General News

The ability to relieve stress through the exercise of yoga is being underlined on the first ever UN day dedicated to the ancient Indian practice.

The UN General Assembly recognized its universal appeal by proclaiming 21 June as International Yoga Day.

Yoga is now practiced across the world by millions of people.

Carla Garcia has been speaking to India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asoke Mukerji.

Countries in Asia wanting to implement new development goals do not have to surrender their dignity by receiving financial assistance, according to a senior official of the Philippines government.

The international community is currently working on new targets called the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, which are due to be adopted at the UN in September.

Florencio Barsana Abad is the Budget and Management Secretary for the Philippines Government.

Efforts are underway in South Sudan to relocate thousands of internally displaced persons to areas unaffected by floods during the rainy season.

The people, who have fled fighting between government and opposition forces, are being sheltered at the bases of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The mission is also concerned about a possible outbreak of cholera among the displaced.

Conflicts in Syria and Ukraine are driving the massive displacement of people in Europe, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Figures released by the agency ahead of World Refugee day on Saturday show that the number of people living in Europe who have fled their homes was 6.7 million at the end of 2014.

That’s compared to 4.4 million the previous year.

Turkey became the world's top refugee-hosting nation with 1.59 million Syrian refugees.

Aid agencies are appealing for US$1.6 billion in the face of what the UN humanitarian chief  has described as a “looming humanitarian catastrophe” in Yemen.

The UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) reports that more than 21 million Yemenis, or 80 per cent of the population, are in need of assistance as basic services collapse and hunger increases.

Airstrikes and ground fighting over the past three months have killed or injured thousands, and more than one million people have fled their homes for safer areas.

The first-ever observance of the International Day of Yoga will be held this Sunday, 21 June.

Yoga originated in India and the word means to join or unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.

Enthusiasts say they see parallels between the work of the United Nations and this physical, mental and spiritual practice.

Dianne Penn sat in on a yoga class at UN Headquarters and filed this report.

Duration: 3'11"

A peace deal could be agreed in Mali “by the end of the week” according to the Force Commander of the UN Mission in the country, MINUSMA.

A coup d’état in the West African country in early 2012 continues to breed instability and violence.

UN peacekeepers have been targeted in some of the violence with 37 losing their lives and more than 200 wounded.

Protecting people’s online identity by scrambling the data they access is a necessity even though criminals might benefit, a UN investigator said Thursday.

Citing the serious risks faced by individuals whose online identity is not protected - or as it’s known, encrypted - UN Special Rapporteur David Kaye said many states could do more to make the internet safer to use.

But his proposals have run into opposition from governments including those which promote freedom of expression.

Unspeakable acts of cruelty have been committed against children caught in the conflict in South Sudan, including rape, castration and being burned alive.

These are just some of the ways children pay the price when war, political turmoil and other violence erupts in their homelands.

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution addressing the plight of the more than 200 million children caught in armed conflict.

Dianne Penn reports.

Duration: 3'13"

The impact of climate change on the nutritional quality of food is addressed in a new book unveiled by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Entitled, “Climate Change and Food Systems”, the book covers a number of issues ranging from the pressures of climate change on food systems to how climate change impacts trade flows and water resources.