United Nations

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N. Korea to Shut Border With South

Pyongyang angered by South Korean government's actions

(Newser) - North Korea says it will cut access to South Korea on Dec. 1, by closing the border and severing the sole civilian phone link between the two nations, the BBC reports. The North has grown increasingly hostile to the South since it elected President Lee Myung-bak, who promised to “...

UN Boss Jets to Congo Amid New Fighting

Fears of a wider conflict grow as rebel leader threatens to take Goma

(Newser) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon is traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo to press for a peace deal just as new fighting breaks out, the Guardian reports. The Congolese government has rejected peace talks with the rebels, who have vowed to attack the provincial capital of Goma and continue a...

Toilet Summit Tackles Issue of 'Potty Parity' for Women

Organizations discuss worldwide sanitation in Macau

(Newser) - The World Toilet Summit began in Macau today, as UN agencies, civil-society groups and the World Toilet Organization discuss how to provide sanitation for the 2.5 billion who still lack access to a clean lavatory, LiveScience reports. The summit will also address the issue of “potty parity”—...

Congolese Exodus Begins as Rebels Reach Key City

(Newser) - The strategic Congolese city of Goma descended into chaos today, raising the likelihood of a bloody regional war. Government soldiers commandeered cars, taxis, and motorbikes in a retreat from advancing rebels, joining tens of thousands of terrified refugees struggling to stay ahead of the violence. Tutsi rebels said they had...

Blair Banks $20M in First Year as Ex-PM

Feat beats Clinton, but UN wonders if he's doing his peace job

(Newser) - Tony Blair took in around $20 million since stepping aside as British PM last October, the Times of London reports, six times what he’d made in his entire life and more than double Bill Clinton’s take in his first year out of office. Some at the UN have...

UN Pleads for Troops as Congo Battle Rages

Peacekeepers overwhelmed as rebels advance against government troops

(Newser) - The overwhelmed United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern Congo is urgently calling for reinforcements, the AP reports. A surge in fighting between Congolese government troops and forces led by a renegade general has sent tens of thousands fleeing. The UN currently has only 6,000 troops in North Kivu, where...

Jolie Returns, Moved, From Afghanistan Trip

Goodwill ambassador visited refugees, urges international aid

(Newser) - Angelina Jolie made a trip to Afghanistan last week in her role as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, spending two days among the country's returning refugees. The actress visited sites where thousands of Afghans live in makeshift housing and struggle to find work, problems that typify the stress the...

Wrong on Iraq, Wrong on Barack
 Wrong on Iraq, 
 Wrong on Barack 
OPINION
Oct 21, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Wrong on Iraq, Wrong on Barack

Obama endorsement brings Powell's judgment into question — again

(Newser) - Just as Colin Powell overlooked UN corruption before the Iraq war, he's overlooking Barack Obama's flaws as a candidate, Claudia Rosett writes in the National Review. His endorsement lacked any specifics about the transformations Obama will bring about, leading her to revisit Powell's previous "blind spots." Rosett doesn't...

US, Iraq Close to 2011 Pullout Pact

Deal would also allow Iraq prosecutions of US soldiers who commit rape, murder

(Newser) - The US and Iraq are close to clinching a new security agreement which would include a targeted 2011 date for troop withdrawal—and a provision to allow US troops to be prosecuted in Iraqi courts. The US military has enjoyed blanket immunity from criminal prosecution, but under the new agreement...

N. Korea Readies Test Launch Missiles

UN monitoring halted, disarmament pact nearing collapse

(Newser) - North Korea sent 10 missiles to test-launch sites off the Yellow Sea today and halted UN monitoring of its nuclear complex, Reuters reports, in the latest hardline signal from the Communist regime as it flirts with scrapping a nuclear disarmament deal. Meanwhile, Pyongyang tested two ship-to-ship missiles in the West...

Biofuels Not Worth Upward Push on Food Prices: UN

Nations should rethink subsidies: report

(Newser) - While use of biofuels is supposed to combat climate change, the effects of its production on food prices is not worth the emissions they offset, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said today. The FAO called for countries to review production quotas and subsidies that encourage biofuel use in...

UN Crackdown on Heroin Is Bleeding Taliban Dry

Hundreds of tons of chemicals seized

(Newser) - The UN has been quietly striking a major blow against the Taliban with a widely successful international attack on its heroin trade, Bloomberg reports. The campaign has seized several hundred tons of acetic anhydride bound for Afghanistan. Without the chemical, the Taliban can’t convert its poppy, which sells for...

Report to UN: Dudes, Legalize Weed

Drug less harmful than alcohol or smoking, report says

(Newser) - Slick-suited diplomats are not the likeliest advocates for lifting worldwide marijuana bans, but a British scientific report targets the UN, saying a regulated marijuana market would remove most of the drug's harm, since it comes from prohibition itself, the Guardian reports. Legalizing it would also allow governments to tax the...

'Gordon Gekko': Wall Street Isn't Wall Street

Actor Douglas deflects questions about financial markets

(Newser) - Questions from reporters apparently confused by the fantasy-reality divide forced Michael Douglas to explain yesterday that he isn't actually the investment banker he played in 1987's Wall Street. Although he won an Oscar for portraying "greed is good" proponent Gordon Gekko, he's not an expert on the current financial...

Iran Leader: 'American Empire' Coming to an End

Ahmadinejad, speaking at UN, vows to resists 'bullying powers'

(Newser) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that the days of America asserting its influence over the world are numbered, Reuters reports. At the UN, Ahmadinejad blamed a "few bullying powers" for the world's troubles and for trying to rein in his nation's peaceful nuclear ambitions. Ahmadinejad, who earlier made...

In Final Visit, Bush Touts UN
 In Final Visit, 
 Bush Touts UN 
Sep 23, 2008 12:43 PM CDT

In Final Visit, Bush Touts UN

Multinational bodies key against extremists, president tells General Assembly

(Newser) - President Bush, who once expressed disdain for the United Nations, said today that multinational organizations are now "needed more urgently than ever" to combat extremists threatening world order. In his eighth and final speech to the General Assembly, Bush said the international community must stand firm against North Korea...

Clinton Cancels Event After Palin Invited, Too

Hillary calls off appearance at Jewish rally outside UN

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by also inviting Sarah Palin. Several American Jewish groups are planning a major demonstration outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 to protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Clinton aides were furious that...

Palin Plans Meet-and-Greet at UN Next Week

McCain plans to introduce her to foreign leaders at general assembly

(Newser) - John McCain plans to introduce Sarah Palin to foreign leaders at the United Nations next week to boost her foreign-policy experience, the Wall Street Journal reports. McCain advisers say they hope the running mate will demonstrate her diplomatic prowess and understanding of foreign-policy issues during the visit Tuesday, the same...

Damon, Singer Jean Help in Haiti

Call on UN to raise $100M for storm recovery

(Newser) - Matt Damon and singer Wyclef Jean waded through knee-deep flood waters during a tour of decimated Gonaives, Haiti, yesterday to call attention to the widespread suffering that has followed tropical storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike. "I'm speechless, I can't believe it," Damon told the AP. The actor and...

UN Urges: Eat Less Meat to Fight Warming

Cattle 'emissions' equal effect of 33 million automobiles

(Newser) - Meat-eaters who want to help fight global warming can do so by going vegetarian at least one day a week, a top UN official tells the Guardian. The meat industry accounts for an estimated one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions, released during feed production and as methane by flatulent livestock....

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