General News

Thousands of poor farmers living on the slopes of East Mount Kenya depend on seasonal rains to water their crops.

The water situation in that area of the country has also been affected by decades of excessive logging which reduced forest cover and slowed water flow.

But now, a pilot project, supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is helping to keep water flowing.

One of the farmers benefiting from this is Christine Mugure Munene, as we hear in this report by James Heer of IFAD in Kenya.

Addressing the impact of human rights on business is the focus of a three-day meeting taking place in Geneva this week.

The first UN Forum on Business and Human Rights brings together representatives from multinational corporations and people from communities affected by their activities.

The aim is to assess implementation of global standards which prevent and address the risk of negative human rights impacts arising from business processes.

Dianne Penn reports.

Duration:  3'06"

The solution to global challenges such as poverty, climate change and food security is simple: invest in women.

That’s according to Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women.

Ms. Bachelet said if the world wants to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline, then investing in women is the right thing to do. She also called on men to become champions for women’s rights.

The situation in Syria is deteriorating on a daily basis, says Radhouane Nouicer of  OCHA, the UN humanitarian agency.

According to Mr. Nouicer, the Regional Coordinator for Syria, new methods to assist the Syrian population are required to reach as many people as possible.

A $1.3 billion humanitarian appeal for Somalia aims to respond to immediate humanitarian needs while enhancing resilience to drought, famine and other challenges.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Stefano Porreti launched the three-year appeal in the country’s capital, Mogadishu, on Tuesday, marking the first time this has happened in more than 20 years.

Government regulators from 193 countries will discuss updating the rules that regulate telecommunications at a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union in Dubai.

Gerry Adams reports.

Duration: 3'09"

More than one billion people worldwide live with some form of disability, according to United Nations statistics.

Making sure that their contributions to society are recognized is one of the aims of this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, observed on 3 December.

Dianne Penn reports on a ceremony held at UN Headquarters in New York to mark the day.

Duration: 3'04"

In a new released report entitled “State of the World Cities 2012/13” the United Nations Human Settlements Programme  (UN-Habitat) ranked the world’s cities in terms of prosperity, which they evaluated along a newly introduced “Prosperity index”.

Despite worldwide economic, political and environmental turmoil, cities like Vienna, Paris, Zurich, and Stockholm - all ranked in the top 10 - continue to make strides in all areas of prosperity, according to the report.