Newly appointed UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will have the full respect and support of the international community. That's what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the veteran Algerian diplomat during their meeting in New York on Friday. Dianne Penn reports. "Lakhdar Brahimi, who has previously served the United Nations in Iraq [...]
The world will require 10 per cent more water to meet food production needs of over nine billion people by 2050, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Water and food security is the theme of this year's World Water Week, taking place in Stockholm, Sweden from 26-31 August. IFAD says agriculture accounts [...]
The government of South Sudan has been urged to take action to stop violations of human rights allegedly committed by elements of the army in Jonglei State The call comes from Hilde Johnson, head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), following reports of a killing, rapes and torture in Pibor County in July [...]
The Chittagong Hill Tracts is one of the most diverse regions of Bangladesh. Access to basic education has been a major challenge for young people in this rural area. The distance to education facilities has contributed to the low enrolment of young children. In 2003 the UN's development program implemented a decade-long education initiative designed [...]
The killings of more than 30 workers in the Marikana platinum mine in South Africa have focused the world's attention on working conditions in the country's mining industry. Martin Hahn, a mining specialist with the International Labour Organization (ILO) says since the end of apartheid South Africa has taken significant steps to improve those conditions. [...]
The Chittagong Hill Tracts is one of the most diverse regions of Bangladesh. Access to basic education has been a major challenge for young people in this rural area. The distance to educational facilities has contributed to the low enrolment of young children. In 2003, the UN Development Programme, (UNDP), implemented a decade-long education initiative [...]
![Goldminers and their supervisor in a mine near Johannesburg, South Africa. [file photo.1973] UN Photo/Pendl](http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/south-africa-mine1.jpg "south-africa-mine1")
More can be done to protect the health and safety of mine workers in South Africa, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). This follows the killing last week of more than 30 miners when police fired on protesting workers at the Marikana platinum mines in the country's North West province. ILO mining specialist Martin [...]
There is growing concern among aid agencies about the health of about 170,000 Sudanese refugees in camps and informal settlements in South Sudan. The UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) says the refugees are living in overcrowded conditions without clean water and basic sanitation services which cause respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea and malaria. Children in the camps [...]
Insecurity in Lebanon is affecting the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in assisting Syrians who have fled to that country. UNHCR says it had to temporarily close its newly established registration centre in Tripoli on Friday as a result of clashes between rival groups in that Lebanese city. Spokesman Adrian Edwards reports that fewer Syrians [...]
Investing in women's entrepreneurial leadership and the empowerment of women is smart economics says the head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP). Noeleen Heyzer spoke from Phnom Penh, Cambodia where she met with senior policy makers and women business leaders on Wednesday. Dr. Heyzer talks to UN Radio's [...]
Emergency response teams have been put on high alert in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Cuba as the countries brace for Tropical Storm Isaac which is expected to make land fall this week-end. United Nations aid agencies estimate that up to 800,000 are at risk and may require emergency relief assistance. The UN World Food Programme(WFP) [...]
Historically, countries that are rich in mineral and commodity resources, like oil, copper or coffee, for example, have had lower rates of growth compared to nations which don't enjoy those advantages. It's a phenomenon dubbed the "natural resource curse." The reasons for the curse range from market volatility to crowding out of manufacturing, lack of [...]
