General News

Crimes allegedly carried out by Israel and Palestinian factions during a conflict in the Gaza Strip last year are to be investigated by the UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC).

The 50-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinian faction, Hamas led to the deaths of 2000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis, as well as the widespread destruction of property.

The Palestinians formally applied for membership of the court at the beginning of January.

Syrian refugees living in Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan are working to overcome the fall-out from a severe winter storm that hit the Middle East region last week.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has warned that Syrian refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries like Jordan and Lebanon are slipping deeper into poverty.

The UNHCR chief has been touring Za'atari camp to assess the impact of the storm from where Warda Aljawahiry reports.

Duration: 2’31’’

The goal of reaching zero new cases of the deadly Ebola disease in West Africa is achievable according to the UN Special Envoy, David Nabarro.

Over 21,000 people have caught the disease and almost 8,500 have died in the worst affected countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Mr Nabarro has recently visited the three countries.

Mark Hudson began by asking him for an update on the outbreak.

Duration: 3’00”

Palestinians and Israelis are engaged in a “downward spiral of actions and counter-actions”, the UN Secretary-General has warned.

Ban Ki-moon’s remarks were delivered during a briefing to the Security Council on the Middle East on Thursday.

Nearly 2,200 Palestinians and 70 Israelis died during a 50-day conflict in the Gaza strip that ended in August 2014.

Jocelyne Sambira has the story.

Duration:  3'16"

In order for men to help women to achieve gender equality, men need to help themselves first, according to the head of a male-led campaign to end violence against women.

Todd Minerson, executive director of the White Ribbon Campaign, has been speaking at the Barbershop Conference underway at the United Nations.

The Campaign promotes gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity.

Mr Minerson explained to Stephanie Castro that in order to get men involved, he helps them to understand how society shapes the way men view and treat women.

Literacy programs are being rolled out in South Sudan to help teach as many people to read and write as possible, according to an education specialist with the UN cultural agency.

Small libraries, literacy centers and temporary learning spaces for the displaced populations are being built by UNESCO to boost literacy.

South Sudan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world.

Since fighting broke out in 2013 between government forces and rebels loyal to a former Vice President, some children have not set foot inside a classroom.

The number one challenge for the people of South Sudan is finding a sustainable peace agreement, according to a senior United Nations official.

The country has been mired in conflict for over a year, which has forced two million people to flee their homes.

Last week, the UN released a report which said that hundreds of civilians were reportedly slaughtered by in the strategic towns of Bentiu and Bor last April.

David Lukan asked Toby Lanzer, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan about the outlook for this year.

Duration: 4’30”

Mobile telephone applications have been used in the past to coordinate disaster management relief and now they’re proving their worth in the fight against Ebola.

Developed by the International Telecommunications Union, the “Ebola Info” sharing mobile application is a free resource offering up-to-date information and maps.

It’s aimed at affected communities and health workers who can use the app to interact with other medical professionals to compare notes and track the epidemic’s progress.

Experts from around the world are discussing how to better preserve and manage forests ahead of December’s Climate Conference in Paris.

A debate on the future of forests organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is being held at the UN in New York this week.

The platform known as the International Arrangements of Forests was created by a UN global forum on forests called UNFF.

Communities in Philippine’s remote island of Coron are getting decent work after a typhoon devastated their region, the International Labour Organization (ILO) says.

ILO estimates that Typhoon Haiyan killed 8,000 and affected nearly 16 million people across the Philippines.

Lives and livelihoods, infrastructure and services were all lost on the vacation island.

A year later, the island's people are recovering from the disaster and also learning new skills and ways to support their families.