Governments around the world are being urged by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to develop strong policies to promote breastfeeding. On the 20th anniversary of World Breastfeeding Week, from 1 to 7 August, UNICEF says that breastfeeding could prevent the deaths of around one million children under five in the developing world each year. Dianne [...]
Fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo has intensified and heavy weapons are being increasingly used, including firing from fighter aircraft on Tuesday, according to United Nations observers there. The UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) says it is deeply concerned about the heavy fighting in the southeast neighbourhoods of Syria's largest city and [...]
Terrorism must not be allowed to roll back important gains in the ongoing peace process to create a new government and permanent state institutions in Somalia That's what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said in a statement following an attempt to blow up a building where the Somali National Constituent Assembly was meeting to adopt a [...]
Somali leaders on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a provisional constitution, following a week of negotiations and even an attempted suicide bomb attack on the venue. The Constituent Assembly brought together various elements of Somali society including elders, religious leaders, women and the Diaspora. UN envoy Dr. Augustine Mahiga welcomed the document, which he says brings [...]
A new constitution for Somalia has been overwhelmingly adopted by the country's 825-member National Constituent Assembly after a week of debate. The constitution, which was adopted by a vote of 621 in favour, 13 against and eleven abstentions, among other things, protects the right to an abortion to save the mother's life and bans female [...]
The Nigerian government has given the green light for a major oil contamination clean-up of Ogoniland in the Niger Delta. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has welcomed the decision to go ahead with the operation. The agency, at the request of the government, conducted an assessment of oil pollution and its impact on public [...]
The World Food Programme (WFP) has sent food assistance to the Syrian city of Aleppo where heavy fighting has entered its second week and forced 200,000 to flee. The agency warns that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating in Syria's largest city with reports of shortages of food, gas and electricity. Donn Bobb reports. The World [...]
The decision of the Nigerian government to go ahead with a major oil contamination clean-up of Ogoniland has been welcomed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The agency, at the request of the government, has conducted an assessment of oil pollution and its impact on public health and the environment in that region in [...]
It's a shame that the Security Council is unable to act on Syria where the conflict between government and opposition forces has intensified, says Ambassador Gérard Araud of France. France, one of the five permanent members of the Council, has assumed the rotating presidency of the Council in August. The French ambassador says the problem [...]
France assumes the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, and the country's ambassador to the UN is hoping there will be concerted international action on Syria. Gérard Araud says it was unfortunate that members have not adopted a resolution on the Syrian crisis, which has intensified over recent weeks. The French Ambassador also [...]
