• The political leadership in Somalia should focus on delivering basic services to the people and establishing the rule of law. That's what has been said by a UN independent expert on human rights in the country. This follows the election of a new President and Speaker of Parliament by Somalia's lawmakers. Sudanese refugee children [...]
Nuclear technology is "extremely effective" in supporting agriculture and fighting hunger around the world, according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Yukiya Amano says that the global population is growing very rapidly and by 2050 it will be nine billion. The IAEA Director-General says food should be made available for everyone [...]
The number of cholera cases has increased dramatically in Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO says there are now more than 16,000 cases of the disease which has also claimed more than 250 lives. This has prompted the government to declare a cholera emergency in the West African country. WHO spokesperson, Tarik [...]
The joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the Arab League for Libya, Lakhdar Brahimi, started his mission to Syria on Thursday. The envoy is pressing ahead with his efforts to help end the conflict in the country, where thousands of people have been killed since the crisis began in March of last year. [...]
The United Nations and all its partners should work together and make full use of the potential of mediation to prevent, manage and resolve disputes and conflicts. That's what United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly during the launch of his report on the issue on Thursday. The Secretary-General stressed that mediation is [...]
The all-time heat record held for 90 years by El Azzizia in Libya is invalid, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). On 13 September 1922 the temperature recorded at El Azizia, about 40 kilometres south-west of Tripoli was recorded as 134.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Celsius. Professor Randall Cerveny an expert on weather [...]
Child mortality is on the decline. That's the finding of new data released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). According to UNICEF, Spokesperson Sarah Crowe, the number of children that die before their fifth birthday has dropped by nearly [...]
Back in 1922, meteorologists declared that the all-time heat record of over 136 degrees Fahrenheit, 58 degrees Centigrade, had been reached in El Azizia, Libya. But a recent investigation by the World Meteorological Organization, WMO, raised questions about the validity of the methods used to reach that conclusion. Randall Cerveny, a WMO independent expert [...]
For centuries in one community in India, people have defecated in the street. Now, that community is working to change sanitation and hygiene practices. And, according to UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, the initiative is being led by children! Charles Appel has more. Governments can do more for universal health coverage: WHO Universal access to [...]
Child mortality is on the decline. That's the finding of new data released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the UN Population Division. According to UNICEF Spokesperson Sarah Crowe, the number of children that die before their fifth birthday has dropped by nearly fifty percent, most notably in Africa and Asia. [...]
Scores of human rights defenders in at least 12 countries worldwide have faced serious reprisals and intimidation over the past one year, according to a report by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The report says the human rights defenders were tortured, detained without trial, beaten, banned from travelling, labeled traitors and subjected to [...]
The continued failure of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to agree on its priorities has been characterized by a United Nations official as "disappointing". Angela Kane, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, spoke at the closing of the 2012 session of the Conference in Geneva on Thursday. Ms. Kane said all previous presidents of [...]
The pace of reducing child deaths has accelerated sharply since 2000, according to new data released by the United Nations. The report says nearly 7 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2011 compared to 12 million children in 1990. The report jointly published by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank [...]
The United Nations is encouraging young professionals anywhere in the world who are ready to launch a career as international civil servants. Through its Young Professional Programme or YPP, the Organization is inviting potential candidates to submit their applications before the deadline of 12 September 2012. To get more information, you can go to https://careers.un.org/lbw/Home.aspx [...]
