The UNITAR training centre for local governments in Asia, CIFAL Jeju, is launching its new training series on food and nutrition security to build local government knowledge, skills and capacities in the region.

28 January 2012, New York, USA - The New York Times has once again used UNOSAT satellite derived analysis to illustrate an international humanitarian crisis, this time the surge of Syrian refugees crossing the border with Jordan to seek shelter at the Al Zaatari camp.

January 2013, Conakry, Republic of Guinea – In the framework of the project “Developing an Integrated National Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals and SAICM Implementation in the Republic of Guinea,” the Final National SAICM Project Workshop was held from 24 to 25 January 2013 with the participation of UNITAR and some 45 participants from public and private sectors, civil society, and academia.

24 January 2013, Geneva, Switzerland - Mozambique is being affected by flooding that may match in intensity the catastrophic emergency in 2000 that cost the life of 800 people and brought havoc and loss to the country.

16 January 2013, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Arab countries part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have specific requirements in the area of emergency management and disaster risk reduction, including geographic information and satellite analysis. This is what emerged from discussions held in Riyadh in conjunction with the UNISDR-GCC Training Workshop on reducing and managing disaster risk (13-16 January 2013).

January 2013 - Cyclone Evan is a powerful category 4 storm that tore through the Pacific in December 2012 and was initially compared to the dramatic storm that hit the same region in 1993.

January 2013, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR’s International Law Programme has recently published the list of e-courses scheduled during the first semester of 2013. The course calendar (PDF) for the upcoming semester is currently accessible from our website. It comprises seven e-learning courses in English, one course in Spanish, and one in French.

December 2012, Nayphidow, Myanmar – Myanmar has become the most recent Asian country to receive UNOSAT advanced training on the use of geospatial information technology for disaster risk reduction as part of the UNOSAT sub-regional capacity development initiative launched in 2011.

12 December 2012, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – Côte d’Ivoire held its National Planning and Inception Meeting for the project “Implications of ratification of the Basel Convention Ban Amendment for Côte d'Ivoire”, on 12 December 2012, with the participation of UNITAR.

20 December 2012, Bangkok, Thailand - During intergovernmental meetings being held this week at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), countries from the Asia-Pacific region are showing that their awareness and use of geospatial information to reduce the risk of natural disasters and be better prepared to respond to emergencies is growing steadily.