General News

Citizens in countries of Latin America don’t feel safe because of crime, including robberies and murder, according to a report issued by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday.

The Regional Human Development Report (HDR) 2013-2014 is titled “Citizen Security with a Human Face: evidence and proposals for Latin America”.

It says insecurity is a shared challenge that obstructs social and economic development of every country in Latin America.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) needs more than $40 million to continue its work for this year.

That’s what Filippo Grandi, the UNRWA Commissioner General says in his annual report to the General Assembly’s Committee that deals with political and decolonization issues.

Mr. Grandi tells UN Radio’s Reem Abaza that he reported about the impact of the Syrian crisis on the situation of Palestinian refugees in the region.

Duration: 4’57”

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the governments of Kenya and Somalia on Sunday signed an agreement on the return of Somali refugees from Kenya.

Kenya is hosting more than 470,000 Somali refugees, the majority of whom are in the large Dadaab refugee camps complex in the north-east of the country.

According to UNHCR, approximately 60,000 Somali refugees have already spontaneously returned home as the situation continues to stabilize in their country.

The capacity of the police to fight crime in South Sudan has been enhanced with the graduation of the first group of trainees in fingerprinting.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation organized a specialized training on finger print science.

A select 39 Police personnel at South Sudan’s CID (Criminal Investigation Department) headquarters in the capital, Juba, received the training from March to October this year.

Derrick Mbatha reports.

Duration: 3'07"

Food aid, medical equipment and emergency health kits, are just some of the relief items coming in for the people affected by the deadly Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

That’s according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Jens Laerke, the Agency’s spokesperson, says some of the big United Nations agencies have announced they were sending “tons of aid” to the people affected by the destruction.

The situation in the Philippines is being described as “devastating” and “shocking” by top World Food Programme (WFP) officials on the ground.

Many cities across the central part of the country sustained heavy damages by the typhoon which packed winds of around 315 km/h.

WFP spokesperson, Elizabeth Byrs, says humanitarian workers are racing against the clock to provide food, water and shelter to as many people as possible.

[caption id="attachment_205401" align="alignleft" width="350"] The polio campaign will target children in Syria and neighbouring countries. (Photo: UNICEF/S. Ingram)[/caption]Two UN agencies are spearheading a campaign to protect millions of children in Syria and the Middle East against polio.

The United Nations and its partners in the Philippines are supporting the Government in assessing the damage that is being caused by what has been described as a monster typhoon.

Typhoon Haiyan known locally by a harmless sounding name, Yolanda, made landfall in Guiuan on Samar Island at 4:30 a.m. and is reported to be making its way across the country.

The Philippines Government has taken preventive measures to save lives by moving people from coastal and low-lying areas prone to flash flooding and landslides.

The UN Human Rights office is warning of the potential for new conflict in the Central African Republic, where a rebel coalition known as Séléka seized power in March of this year.

The concern follows recent violence, including deadly clashes last month between ex-Séléka forces and self-defence militias in the town of Bouar, which is close to the country’s border with Cameroon.

The militias had attacked and occupied the town which led to the fighting.

Dianne Penn reports.

Duration: 2'27"

Remittances sent by relatives and friends abroad are a lifeline for millions of people in Somalia.

But the African Union and the UN report that many people were fearful when Barclays, a major international bank, threatened to cut service to the biggest money transfer firm in the country.

Dianne Penn reports.

Duration:  3'28"