General News

The outbreak of fighting between members of the South Sudanese army in the country’s capital Juba on Sunday night has caused concern at the United Nations.

The fighting, which was reportedly sparked by an alleged coup attempt, has left dozens of people, including civilians dead, and scores wounded.

There are also reports that members of certain communities were being targeted in a country that is struggling to build after becoming independent from Sudan in 2011.

Jocelyn Sambira reports.

Duration: 3’13”

Source: UNIFEED

Progress regarding Afghanistan’s ambitious security, political and economic transitions continues and efforts are on track, according to the UN Special Representative for the country, Ján Kubiš.

As Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Mr. Kubiš briefed the Security Council on Tuesday on the situation in the country.

Jocelyne Sambira has more.

Duration: 3'33"

The United Nations Office in Geneva on Tuesday had a commemoration in honour of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela who died on 5 of December.

The South African legendary freedom fighter, first democratically elected President of the country and global icon was put to rest at his home village of Qunu on Sunday.

UN Radio’s Derrick Mbatha put together excerpts from the event, in Geneva which was moderated by UN Spokesperson in Geneva, Corin Momal-Vanian.

Duration: 4'59"

Ghana is one of the African countries facing the challenges of rapid urbanization.

In the 1960’s just over 20 per cent of the population of the West African country lived in urban areas.

But now, according to UN-Habitat, the United Nations agency dealing with human settlements and sustainable urban development, more than half of the country’s population of 21 million live in urban areas.

The United Nations on Monday appealed for close to $13 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to people in crisis situations around the world next year.

Nearly half of that amount, $6.5 billion is to provide life-saving aid, including food, shelter and healthcare for millions of Syrians displaced inside their country and in neighbouring countries.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) says relief agencies aim to reach at least 52 million people with relief assistance.

Derrick Mbatha reports.

Frequent power cuts, high energy costs and lack of reliable and affordable heating in winter are just some of the energy challenges faced by countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

With Sustainable Development for All a UN priority, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has been supporting regional programmes that promote energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Some of the successes are highlighted in a report released this month entitled Empowering Lives, Building Resilience.

The decline in education for Syrian children has been the sharpest and most rapid in the history of the region, according to UNICEF- the lead agency on a paper analyzing Syria’s education crisis.

“Education Interrupted”, published on Friday, demonstrates how nearly three million children from Syria have been forced to quit their education since 2011.

Fighting over the past week in the Central African Republic capital of Bangui has killed more than 400 people and displaced nearly 160,000 as the humanitarian crisis in the country worsens.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says nearly 40,000 people are currently at the airport where there are no latrines, no washing facilities and no shelter from the elements.

With only a short time before the  2015 deadline to achieve the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the water and sanitation challenges remain daunting.

The “water target” set by world leaders promised to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and without basic sanitation.

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan is chair of the United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB).

Research from more than 180 countries reveals that cancer is on the rise globally, with striking patterns in women.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates more than 14 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed worldwide last year, while 8.2 million people died from the disease.

More than half of these new cases and deaths occurred in less developed regions of the world, and these proportions are expected to increase within the next 12 years.

Dr David Forman heads the IARC’s Cancer Information Section.

Duration: 3'27"