General News

Ensuring food is safe for consumption and will not lead to illness or death is a global issue, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Director-General of WHO, Margaret Chan, recently announced that World Health Day in 2015 would be dedicated to food safety.

Unsafe food is linked to the deaths of an estimate two million people annually—mostly children.

Angelika Tritscher, an expert on food safety at WHO, began by explaining to Stephanie Coutrix the difference between food safety and food security.

Cancer is not a death sentence anymore as we have new ways of preventing it, according to an expert on noncommunicable diseases from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Etienne Krug was in Australia last week attending the World Cancer Congress, an event bringing together representatives of government and organizations as well as medical experts.

WHO is highlighting that many of the world’s new cases of cancer are occurring in less developed regions of the world, while 30 per cent of cancers could be prevented.

The number of people affected by conflicts and natural disasters around the world has reached record levels, according to the United Nations.

At the end of November an estimated 102 million people around the world were in need of assistance.

On Monday, senior UN officials launched a multi-billion dollar appeal to bring aid to 57 million of the most vulnerable people in 2015.

Stephanie Coutrix reports.

Duration: 2'45"

Opium poppy cultivation continues at high levels in Myanmar and Laos, according to a UN report out on Monday.

The report, by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that Myanmar remains South-East Asia’s top opium producer and the world’s second largest after Afghanistan.

Opium poppy crops are used to produce heroin, a highly addictive drug that affects the lives of millions of people around the world.

The link between climate change and its impact on the ability of the world to feed itself is being underlined at a UN conference taking place in Peru.

The international community is meeting in Lima to discuss how best to reach a global climate deal in Paris next year.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is there with the message that climate change is already affecting food security and the livelihoods of the world's most vulnerable.

Students of science frequently deal with detailed information expressed in charts, graphs and diagrams.

For Indian national Kartik Sawhney, who has been blind since birth, the visual demands of his science studies presented a significant challenge.

So he devised a solution; software that allowed him to hear the graphs.

On International Day of Persons with Disabilities marked annually on 3rd December, Alex Goldmark asked Mr Sawhney to describe the technology he developed.

Duration: 3’32”

One hundred years ago in the midst of World War One in Western Europe, an unexpected act of humanity occurred.

In an unprecedented event, troops on both fronts of what has become known as the Great war ceased fire, in order to celebrate the holiday season together.

On 5 December, the United Nations commemorated the Centenary of the First World War Christmas Truce.

Stephanie Castro reports from the event.

Duration: 3’22”

The outbreak of the Ebola disease in West Africa is not only a health crisis but also a threat to sustainable development in the region, according to the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

More than 6,000 people have died from the virus mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

ECOSOC on Friday held a special meeting on the topic of “Ebola: A Threat to Sustainable Development”.

Derrick Mbatha reports.

Duration:  3'23"

Human pressures on soil resources are reaching “critical limits”, according to a senior official of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The warning comes on the first observance of World Soil Day on 5 December, which is also the kick off of the International Year of Soils.

FAO says that healthy soils are not only the foundation of food, fuel, fibre and medical products, but are also essential to the ecosystems.

The link between climate change and its impact on the ability of the world to feed itself is being underlined at a UN conference taking place in Peru.

The international community is meeting in Lima to discuss how best to reach a global climate deal in Paris next year.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is there with the message that climate change is already affecting food security and the livelihoods of the world's most vulnerable.