General News

The ocean has been described by the United Nations as the heart of the planet because of its importance in supporting life; yet it is facing a number of threats, including pollution.

It is estimated that a staggering 250 million metric tons of plastic could end up in oceans in the next decade.

World Oceans Day is observed on 8 June each year to raise awareness about the importance of the ocean so that government and people around the world take action to protect it.

Guidance on protecting  people who have been rescued at sea has been jointly issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Chamber of Shipping.

Men have greater access to mobile telephone services across the developing world and use them more than women.

That’s according to a director at the Connected Women Programme of the GSMA, an association of mobile operators.

It’s estimated that up to 1.7 billion women in low income countries don’t use mobiles.

Pete Forster met Claire Sibthorpe from GSMA at a UN technology conference in Geneva, and began by asking her about usage rates.

Duration: 2’42” [early out: 2’20”]

An investigation has been launched in the Central African Republic, by the United Nations peacekeeping mission, MINUSCA, following allegations that a UN peacekeeper had sexually abused a young girl.

The mission said it learned about the alleged assault in the eastern part of the country earlier in the week.

In the capital Bangui, Maha Fayek asked Diane Corner, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the country about the allegations.

Duration:2'02"

Drawing clever cartoons is just is one way of raising grassroots awareness about climate change, a leading cartoonist said on Friday, for World Environment Day.

Tom Tirabosco, who’s well known in Switzerland for his newspaper work and children’s books – said people also need to put “huge pressure” on their governments as they prepare for crunch UN-led climate talks in Paris later this year.

At a UN event in Geneva, Daniel Johnson asked him whether he believed the stage is now set for a successful agreement in the French capital.

There has been a significant deterioration of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, the Security Council heard on Friday.

The region has been plagued by fighting which broke out between pro-Russian rebels and government forces in April last year.

At least 6, 400 people have died since the fighting began and hostilities have continued despite a ceasefire signed by the warring parties in February.

Derrick Mbatha reports.

Duration: 2'43"

Greece is struggling to cope with a huge influx of desperate refugees who’ve been arriving by sea from Turkey at a rate of 600 per day, the UN said Friday.

More than 42,000 people have made the Mediterranean crossing so far this year according to UN refugee agency UNHCR.

That’s almost as many as in 2014 and with the arrival of summer - and easier sailing conditions - there are fears that the number is set to shoot up.

Daniel Johnson has more.

Duration: 2’33”

What happens when a website has not been made accessible to people with disabilities?

That’s the question being posed by the UN which has launched a new website to recreate that experience for the general public.

First it strips the user of the visuals, then it makes the text difficult to read, and finally it takes away all options to navigate through the pages.

Syrian refugees living in a camp in Jordan are rebuilding their lives by launching new businesses serving other refugees.

At the Azraq camp an engineer has retrained as a florist; another refugee has set up a barber shop.

The more than 17,000 people living there have escaped a civil war in their country which has been going on for more than four years.

A temporary marketplace was set up to mark the first anniversary of the camp and to promote the new businesses.

Edith Champagne reports.

Duration: 2'00"

The price of food commodities fell in May hitting the lowest level since September 2009, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO.

The UN agency’s Food Price Index averaged almost 167 points in May, down 1.4 per cent from April and as much as 20.7 per cent from a year earlier.

The index is a measure of the monthly change of a range of major food commodities, including cereals, sugar, vegetable oil and dairy.