United Nations

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UN Condemns Syrian Assault
 UN Condemns Syrian Assault 
Aug 3, 2012 2:35 PM CDT

UN Condemns Syrian Assault

Symbolic resolution passes by overwhelming margin

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly gave Syria a fierce, albeit entirely symbolic, rebuke today for the violent crackdown on dissent that has plunged the country into a civil war. The Assembly voted 133-12 in favor of a resolution condemning the violence, with 31 abstaining, the AP reports. "The conflict in...

Kofi Annan Quits Role as Syria Envoy

Ban Ki-moon accepts Annan's resignation

(Newser) - Kofi Annan said today he will step down as special envoy for Syria effective Aug. 31, delivering a blistering criticism of world powers' failure to unite over the country's escalating violence. At an impromptu press conference, Annan told reporters he cannot go on when the 15-nation council provides no...

Assad's Damascus Onslaught Most 'Intense' Yet

50 reported killed yesterday

(Newser) - Neighborhoods across Damascus are facing a second day of regime attacks, and it has "never been this intense," says a leading activist. The army has been firing mortar rounds into areas held by the opposition Free Syrian Army, Rami Abdel Rahman notes. "The security forces are attempting...

UN Team: Syria Targeted Rebels in Tremseh

But the massacre violated Syria's commitment to peace

(Newser) - A visiting UN mission said today that Syria's assault on the village of Tremseh targeted mostly activists and rebels, not civilians, as some reports had claimed. But the attack did violate Syria's peace commitment to the UN and the Arab League by using heavy weapons such as artillery...

World's Biggest Pot-Head Countries

Polite little Palau is surprisingly blunt

(Newser) - What sort of ranking gives its top spots to Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, and puts the US at No. 7? The list of the world's top countries for marijuana use, reports Business Insider , based on the UN's latest World Drug Report . Palau dominated the rankings,...

World Powers Approve 'Last-Ditch' Syria Plan

President Bashar al-Assad could be part of transitional government

(Newser) - Delegates from world powers approved a plan today to end fighting in Syria and support a transitional government that may or may not include President Bashar al-Assad, CNN reports. The first step: Both sides in the Syria conflict will be asked to recommit to a ceasefire. Then the UN and...

UN Demands US Explain Drone Killings

Special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions wants more information

(Newser) - The Obama administration can't just kill anyone it wants to with its flying robots, the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions declared overnight, issuing a report demanding the US justify its drone campaign and disclose its procedures for ensuring the attacks comply with international law...

UN Observers Abandon Syria Mission

They say it's become too dangerous

(Newser) - Another ominous development in Syria: UN observers called it quits today because of the rising violence. The Norwegian general in charge of the 300-person mission complained of a "lack of willingness" from both sides to stop fighting, reports the BBC . Gen. Robert Wood also noted a spike in violence...

Suu Kyi to World: Don't Buy Our Oil

Opposition leader addresses UN in Geneva

(Newser) - Aung San Suu Kyi visited the UN's European headquarters in Geneva today, and amidst pleasantries, made a serious call for the world to boycott Burma's state-run oil and gas companies. "The Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise … lacks both transparency and accountability at present," she said,...

US Fears New Massacre in Syria
 US Fears New Massacre in Syria 
Jun 12, 2012 4:22 AM CDT

US Fears New Massacre in Syria

UN observers blocked from town of Haffa

(Newser) - The US and UN are warning that the Syrian government may be organizing another massacre, this time in the town of Haffa, where UN monitors have been impeded, reports the BBC . International envoy Kofi Annan says he is "gravely concerned" about the escalation of violence, and reports of mortar,...

UN Council Condemns 'Outrageous' Houla Massacre

Only Russia, China, and Cuba vote against it

(Newser) - The UN Human Rights Council sent Syria its harshest rebuke yet in an emergency meeting on the Houla massacre today, approving a resolution to condemn "in the strongest possible terms such an outrageous use of force against the civilian population." Almost the entire 47-nation council approved the US-...

Newest UN Tourism Ambassador Is ... Robert Mugabe?

Choice of Zimbabwean strongman doesn't go over well

(Newser) - The UN has anointed Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe one of its worldwide "leaders of tourism," reports the Guardian , and here's just one hint why it's a little weird: Mugabe himself can't travel the world freely, thanks to US and EU sanctions put in place over...

Iran Shrugs Off 27% Enriched Uranium Find

But there's enough for 5 nuclear bombs, if fully refined

(Newser) - Iran has dismissed the higher-than-expected 27% enriched uranium discovered at an Iranian nuclear site, calling it a mere technical glitch, the AP reports. "This issue shows that some intend to damage the existing constructive cooperation between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency," an Iranian official said today,...

UN Suspects North Korea Shipped Weapons to Syria

Material going through China: UN report

(Newser) - UN officials fear North Korea may be involved in arms deals with Syria and Burma. Pyongyang "continues actively to defy" UN sanctions, says an unpublished panel report viewed by Reuters that cites "illicit sales of arms and related materiel and luxury goods." According to the report, in...

Inside Iran&#39;s Nuclear Site
 Inside Iran's Nuclear Site 
AP Obtains image
May 13, 2012 1:40 PM CDT

Inside Iran's Nuclear Site

Nuclear arms work may be done in secret chamber

(Newser) - A drawing provided to the AP is said to come from inside an Iranian military site and to show a structure used in secret work on nuclear arms. The image shows the type of explosives containment chamber needed for such tests that UN inspectors suspect Tehran has conducted at the...

UN Monitors Arrive as Syria Shells Homs

'Ceasefire,' Syria style

(Newser) - The first UN monitors have arrived in Syria just as the promised ceasefire appears to be going up in smoke with the government's shelling of Homs. Some 25 were killed in attacks yesterday, reports the BBC . Six UN observers have arrived in Damascus. The remaining 25 are expected to...

North Korea Escapes UN Penalties, for Now

But US scraps deal to provide food assistance

(Newser) - The UN Security Council criticized North Korea today for its attempt to launch a rocket but didn't impose sanctions or other penalties. US ambassador Susan Rice said the council "deplored this launch" and agreed to "continue consultations on an appropriate response." The Washington Post says some...

1 Dead as Syria Protests Test Ceasefire

Opposition doubts government restraint, though truce seems to largely hold

(Newser) - Syria's fragile ceasefire seems to be largely holding, as renewed protests today put it to its first real test. But one Hama protester was shot dead by security forces as thousands of protesters again took to the streets, reports the BBC, while the New York Times notes that clashes...

Turkey: Syria Firing Across Our Border

Signs mount that cease-fire likely won't happen

(Newser) - Syrian government forces killed two and wounded three in a cross-border shooting into Turkey yesterday, according to Turkish officials. The shots, which rang out near one of the biggest Syrian refugee camps, came days before a UN-brokered cease-fire was set to begin, further indicating that the deal is on thin...

Syria Escalates Violence, Cease-Fire In Danger

Tanks roll into Damascus suburb in one of conflict's worst raids yet

(Newser) - Syria is just days away from its cease-fire deadline, but the regime sent tanks and troops into a Damascus suburb yesterday, escalating the conflict in defiance of the Kofi Annan-brokered peace plan. "Clearly the violence is still continuing at alarming levels," Annan told the UN General Assembly yesterday,...

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