United Nations – News Stories About United Nations - Page 44

Oct 1, 2007 5:00 PM CDT

Oil-for-Food Tycoon Pleads Guilty

Octogenarian Wyatt faces 18 to 24 months, will return $11M

(Newser) - Oil magnate Oscar Wyatt pleaded guilty to conspiracy today, ending his trial on federal charges that he paid Saddam Hussein's government millions to secure oil supply deals in the UN oil-for-food program scandal. The 83-year-old Wyatt will serve 18 to 24 months in prison and give up $11 million, Reuters...

Taiwan Flexing Missile Muscle

Sep 30, 2007 11:29 AM CDT

Taiwan Flexing Missile Muscle

Govt. officials confirm plans for long-range cruise missile capable of hitting China

(Newser) - As China quietly stockpiles weapons aimed at Taiwan, the renegade island confirms it is developing its own cruise missiles capable of hitting the mainland, including Shanghai and many military bases. The controversial weapon, intended to "make China hesitate before launching any attack," is more likely to ramp up...

UN Burma
Envoy Meets
Activist Leader

Sep 30, 2007 11:06 AM CDT

UN Burma Envoy Meets Activist Leader

Suu Kyi freed briefly from 12-year house arrest for key sitdown

(Newser) - The United Nations' envoy to Burma met briefly today with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations, reports AP. The UN representative first met with leaders of the military junta, which continued to lock down the nation's largest cities in the wake of ...

Iran Sanctions Delayed Until November

Sep 28, 2007 3:55 PM CDT

Iran Sanctions Delayed Until November

World powers put off taking action against nuclear program

(Newser) - Foreign ministers from the US, China, UK, Russia, Germany, and France agreed today to postpone a vote on sanctioning Iran for its nuclear program until at least the end of November. The date depends on reports from the UN nuclear watchdog and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solano, whom the...

Sanctions on Iran 'Illegal': Ahmadinejad

Sep 25, 2007 9:02 PM CDT

Sanctions on Iran 'Illegal': Ahmadinejad

Iran's prez blasts US policy and 'Zionist regime' at the UN

(Newser) - Today Ahmadinejad attacked "illegal" sanctions on Iran and said that its "peaceful and transparent" nuclear policy should be left to UN watchdog, Reuters reports. Speaking at the UN, he also slammed the "illegal Zionist regime" and blasted the US for occupying Iraq. "The occupiers ... do not...

US, EU Will
Back Kosovo Secession

Sep 25, 2007 12:42 PM CDT

US, EU Will Back Kosovo Secession

Rice insists independence from Serbia is only option

(Newser) - The Bush administration and the EU will support an independent Kosovo with or without a UN-backed plan. Serbs and Kosovo Albanians will conduct a last round of negotiations on the breakaway country's status before a Dec. 10 deadline. If that deadline passes, Kosovo will declare independence and the US and...

VP Mulled Israeli Strike on Iran

Sep 23, 2007 6:31 PM CDT

VP Mulled Israeli Strike on Iran

Israel would have bombed nuke facilities —and still might

(Newser) - Dick Cheney considered encouraging Israel to launch an air strike on Iran, Reuters reports, citing a Newsweek claim that Cheney saw the strike as drawing retailation that would, in turn, draw the US into a war. Cheney adviser David Wurmser is said to have disclosed the discussions.

UN Gears for Bigger Role in Iraq

Sep 23, 2007 6:22 AM CDT

UN Gears for Bigger Role in Iraq

New Baghdad office to open

(Newser) - The United Nations plans to increase its presence in Iraq, but has serious concerns about the "unstable" security situation, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said at a meeting in New York yesterday with Iraq's prime minister. The expanded UN mission would seek to stabilize Iraq by mediating sect rivalries, bolstering...

The Arctic Is Ours: Kremlin

Sep 21, 2007 2:33 AM CDT

The Arctic Is Ours: Kremlin

Russia claims polar mineral wealth

(Newser) - In the latest audacious claim by Russia, the nation is insisting that rock samples taken 13,000 feet beneath the North Pole prove that a large part of the Arctic seabed is rightfully Russian territory. The US, Canada, Norway and Denmark also have territorial claims to the mineral-rich area that's...

Crocker: Speed Up Iraqi
Refugee Policy

Sep 17, 2007 10:41 AM CDT

Crocker: Speed Up Iraqi Refugee Policy

Ambassador says 10,000 expats could take 2 years to admit

(Newser) - Ambassador Ryan Crocker says the US needs to get moving on admitting Iraqi refugees. In a State Department memo titled "Iraqi Refugee Processing: Can We Speed It Up?", Crocker writes that thousands of desperate Iraqis are facing bottlenecks to their resettlement, and that at the present rate it would...

