The forecast for rice production in 2012 has been reduced by close to eight million tonnes, according to the July Rice Market Monitor released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday. In April, the forecast for the global production of rice was more than 732 million tonnes but now it is expected [...]
The top United Nations envoy for the Middle East Peace Process has called on the Government of Israel to reconsider its decision to prevent foreign dignitaries from entering the West Bank. Foreign Ministers from four countries had planned to attend a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement committee on Palestine on Sunday. The meeting was cancelled [...]
Government and opposition forces in Syria have been urged to open a dialogue and bring an end to the violence. The appeal has come from the head of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye as the conflict rages in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Derrick Mbatha reports. Lieutenant-General Babacar Gaye [...]
An agreement by Sudan and South Sudan to resolve their oil dispute has been welcomed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Over the weekend, the two countries announced that they have concluded a deal for South Sudan to export its oil using Sudan's oil pipes and on the distribution of oil revenues. The UN [...]
The elimination of nuclear weapons is not just a visionary goal, but the most reliable way to prevent their future use. That's the message of United Nations Secretary-General to a ceremony to mark the United States atomic bombing of the Japanese city Hiroshima in 1945. Donn Bobb reports. In his message to the Peace [...]
One year ago, parts of southern Somalia were hit by famine and drought, forcing more than a million people to leave their homes. The UN children's fund (UNICEF) has been going to great lengths to ensure children under five are vaccinated against measles, polio, diphtheria and whooping cough. These immunizations, together with other health, education [...]
After a period of high growth between 2007 and 2010, Malawi's economic situation took a turn for the worse, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF attributes this to a combination of low tobacco exports, poor economic policies and the country's tumultuous political situation. With a new administration in place since April, the [...]
The World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned the killing of its worker in Sudan's South Kordofan state. Jamal Al Fadil Farag, one of the UN food agency's drivers, was killed in an armed attack on Saturday some 80 kilometres north of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state. Charles Appel reports. WFP says that Jamal [...]
