12 News & Press Releases found
United Nations News
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African nations meet to boost disaster risk reduction at UN-backed forum
Delegates from 42 countries in Africa, which along with Asia is the most vulnerable continent to disasters, kicked off a United Nations-backed meeting in Nairobi today to discuss ways to make their communities and citizens safer.Over 700,000 people ...
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New UN energy report says 1.5bn people worldwide live in darkness
With the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen just 13 days away, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted the need to ensure that the energy needs of developing countries are central to any new climate agreement, after a new ...
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UN agrees to advise Russia on ‘greening’ 2014 Sochi Olympics
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has signed an agreement with the organizers of the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia to make the Games environmentally friendly. In addition to advising on “greening” the Olympics, UNEP will also organize ...
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UN forum calls for global panel to warn against dangerous chemicals
A key speaker at a United Nations conference on managing the health risks posed by everyday chemicals has called for the world body to create an international panel of experts to help protect the public against the poisonous substances. It has ...
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Billion tree campaign grows past 3 billion mark, says UN agency
An effort to fight climate change through reforestation, seeded at the grassroots level, has now blossomed into a woodland of over 3 billion trees, with the confirmation that over 300 million were planted in Turkey in 2008, the United Nations ...
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In the fight to save children’s lives, washing hands takes centre stage
Wednesday 15th October marked the first ever Global Handwashing Day, celebrated in over 70 countries across five continents in an effort to mobilize and motivate millions around the world to wash their hands with soap. Handwashing with soap is one ...
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Leaders at UN launch campaign to virtually eliminate malaria deaths by 2015
Government, business and civil society leaders gathered at the United Nations last week to launch a global campaign to reduce malaria deaths, currently at more than 1 million each year, to near zero by 2015, with an initial commitment of nearly a ...
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African officials agree to reduce environmental threats to health
African health and environment ministers attending a United Nations-sponsored conference which concluded this week in Gabon have agreed to form an alliance to try to reduce environmental threats to human health and well-being. The Libreville ...
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Russia to relocate Winter Olympic sites after UN expresses environmental concerns
Triggered by recommendations from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the organizers of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi in south-west Russia will relocate several facilities from a protected wilderness area.Organizers will ...
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‘Billion Tree Campaign’ blossoms to seven times its size, UN agency says
A grassroots campaign to plant trees around the globe has announced that it is raising its target from 1 billion trees to 7 billion trees, the United Nations announced today. The campaign, which is under the patronage of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate ...
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Estonia the first to sign UN-backed sea wreck treaty
Estonia today became the first country to sign up to an international convention on the removal of lurking shipwrecks that pose dangers to navigation and the sea environment, while the head of the United Nations marine agency urged other States to ...
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Asian governments must address environmental problems to sustain long-term growth, says UN
Asia-Pacific is likely to continue to see strong economic growth this year, despite uncertainties posed by a slowing United States economy, according to a new United Nations report. “Key Economic Developments and Prospects in the Asia-Pacific ...