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UNHCR/J. Pangalian

UN assisting response to the ‘significant’ impact of tropical storm Tembin

On 22 December, tropical storm Tembin,  known locally as “Vinta”, made landfall in southern Philippines and traversed a path of destruction as it swept through the region.

Worst hit are the northern parts of Mindanao where over 150,000 people have been displaced due to landslides and flash floods. Over 150 people have died and many more are missing.

Humanitarian assessments are ongoing and search and rescue teams continue to look for survivors amid the devastation.

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UNWTO / Elma Okic

1.8 billion tourists set to travel world by 2030

An estimated 1.8 billion tourists are expected to be on the move by 2030 and this could be a “disaster” or a long-lasting “opportunity” for the planet.

That’s according to Taleb Rifai, head of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Speaking in Geneva earlier this month, he said that new data showed people made more than 1.1 billion international trips in the first 10 months of 2017 – a 7 per cent increase on the same period in 2016.

UNHCR/Georgina Goodwin

Despite progress, Somalia still needs support: UN refugee chief

The international community is being urged to continue supporting efforts to restore and rebuild Somalia.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi made the appeal during a visit to the country this week.

Decades of political instability coupled with armed violence, poverty, drought and other natural hazards, have displaced scores of Somalis: either within the country or across the border.

But, as Dianne Penn reports, many are returning home.

Duration: 2’04”

UN/Eskinder Debebe

“Growing risk” that Israel and Palestine will go their own way

There is a “growing risk” that Israel and Palestine will increasingly go their own way and abandon the so-called two-State solution which envisages both countries living side by side in peace.

That’s according to the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nikolay Mladenov, briefing the Security Council on Monday.

Matt Wells reports.

Duration: 2’50”

“Golden opportunity” to progress Syria peace talks missed: UN envoy

A “golden opportunity” has been missed to decide the future of Syria at the end of the latest round of UN-led talks in Geneva, veteran negotiator Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday.

The UN Special Envoy was speaking to journalists in the Swiss city where he has been meeting Syrian government representatives and - for the first time – a united opposition delegation.

Mr de Mistura added that he was disappointed at the government’s lack of engagement on any issue other than counter-terrorism, before adding that he intended to call a new round of talks in January.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Compliance with international law key to combatting foreign terrorist fighters

The Security Council has been looking at what one senior UN official has described as a “very complex and evolving issue”: foreigners travelling to conflict zones to join terrorist groups fighting there.

Dianne Penn reports on the briefing delivered on Tuesday by the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov.

Mr Voronkov began his briefing by laying out the scale of the problem.

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IOM/Amanda Nero

Families involved in nearly half of all child trafficking cases: IOM

Family members are linked to nearly half of all identified cases of child trafficking, new data released on Tuesday by the UN Migration Agency, IOM, has revealed.

It finds that family involvement in this crime is up to four times higher than in incidents of adult trafficking.

Dianne Penn reports.

The statistics are based on information about nearly 12,000 survivors of trafficking.