General News

A global response is needed to stop extremism on the internet and in social media, the head of the UN’s anti-terrorism body (UNCTED) has urged.

Extremist groups have been using information and communications technologies (ICT) to spread propaganda, recruit, generate funds, share training materials and engage in the illicit weapons trade.

Some of the most popular social networking services are said to be devising strategies to counter the online activities of these groups.

Thousands of children and their families in the Iraqi city of Mosul are in dire need of water, according to the UN Children Fund’s (UNICEF).

It follows the destruction of a major water pipeline in territory controlled by the ISIL terrorist group.

Without access to clean water, children are more susceptible to suffer from water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea.

Mustafa Al Gamal spoke to Maulid Warfa, head of UNICEF’s Office in Irbil, Iraq, and began by asking him about the current situation in Mosul.

Satellite imagery, global navigation systems and other applications developed for space exploration are being used by the United Nations to help countries save lives on Earth.

An online platform administered by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) ensures developing nations can access space-based data, for example in the wake of natural disasters.

Luc St-Pierre is Chief of UNOOSA’s Space Applications Section.

HIV-positive women face more discrimination than men with HIV according to a young activist from India.

Lalchhuanzuali was at the UN to talk about the problems facing young people with HIV, especially in accessing vital services.

She represents Youth LEAD, an NGO which works with people up to the age of 27 who are considered to be at high risk of catching the virus.

She’s been talking to Daniel Dickinson.

Duration: 4’22”

“Serious human rights violations” are continuing in South Sudan and are more serious than previously thought according to a visiting UN Human Rights Commission.

Civil conflict erupted in the African country three years ago leading to the deaths of thousands of people and forcing almost three million more to flee their homes.

During their 10-day visit, the team of three commissioners met with government officials and visited communities displaced by conflict in the capital Juba and the towns of Malakal, Bentiu and Wau.

Philip Wani reports from South Sudan.

Concerns for the people of the Syrian city of Aleppo are greater than ever, where embattled residents say they are “waiting for death”, the UN Human Rights Chief has warned.

In his end-of-year review to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein made a fresh appeal to the government of President Bashar Al Assad for access to the war-torn country.

Space technology is more than sending rockets and astronauts into orbit. It is also about issues that are important here on Earth, such as access to health care, education and even non-stick frying pans.

That’s the opinion of a lecturer and researcher at the University of Khartoum in Sudan.

Rayan Iman from the university’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering attended a recent forum in Dubai which explored how the global space community can support development efforts.

Only a “small fraction” of South Sudanese who have been displaced by three years of civil conflict are sheltering in sites built by the UN, the organization’s peacekeeping operation in South Sudan UNMISS has said.

The seven Protection of Civilian or PoC sites are now hosting more than 204,000 civilians.

The UN estimates that almost 1.9 million have been displaced across the East African country.

Encouraging people to test themselves for HIV could be a game-changer in the fight to rid the world of AIDS, UN health experts have said.

Ahead of World AIDS day on Thursday 1 December, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that while more than 18 million people with HIV are getting life-saving treatment, a similar number are missing out.

Embroidery is a “badge of identity” for Palestinians, and highlights their unique culture according to the president of the Palestinian Heritage Foundation.

Hannan Karaman Munayyer, was speaking ahead of the opening of a new exhibition at UN Headquarters in New York, which showcases intricately embroidered clothing and artwork by Palestinian people.

The exhibition coincides with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is marked annually on the 29^th of November.