United Nations

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Syrians Describe 'Sleeping Dead' After Alleged Gas Attack

UN to hold emergency meeting this afternoon

(Newser) - The UN Security Council will meet in an emergency session at 3pm Eastern today to discuss the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian army, reports the AP . The latest developments:
  • The US says it's "deeply concerned" at the reports, UN chief Ban Ki-moon says he's
...

UN Heads to Syria to Hunt Chemical Weapons

Officials to investigate weapons' use, but not who to blame

(Newser) - Following approval by Bashar al-Assad, a UN team is headed to Syria to investigate whether chemical weapons are being used in the country. "The departure of the team is now imminent," says a statement from secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon. Inspectors will remain in Syria "for a period of...

North Korea to Panama: Give Back Our Ship

'Aging' weapons due for repair, return: Pyongyang

(Newser) - North Korea is finally weighing in on the seizure of its ship by Panama , and it says the weapons found on board are simply for repair and return to Cuba. "This cargo is nothing but aging weapons which are to be sent back to Cuba after overhauling them according...

UN: Syria Is the New Rwanda
 UN: Syria Is the New Rwanda 
Jul 17, 2013 3:50 AM CDT

UN: Syria Is the New Rwanda

Refugee crisis worst since 1994

(Newser) - An average of 6,000 Syrians are fleeing their war-ravaged country every day, causing the world's worst refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide, the United Nations warns. The UN's refugee chief says the outflow of refugees has escalated at "a frightening rate" since the beginning of this...

Malala Demands Education in UN Speech

General Assembly celebrates her 16th birthday

(Newser) - What did you do for your sweet 16? Because Malala Yousufzai spent hers addressing the UN, which was celebrating a special "Malala Day" in her honor today, al-Jazeera reports. "Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons," said the Pakistani teen,...

New Snowden Leaks: US Bugged, Spied on EU Offices

German's ' Der Spiegel' says US spied on offices, computer networks in DC, NY, Brussels

(Newser) - The latest dirt from Snowden's files: German news magazine Der Spiegel says it has seen documents taken from the NSA by Snowden that show the US bugged European Union offices, and spied on the EU's computer networks in Washington and at the United Nations, gaining access to internal...

Grim New Number for Syria: 92,901

UN says that's the number of documented dead

(Newser) - The United Nations' human rights office released a grim number today: 92,901 confirmed killed in Syria between March 2011 and April 2013. Even worse: The actual number is probably much higher, the AP reports. At least 6,561 children are among the dead, 1,729 of them under age...

Burma Minority Limited to 2 Kids

Now a top official supports local rule

(Newser) - Burmese officials last month "reaffirmed" a controversial two-child limit on minority Rohingya Muslims in two townships in Rakhine state, and now a top official has lent his support to the effort. "This will benefit the Bengali women," Immigration Minister Khin Yi tells Reuters , using the government term...

Pope Thinks You're Stealing, Basically

'Throwing away food is stealing from... those who are poor and hungry'

(Newser) - If you've ever thrown out good food, Pope Francis says you're a thief. "Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry," he said during an audience at the Vatican this week, in which he blamed a "culture...

UN's Hunger RX: Let the World Eat Bugs

Though 'consumer disgust' could get in the way

(Newser) - The UN has a simple way to address world hunger: We should all eat more insects, it says in a new report . "Insects are everywhere and they reproduce quickly, and they have high growth and feed conversion rates and a low environmental footprint," the report says, per the...

UN Suspects Syrian Rebels Used Nerve Gas

'Strong suspicions' but no proof yet, top investigator says

(Newser) - Another game-changer? One of the United Nations' chief investigators says evidence is building that sarin gas was used in the Syrian conflict—but by rebels, not Bashar al-Assad's regime. "Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors, and field hospitals" and "there are strong, concrete...

Iraq Has Deadliest Month in 5 Years: UN

It records more than 700 deaths in April, most of them civilians

(Newser) - The United Nations mission to Iraq says more people were killed in violent attacks across the country in April than in any other month since June 2008. The UN recorded 712 people killed last month, including 117 members of the Iraqi security forces, along with 1,633 people injured. The...

UN Adopts Landmark Arms Treaty

Most nations back, but Russia, China abstain

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first UN treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade today, a goal sought for more than a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters, and organized crime. The resolution adopting the landmark treaty was approved...

Newsflash, US: Iran Isn&#39;t Isolated
 Newsflash, US: 
 Iran Isn't Isolated 
OPINION
Apr 1, 2013 1:58 PM CDT

Newsflash, US: Iran Isn't Isolated

Claudia Rosett thinks the 'rogue state' has plenty of juice at the UN

(Newser) - President Obama likes to say that Iran is "isolated," but he must not be paying very close attention to the goings on at the United Nations, where the supposed rogue state "has been cultivating its own mini-empire," writes Claudia Rosett in the Wall Street Journal . Iran...

UN Authorizes Offensive Force for Congo

Up to 3K peacekeeper troops to get 'intervention' authority to stop rebels

(Newser) - The UN Security Council has voted for the first time to authorize a peacekeeping force to carry out offensive operations, with up to 3,000 troops based in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, reports the AP . The resolution is good for one year, giving the "intervention brigade" the...

Iran, N. Korea, Syria Block UN Arms Trade Treaty

Other countries to keep pushing for pact

(Newser) - Iran, North Korea, and Syria blocked adoption of a UN treaty that would regulate the multibillion-dollar international arms trade for the first time, saying it fails to ban sales to terrorists, but other countries refused to let the treaty die. The treaty's adoption required agreement by all 193 UN...

UN to Finally Probe N. Korea's Secret Gulags

Prison camps could amount to crimes against humanity: official

(Newser) - The UN Human Rights Council has unanimously agreed to launch its first-ever investigation of human rights abuses in North Korea. An investigator urged a focus on prison camps , which "could qualify as crimes against humanity," he said. "These are camps which have the purpose of driving the...

Crack a Smile: It's International Happiness Day

But watch out: Someone may be planning to give you a free hug

(Newser) - The UN has been pretty busy of late: Amid all its heavy boozing and business-class flying , it managed to name today the world's first International Day of Happiness. And, warning, some people around the globe are planning to observe it in a pretty in-your-face way, reports the New York ...

Story Behind Iconic Gaza-Clash Photo Unravels

Israel likely not responsible for strike that killed reporter's baby: UN

(Newser) - An errant Palestinian rocket, not an Israeli airstrike, likely killed the baby of a BBC reporter during fighting in the Hamas-ruled territory last November, a UN report indicated, challenging the widely believed story behind an image that became a symbol of what Palestinians said was Israeli aggression. Omar al-Masharawi, an...

US Fed Up With Drunk Diplomats at UN Meetings

 US Fed Up With 
 Drunk UN Diplomats 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 10, 2013 10:55 AM CDT

US Fed Up With Drunk UN Diplomats

Ambassador spoils the party, calls for 'inebriation-free zone'

(Newser) - Some diplomats consider a few stiff drinks to be essential before United Nations budget negotiations. But the US ambassador for management and reform is sick of dealing with intoxicated counterparts—and he'd like them banned from budget negotiations, Foreign Policy reports. "There has always been a good and...

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