General News

2015 is expected to be what’s been described as a “tough year” for the international community as it struggles to deal with an increasing number of humanitarian crises.

That’s according to the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) director of operations, John Ging.

At the end of this year, over 75 million people are in need of assistance across the world in places like Iraq, Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

Daniel Dickinson asked John Ging about the humanitarian outlook moving into 2015.

Duration: 3’39”

Security procedures for the UN Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) will be revised after a deadly attack by Al-Shabaab gunmen, according to its Spokesperson.

The militants infiltrated the Halane base camp in Mogadishu on Thursday killing three African Union soldiers and two civilian contractors.

UNSOM also uses the base as its headquarters.

UNSOM Spokesperson Aleem Siddique said the terrorists infiltrated the camp in an attempt to gain access to critical infrastructure.

An Indonesian city and province has undergone a “remarkable transformation” ten years after it was hit by a tsunami, according to a spokesperson for the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The tsunami that struck Indonesia and other countries in the Indian Ocean region on 26 December 2004 was a major natural disaster that prompted an unprecedented international relief effort.

The UN estimates that 230,000 people were killed in 15 countries across the region.

People are doing their Christmas shopping at an art exhibit hosted by UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

The arts, crafts and homemade bread were made by children with special needs and displayed at the Mosan Centre which organizes capacity building and training activities.

It has been an annual tradition for the Austrian battalion of UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to hold these events since 2011.

Jocelyne Sambira has the story.

Duration: 1'51"

Tackling income inequality should be a priority for countries across the globe, says a professor of economics and public policy.

The gap between rich and poor is at its highest level in 30 years, according to the Organization for Economic Development (OECD).

Justin Wolfer, a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics believes that good policies can help bridge the income gap without blowing out public debit.

He explains how to Jocelyne Franck of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The global film industry perpetuates discrimination against women, a UN-backed study on female characters in popular movies has found.

Girls and women are over twice as likely as boys and men to be shown in sexually revealing clothes, partially or fully naked.

Twenty years ago, 189 governments adopted an international roadmap for gender equality called the Beijing Platform for Action, which called for the media to avoid stereotypical and degrading depictions of women.

The latest techniques in nuclear science can help protect soil from degradation, according to the UN nuclear agency.

Soil erosion is the main contributor to land degradation, leading to annual loss of 75 billion tons of fertile soil.

An interregional training course was recently held at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to assess soil erosion and find suitable solutions for controlling it.

Grave abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law, some of which may amount to war crimes, are occurring in Libya.

That’s what Ravina Shamdasani, the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told UN Radio on Tuesday.

A new report by the UN human rights office says that fighting between the various armed groups has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths.

Speaking to Jocelyne Sambira, Ms Shamdasani described the situation on the ground in Libya as “dire”.

The Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been placed “on notice” following a debate on the atrocities committed by its leadership, a senior UN official has said.

The UN Security Council agreed for the first time to discuss the country’s situation outside of the nuclear non-proliferation issue.

A report released by a UN Commission of Inquiry describes DPRK as a totalitarian State where “crimes against humanity” continue to take place.

Can financial equity funds be employed to find a solution to poverty? The approach seems to be working in remote Armenia in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia.

Targeted business investments in food companies are bolstering employment, increasing the incomes of farmers and transforming rural areas.

The inflow of money is coming from a unique investment company which is supported by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Joanne Levitan reports

Duration: 4’01”