United Nations

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Zimbabwe Cholera Outbreak Now Infects 60K

(Newser) - Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic has now infected more than 60,000 people, a number the World Health Organization had previously pegged as the “worst case scenario,” the BBC reports. More than 3,000 have died from the disease since its August outbreak, and with Zimbabwe’s water, sanitation,...

UN Asks Davos for $613M in Gaza Aid

Funds would provide immediate aid, more money needed for long-term

(Newser) - The UN asked attendees at the Davos economic forum for $613 million to address “massive and multi-faceted” needs resulting from recent violence in Gaza, the BBC reports. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says the funds will provide medical care and clean water for 6-9 months. As fresh violence heightened the need...

Afghan Elections Delayed; Opponents Call Move Illegal

Karzai opponents call delay illegal, vow to stop recognizing his authority

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s May presidential election will be delayed until August, officials said today, in a decision that appears to contradict the country's constitution. The Afghan election commission said it needed more time to register candidates, set up voting machinery, and ensure security, the New York Times reports, but that didn’...

Iran Nears Nuke Breakthrough
 Iran Nears Nuke Breakthrough 

Iran Nears Nuke Breakthrough

Iran could have nuclear weapon by 2010

(Newser) - Iran may be mere months away from amassing enough low-enriched uranium to begin the next step in developing nuclear weapons, reports the Daily Telegraph. If the regime overcomes certain technical hurdles and further enriches its uranium to weapons grade, it could potentially develop a nuclear warhead by next year, reports...

Israel Probes Phosphorus Use in Gaza
Israel Probes Phosphorus
Use in Gaza

Israel Probes Phosphorus Use in Gaza

Admits deadly shells may have hit civilian areas, violating law

(Newser) - Under pressure from the international community, Israel has admitted its troops might have inappropriately used white phosphorus in attacks on Gaza, and has launched an investigation. International law only permits the caustic chemical for creating smokescreens in troop areas, which wouldn’t explain hits on United Nations facilities in Gaza,...

Mugabe Acknowledges Cholera Epidemic

(Newser) - Robert Mugabe has backtracked on his denial of the Zimbabwean cholera crisis, AFP reports. “He is acknowledging there is a problem,” said a UNICEF official who met with him today. “He recognizes there is a problem with the water and the sewer systems.” The admission comes...

Israel Shells UN Headquarters
 Israel Shells UN Headquarters 

Israel Shells UN Headquarters

Offensive escalates even as ceasefire hopes rise

(Newser) - Israeli shells set fire to the UN’s relief agency headquarters and a hospital today, as Israeli tanks pushed deep into Gaza City, the BBC reports. Some 700 people were inside the compound, along with large amounts of fuel and aid supplies; at least three UN employees were injured. Secretary-General...

Olmert: I Made Condi Abstain on Gaza Vote

Israel PM claims he 'embarrassed' Rice in urgent call to Bush

(Newser) - Israel’s prime minister says an urgent call to President Bush last week resulted in Condoleezza Rice changing her vote on a UN Gaza resolution, the New York Times reports, with Ehud Olmert adding that the secretary of State “was left pretty embarrassed.” Rice helped draft the measure...

Mugabe Liable for Cholera Deaths: Report

(Newser) - Pressure from nonprofits and watchdogs is mounting on the UN to intercede in Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis, GlobalPost reports. Physicians for Human Rights asserts that Robert Mugabe intentionally dismantled the country’s health and sanitation infrastructure, and is directly responsible for the cholera outbreak that has claimed 1,800 lives....

UN Calls for Gaza War Crimes Probe
UN Calls for Gaza War Crimes Probe

UN Calls for Gaza War Crimes Probe

Rights official accuses Israel of ignoring international law

(Newser) - The UN's top human rights official has called for an investigation into possible war crimes committed by the Israeli military in Gaza, the Guardian reports. She singled out an incident this week where up to 30 Palestinian civilians were killed in a home shelled by Israeli forces and the surviving...

Israel Rebuffs UN, May Call in Reservists

Cabinet mulls new phase to offensive as bombs rain on Gaza

(Newser) - Israel pushed ahead with its military operation in Gaza today, despite a unanimous Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. On the 14th day of the offensive, warplanes bombed the outskirts of Gaza City and tanks shelled a house in the north of the Strip, killing six Palestinians from...

UN Halts Gaza Aid, Citing Israeli Attacks

(Newser) - The United Nations today halted all aid deliveries to the besieged Gaza Strip, citing a series of Israeli attacks on UN staff and installations. The announcement came shortly after the driver of a UN truck was killed by tank fire as he was headed to an Israeli border crossing to...

UN: No Militants in Shelled School

Mortar may have been fired from nearby grove

(Newser) - The UN says it found no evidence to support claims there were militants inside the UN-run school Israeli forces fired on yesterday in Gaza, killing 40 civilians and injuring 55 more, Time reports. Israeli Defense Forces “returned fire,” a spokesman said, after militants fired mortars from inside the...

Israeli Strike Hits UN School, Kills 30

30 killed, UN official calls for stop to hostilities

(Newser) - At least 30 Palestinians were killed and several dozen more wounded today when Israeli tanks shelled a UN-run school in the Gaza Strip, MSNBC reports. Medical officials said those killed were all either local residents, or among the hundreds seeking refuge from the assault in the school. “There’s...

US Blocks UN Call for Gaza Truce
US Blocks UN Call
for Gaza Truce

US Blocks UN Call for Gaza Truce

Americans want Hamas labeled 'terrorist'

(Newser) - The US has blocked Libya’s push to issue a UN Security Council call for a Gaza ceasefire, Reuters reports. Libya, the only Arab member of the council, had circulated a draft statement expressing "serious concern"  and urging all parties to "observe an immediate ceasefire." American...

Rwandan Genocide Mastermind Convicted

Bagosora sentenced to life by UN court for role in 1994 massacre

(Newser) - A UN court has convicted the organizer of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that claimed more than 500,000 lives and sentenced him to life in prison, reports the AP. Théoneste Bagosora was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the deaths of a Rwandan prime...

Founder of Mumbai Terror Group Under House Arrest

Pakistan also freezes organization's assets

(Newser) - Bowing to global pressure to curb terrorist activities inside its borders, Pakistan today placed the founder of the group thought to be responsible for the Mumbai attacks under house arrest, Reuters reports. Pakistani police encircled the house of Hafiz Saeed, founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group and head of its charity...

Bush Helps Shield Iraq From Gulf War Legal Claims

Compensation could bankrupt country, it says; Americans hurt by Saddam differ

(Newser) - President Bush has wedged himself between Americans and Iraq by supporting a UN measure that stops financial claims against the fledgling democracy. Iraq faces bankruptcy if claims are added to $26 billion it already owes companies and individuals who suffered in the first Gulf war. But the temporary plug keeps...

UN Report Finds Nearly 1B Are Hungry
UN Report
Finds Nearly
1B Are Hungry

UN Report Finds Nearly 1B Are Hungry

Cost of basics is down, but still 28% higher than just 2 years ago

(Newser) - Rising food prices have pushed the number of people going hungry to 963 million, or 14% of the world's population, says a UN report published yesterday. Though costs have dropped from historic peaks, basics still cost 28% more than in 2006. That's left 40 million more people undernourished this year,...

Cancer Will Be World's No. 1 Killer in 2010

(Newser) - Cancer will surpass heart disease as the world’s preeminent killer by 2010, Reuters reports. A WHO study concluded that cancer cases will double between 2000 and 2020, and almost triple by 2030, largely because of increased tobacco use in developing countries. In men, who are more likely to contract...

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