General News

Actress and Goodwill Ambassador Mira Sorvino uses her star power in the fight against human trafficking, especially when it comes to women and girls.

She was at the UN recently to take part in an interactive dialogue on the issue.

It is estimated that, across the globe, 2.4 million people are forced to endure the crime of human trafficking.

Ms. Sorvino tells Julie Walker she takes her off screen role very seriously and is even involved in policy writing and legal reform on the issue.

Duration 4’41”

The Security Council has adopted a resolution to deploy an advance monitoring team to Syria.

 All 15 council members voted in favour of the resolution, which has been welcomed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, who has been mediating a solution to the country’s crisis.

Syria has agreed to Mr. Annan’s six-point peace proposal which calls for  a UN-supervised cessation of violence by all parties.

Dianne Penn reports.

(Duration: 3'29)

For more than a decade, HIV positive mothers in South Africa were assured they could stop the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS by not breastfeeding their babies. So, instead these women feed their infants formula.

But by not breastfeeding, they were exposing them to other deadly childhood killers like diarrhea and pneumonia. Now the South African government is rolling out a new policy with the help of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, that aims to bring down the stubbornly high levels of infant and child mortality.

This month, Timor-Leste returns to the polls for the second round of presidential elections. Two men—Francisco Guterres and Taur Matan Ruak—are the candidates in the run-off.

The UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, known as UNMIT, has been helping the Timorese government by supporting the national police force, including through community policing.

Daniela Traldi reports.

Duration: 2'02"

The attempt by North Korea to launch a satellite into space on 13 April has been criticized by the United Nations.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says it is not only in violation of a Security Council resolution but also threatens regional stability.

The rocket carrying the satellite disintegrated and crashed into the sea a few minutes into flight.

The Security Council is discussing how it should respond to the failed launch of the satellite.

Derrick Mbatha reports.

Duration: 3'13"

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic which struck an iceberg on 14 April and sank in the north Atlantic as it travelled from England to New York City.

This year also marks the start of the protection of the wreckage of the ship under the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The UN Security Council is meeting behind closed doors in connection with the deployment of an advance observer mission to Syria.

It is expected that up to 12 personnel will travel to the country ahead of a possible full mission that could comprise up to 250 observers.

Dianne Penn reports.

Duration: 2'39"

There has been considerable improvement in access to water, sanitation and hygiene or WASH, according to a new reported unveiled on Thursday.

Interestingly enough, the United Nations report is called the Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water or GLASS.

The Security Council is consulting on the possibility of sending an observer mission to Syria.

This follows a request from the UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy on Syria, Kofi Annan, who briefed council members via videoconference on Thursday.

Dianne Penn reports.

Duration: 3'51"

Annie Roboff and Beth Nielsen Chapman are used to working with stars.  As songwriters, they have written tunes for artists such as country music superstar Faith Hill, her husband, Tim McGraw, and the late pop diva, Whitney Houston.  But now the two talented friends are working with another group of stars: the ones in the sky. 

 Together with Rocky Alvey, who is the superintendent at the Dyer Observatory at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, they have recorded a CD called ‘The Mighty Sky’ which uses music to teach children how the universe works.