UN Emergency Fund helps flood victims in Philippines
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Tropical Storm Washi wreaks havoc in the southern part of the Philippines
The clean up operation in the Philippines is continuing following a major storm in which 1200 died. Countless villages and two major cities were flooded and property damaged. Nearly 13,000 houses were destroyed and about 400,000 people displaced by the floods. Derrick Mbatha discussed the United Nations response to the disaster with Kirsten Mildren of the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) in the Philippines.
UN worried about harsh sentencing of human rights activists in China
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The UN human rights office says it is deeply concerned about a series of harsh prison sentences given to human rights activists in China. On Monday, one activist, Chen Xi, received a 10 year jail sentence for essays that he published online. Recently another prominent writer and activist, Chen Wei, was given a 9 year prison term for what the authorities called"inciting subversion of state power". And, a prominent human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, was also sentenced to 3 years last week. Ravina Samdashani, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke to Alpha Diallo about the growing restrictions on the activities of Chinese human rights defenders.
Changing lives one bottle at a time
Jonathan Defante with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Changing lives one bottle at a time. That's what UN Citizen Ambassador Jonathan Defante of the Philippines hopes to do with his promotion of the use of plastic bottles to build houses. This eco-friendly idea won Jonathan the title of Citizen Ambassador to the United Nations. He's one of three young people to receive the honour this year which is awarded for ideas that make the world a better or safer place. Jonathan Defante sat down with Gerry Adams to explain his idea.
Presenter: Daniel Dickinson
Duration: 10'00"
