General News

The price of food in Southern Africa could increase following a 26 per cent fall in maize production across the region, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The UN agency says a lack of maize would necessitate importing grains, a move which could adversely impact recent food security gains.

Jonathan Pound is an economist with FAO in Rome.

Sandra Ferrari asked him what has caused the lower production levels.

Duration: 1’48”

Somalia is coming together as a strong, united and federal nation despite challenges posed by the security situation, according to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the country.

Nicholas Kay says the political process is now at a “point of no return” because Somalis want to create a well-governed country.

Just days after an attack on a UN convoy by al-Shabaab terrorists, Joseph Msami spoke with Mr Kay on the line and began by asking for his take on the increase of terrorist threats in Somalia.

Duration: 4’10”

A movement which calls on men to rally against inequalities and discrimination faced by women and girls has been launched in China by the United Nations.

The HeforShe campaign, UN Women’s flagship programme for 2015, aims to build solidarity between the sexes and boost gender equality.

The launch, which took place in Beijing earlier this month, attracted both celebrities and high-level officials in China.

An appeal has been launched by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for additional funding to support the reintegration of child soldiers into communities in South Sudan.

On Friday, a final group of over 280 children were released from the Cobra Faction armed group in the country, bringing the total number of children released to 1,757.

UNICEF says the money will also be used to support the construction of schools.

A Pastoralist Knowledge Hub has been launched by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other partners to enable mobile livestock keepers to connect and discuss issues like agricultural innovations or land regulations.

Some examples of well-known pastoral communities include the Bedouin of North Africa, the Maasai in East Africa and Scandinavia's Sami people.

The situation in Nepal has been described as “chaotic” and the destruction of cultural sites as “absolutely dramatic”, according to the head of the UN’s cultural agency (UNESCO) in Nepal.

Christian Manhart says that many of the survivors of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the country on Saturday are forced to sleep in outdoor spaces.

Around sixty aftershocks have shaken the ground, so he has been sleeping in his garden.

Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to at least 3,600 and continues to increase.

Economies need to be transformed in order to realize women’s empowerment and social rights, according to a new report released by the UN agency dedicated to gender equality, UN Women.

This means a new approach to unpaid domestic and care-work, one that includes a more equal distribution of tasks between men and women.

UN Women says these changes will not only support gender equality but also create millions of new jobs in a hard-pressed market.

An indigenous group in Norway has taken matters in to own hands to combat stereotypes about their way of life.

The young Sami people of Norway have entered the classrooms of their fellow non-Sami youth to teach them more about Sami culture and indigenous rights.

The hope is that indigenous people in other countries will find inspiration in the project, which is called ‘Sami Pathfinders’.

Cathrine Hasselberg reports.

Duration: 2’03

South Sudan must look into new sources of revenue to help shore up its economy and avoid bankruptcy.

That’s the personal view of a former World Bank consultant who is also the chairperson of the Central Equatorial State vision 2040, a strategy aimed at developing the state from the grassroots level over the next 25 years.

Kenyi Spencer says the government needs to look at sources of income other than oil.

He believes the country could partner with nearby cement factories in Uganda.

New technologies have emerged to make it possible for law enforcement agencies to use non-lethal force in some cases, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

But Christof Heyns says these “less lethal weapons” such as chemical irritants, electrical shocks and rubber bullets can be challenging to use without proper training and can still result in death.