General News

A group of 28 Sri Lankan migrants left stranded by people smugglers in Togo in West Africa are on their way home.

The 28 were part of a group of 209 Sri Lankans who, it’s thought, were on their way to Canada via Ethiopia and then Togo.

They were intercepted by the Togolese authorities in November last year and have been living in a stadium in the capital Lomé ever since.

Patrick Maigua asked Jean Philippe Chauzy from the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration for more details about what happened.

Duration: 3’22”

Deaths from cancer could double to up to 12 million a year worldwide within the next 20 years according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The increase from around 6 million cases a year is based purely on an expected rise in the global population….and could be higher if measures to prevent the disease are not implemented.

Ahead of the World Cancer Day on Saturday, Patrick Maigua asked Dr Andreas Ullrich from WHO’s Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion department about deaths from cancer.

Duration:  3'51"

Displacement caused by inter-ethnic violence and a stream of refugees fleeing conflict in neighbouring Sudan, are some of the challenges facing the new nation of South Sudan.

That assessment comes from UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, who is on her first mission to the country.

Ms. Amos has visited South Sudan’s troubled Jonglei State, where recent inter-ethnic violence has displaced thousands of people.

Richard Janda asked Ms. Amos her impressions of the newly independent nation.

Duration: 2’50”

“We just received the new data from food security and nutrition analysis in Somalia and we can say that no more, any region in Somalia under famine conditions.”

That was José Graziano da Silva, the Director General of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) speaking in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday.

The famine may officially be over, but the United Nations is warning that the situation in the Horn of Africa country remains fragile.

Training women conflict mediators in countries in Africa and Asia, helping ethnic Moroccan women to inherit property, and creating “safe spaces” for schoolgirls in Zambia.

These are just some of the successes of UN Women, which celebrates its first anniversary this month.

Agency chief Michelle Bachelet has outlined her six-point plan for 2012 which focuses on the political and economic empowerment, as well as efforts to combat gender-based violence and expand women’s role in conflict resolution.

Jocelyne Sambira reports.

Duration:  2'08"

The effectiveness of drugs to fight tuberculosis or TB has been put under the spotlight after research showed that resistance to TB medication has hit record highs in some parts of the world.

TB is a common and often lethal infection which attacks the lungs.

The new research published by the World Health Organization (WHO) says that some countries are reporting that the drugs are no longer effective in more than 65 per cent of patients who have been treated for TB.

The authorities in Senegal are being warned by the UN that any mishandling of ongoing protests could lead to what have been described as “serious results”.

Violence has erupted in various parts of the West African country in which at least four people including one police officer are reported to have been killed.

It follows the publication of the list of presidential candidates for elections later this month.

The UN Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay, is urging restraint.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in the Middle East as part of his efforts to help Israel and the Palestinians find a solution to their ongoing conflict.

On Thursday, he crossed into Gaza where he called once again for the lifting of the blockade by Israel.

There he was met by families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails who were angry that the UN chief was unable to meet them to discuss their plight.

The UN agency (UNWRA) continues to support the rebuilding of Gaza following an outbreak of hostilities at the end of 2008.

Israel is being urged to do more to create a “positive dynamic” in the Middle East peace process by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Mr. Ban is on tour in the Middle East to encourage Israelis and Palestinians to re-engage in peace talks.

Jocelyne Sambira has more.

Duration: 3'03"

A packed UN Security Council has been hearing calls for support of an Arab League plan to resolve the unrest continuing for 10 months in Syria.

The Security Council has been unable to come up with a solution to the ongoing crisis.

Senior leaders including the Arab League Secretary General, the US Secretary of State, and the Foreign Affairs Ministers of France, the United Kingdom and Germany are in New York for Tuesday evening’s meeting.

Dianne Penn reports

Duration: 2'52"