percent for developing countries and 1.4 percent for high-income countries.
The International Monetary Fund is predicting strong growth this year but says there are risks.
Scholars, policy makers and former United Nations officials are gathering in London on Wednesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Declaration by United Nations.
The declaration in January 1942 was agreed by 26 nations which fought against Germany, Italy and Japan during the Second World War.
It called for an end to totalitarianism and military regimes.
The term United Nations was actually used by United States President Franklin Roosevelt during the war to refer to the allies that were fighting the axis powers.
People who gather in large crowds run a higher risk of catching communicable diseases, especially if that crowd is made up of people from different countries or cultures.
The UN’s World Health Organization says these so-called “mass gatherings” can pose a risk to the health of a country….depending on what surge capacity the country has; in other words how well it can respond to a sudden outbreak of a disease.
Patrick Maigua has been speaking to Dr Maurizio Barbeschi from WHO about how these risks can be managed.
Africa’s economy continues to grow strongly defying the global trend according to a United Nations economic report.
The World Economic Situation and Prospects report for 2012 is forecasting up to six percent growth across the continent over the coming year, much better than countries in the developed world.
Breaking the silence surrounding the issue of violence against women has been one of the greatest achievements of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.
That’s according to the President of the grant-making body, Meryem Aslan.
According to the UN, one out of three women globally has suffered violence at least once in her lifetime.
Ms. Alsan speaks about the efforts led by the Fund since 1996 to free the world from this form of violence.
Duration: 3'57"
The creation of jobs in Haiti is being seen as a key element in the recovery of the Caribbean island, two years after it was devastated by an earthquake.
Over 200,000 people were killed when the earthquake struck on January 12th 2010.
The United Nations supported Haiti through the immediate crisis and the reconstruction that followed.
And as Donn Bobb reports, attention is now focused on long-term economic recovery.
Duration: 2’23”
China has reported that a man has died after contracting bird flu also known as the H5N1 virus.