France Warns of War with Iran

Sep 17, 2007 4:24 AM CDT

France Warns of War with Iran

World should 'prepare for the worst," says foreign minister

(Newser) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday threatened war with Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program. France favors negotiations and sanctions but the world should prepare for military action if all else fails, he said in an interview on French TV. Iranian nuclear weapons would pose "a real danger...

11,000 People With No Place to Go... Yet

Sep 16, 2007 6:03 PM CDT

11,000 People With No Place to Go... Yet

Global warming will put Polynesian island underwater in 50 years

(Newser) - Legal experts are debating what to do with the people of Tuvalu, a Polynesian island state which will be underwater in 50 years if the globe keeps warming. Many residents have found homes in New Zealand but others have met resistance in Australia, where immigration is an election issue. International...

Taiwanese Rally Renews Attempt to Join UN

Sep 15, 2007 10:00 AM CDT

Taiwanese Rally Renews Attempt to Join UN

Thousands march, but China's opposition likely dooms bid

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Taiwanese took to the streets today to again seek a seat at the UN. The UN has rejected previous attempts to join under its official name, the Republic of China, so the island nation now tries to join as Taiwan. But the bid is certain to...

Sudan's Leader Meets Pope, Vows to Honor Ceasefire

Sep 14, 2007 3:24 PM CDT

Sudan's Leader Meets Pope, Vows to Honor Ceasefire

In controversial Italy visit, Bashir pledges quiet during October peace talks

(Newser) - Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, in a rare and controversial visit to Italy, promised today to observe a ceasefire in Darfur during October peace talks. Pope Benedict used a meeting with Bashir to stress the importance of human rights, while Italy’s PM voiced “strong concerns” over the four-year genocidal...

First Lady Prods UN Head on Burma Policy

Sep 6, 2007 7:35 PM CDT

First Lady Prods UN Head on Burma Policy

Laura Bush urges tougher stance on crackdown on protests

(Newser) - As part of her ongoing campaign to raise awareness about strife in military-led Burma, Laura Bush called on the UN to condemn recent arrests of political dissidents. The first lady made her passion clear with a phone call to Secretary General Ban Ki Moon last week, in which she called...

UN Chief to Visit Darfur Camp

Sep 5, 2007 5:39 AM CDT

UN Chief to Visit Darfur Camp

Ban wants to witness plight first hand

(Newser) - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will visit a refugee camp in Darfur to see for himself the plight of displaced people there and conditions facing UN peace keepers who will arrive next year. Ban, who's in Sudan on an official visit, is playing a double role, encouraging the Sudanese...

Iran Boasts of Nuke Potential

Sep 2, 2007 12:05 PM CDT

Iran Boasts of Nuke Potential

Ahmadinejad claims 3,000 centrifuges, after UN praises its probe cooperation

(Newser) - Iran is operating 3,000 centrifuges in a bid to enrich uranium for its nuclear program, president Ahmadinejad said today, contradicting a UN report that listed far fewer. But the Iranian president praised the report by the UN nuclear watchdog, which said the country’s rate of enrichment activities had...

UN Finds
Iran Nuke
Progress Slow

Aug 30, 2007 3:12 PM CDT

UN Finds Iran Nuke Progress Slow

Tehran has overstated nuclear capacity, watchdog agency finds

(Newser) - The UN's nuclear watchdog says Iran’s uranium enrichment is progressing slowly, Reuters reports, a finding that will likely dim American efforts to impose new sanctions. “Iran made a fast start but then there was a leveling off,” said an official of the IAEA, whose report debunked Iran's...

Nerve Gas Found at UN Building

Aug 30, 2007 12:46 PM CDT

Nerve Gas Found at UN Building

Building evacuated after vials of dangerous chemical turn up in office

(Newser) - Weapons inspectors cleaning out an office in a United Nations building near its Manhattan headquarters found six to eight vials of a nerve gas believed to have been recovered from Iraq in 1996, the AP reports. A UN spokeswoman said there was no immediate danger from the substance, identified as...

Iraqis Fleeing to US Hindered

Aug 29, 2007 9:58 AM CDT

Iraqis Fleeing to US Hindered

Workers' lives are in danger, but exit routes are clogged

(Newser) - Iraqis who have worked with the occupation forces, endangering their own lives, face overwhelming obstacles if they want to enter the US as refugees. Tens of thousands of locals work for contractors, but because they're not directly employed by the US government, they're not eligible for special immigration status. The...