A former American astronaut whose year-long journey in space captivated people worldwide will now help the United Nations to promote space as a tool for achieving sustainable development.
Scott Kelly, who has retired from the US space agency, NASA, was on Sunday appointed United Nations Champion for Space by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
A new generation of mobile network technology can be employed to help deal with many of the challenges facing the human race.
That’s the view of a senior executive at the mobile technology company, Nokia, speaking recently at ITU Telecom World, an annual UN telecommunications conference, held this year in Bangkok, Thailand.
The technology under discussion is 5G or the fifth generation of cellular networks, which has quicker speeds and higher data capacity than the existing 4G network.
Change is needed “at all levels” of society to advance gender equality in the workplace according to a senior United Nations official.
Experts from around the world are gathering in Panama on Monday at the UN-backed Third Business Forum on Gender Equality and will focus on how the private sector can advance parity and build inclusive work environments.
Young people are more prone to fall victim to road accidents than adults according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
UN figures show that nearly 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads each year, a number which the WHO aims to reduce by promoting improved road safety.
It’s necessary to “cling to every little sign of hope” in South Sudan as the country continues to suffer civil unrest and insecurity; that’s the view of the head of UNMISS, the UN peacekeeping mission there.
The country, which gained its independence in 2011 has suffered from conflict for almost three years.
Thousands of people have died and more than two million have fled their homes.
Worldwide about 400,000 work-related deaths take place due to poor sanitation and hygiene, according to a representative from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
People who work in agriculture, mining, transport or the maritime sector often struggle because of the absence of toilets.
Carlos Crespo-Carrion of the ILO also explains how many catch infectious diseases from contaminated water or from exposure to the chemicals used in the water supplies.
African migrants sent home more than US$65 billion last year; a figure that is projected to hit US$80 billion by 2020, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The UN agency believes the continent’s 26,000-plus post offices can serve as an important channel for that money to reach loved ones, particularly those living in rural areas.
“Predictable and sustainable” financing is needed to sustain African Union-led peace operations over the long term, the UN Security Council has heard.
That’s the message delivered by Ambassador Tete Antonio, Permanent Observer of the African Union or AU.
The UN and AU often team up to deploy “boots on the ground” in hot spots like Darfur, Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic and Burundi.
Jocelyne Sambira reports.
Duration: 3'41"
Australia’s human rights record has been “blemished” in recent years by the harsh treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, according to a UN independent expert.
Francois Crépeau, the UN’s Special Rapporteur for the human rights of migrants warned that the rights of migrants have been eroded in contravention of international human rights and humanitarian norms.
About 12,000 refugees from Syria have been welcomed in Australia but the migration policies and laws adopted towards them, are still “regressive.”
Harrowing stories are emerging from Mosul in Iraq of life under the ISIL terrorist group, four weeks into the campaign to retake the northern city.
Some 60,000 people have been displaced so far, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The agency’s Joel Millman has travelled close to Mosul.
Daniel Johnson asked him what Iraqi people have been saying about life under ISIL.
Duration: 3’33”
