Tuesday, 24 February 2004

Listen to entire programme - Real Audio MP3
Listen to the news

US Says Iraqis are Mapping their Own Political Future

The United States has told the Security Council that the people of Iraq and the international community are working together to map out their political future. Ambassador John Negroponte was briefing the council on the activities of the coalition provisional authority in Iraq. The Ambassador said the number of Iraqis contributing to security has doubled and increasing everyday. And, he also said the number of attacks against the provisional authority have decreased since the capture of the former president, while attacks against civilians have increased. Ambassador Negroponte noted, however, that a number of difficulties still remain.

Annan Calls for Better Security to Return to Iraq

Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the UN will not risk a repeat of last year's attack on its offices in Iraq by establishing a full presence in the country unless security is improved. Mr. Annan told reporters in Japan that the UN presence would remain light until Iraq becomes safer for the staff:

"The efforts to secure the environment, to improve security, to create a secure environment must go on because security is essential for me to be able to retain the UN staff and it's not just essential for the UN staff, it's essential for the average Iraqi to be able to go about their business and participate in their nation building."

Mr. Annan says security is essential for elections and for the reconstruction of Iraq.

Less Refugees Seeking Asylum: UNHCR

There's been a dramatic fall off in the number of asylum seekers arriving in industrialized countries in 2003. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says asylum seekers fell by 20 per cent and is even lower in the European Union where asylum seekers dropped to 22 per cent - its lowest in five years. UNHCR says Russians have shot to the top of the list of refugees seeking asylum, surpassing Iraqis and Afghans. Spokesman Rupert Colville says the situation in African countries has improved:

"There's also significant falls in a number of African countries which have had important changes in the circumstances in those countries."

UNHCR says the figure fell by more than 50 per cent for Sierra Leonean asylum seekers.

UN Panel Calls for a Rethink of Globalization

Globalisation can and must change in order to prevent millions from getting left behind. That according to a report by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. The report titled "A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All," calls for an "urgent rethink" of current policies and institutions of global governance. The commission was co-chaired by Tanzania's President Benjamin Mkapa and he says the commission perceived globalisation as an opportunity for increasing global prosperity and eliminating poverty:

"We are concerned however, that on its own, the unfolding process of globalisation does not and frankly, cannot create discernible fair and exploitable opportunities for all. The positive must be enhanced, the negative must be minimised. Only when everyone has a stake can the prosperity that we expect from globalisation be sustainable, only then will our collective and peaceful future be founded on solid ground."

The 26-member commission was set up two years ago by the International Labour Organization.

UN Appeals for Urgent Assistance to Meet Food Needs of Refugees in Ethiopia

An urgent appeal has gone out for donors to meet the immediate needs of Sudanese and Somali refugees in Ethiopia. Two United Nations agencies - the World Food Programme and the UN refugee agency - say they're running out of food needed for more than 120-thousand refugees in Ethiopia who rely upon rations to meet virtually all their dietary needs.