United Nations – News Stories About United Nations - Page 40

Mar 24, 2008 4:59 AM CDT

UN Pleads for $500M in Food Aid

May cut food shipments to 73M hungry

(Newser) - A United Nations food program has issued an extraordinary emergency plea for an extra $500 million in aid, warning that shipments to the world's hungry may be rationed if the money can't be raised over the next month, reports the Financial Times. The World Food Program feeds some 73 million...

UN Cop Killed in Kosovo Riots

Mar 18, 2008 6:51 AM CDT

UN Cop Killed in Kosovo Riots

More than 100 injured as Serbs battle UN, NATO with guns and grenades

(Newser) - A Ukrainian UN police officer has been killed and at least 40 UN or NATO personnel were injured as Serbs continued to exchange gunfire with NATO and UN forces, reports AFP. Some 70 Serbs were also wounded as yesterday's fighting in ethnically charged Mitrovica spilled over to today, including a...

UN Forces Withdraw
From Kosovo Town

Mar 17, 2008 9:55 AM CDT

UN Forces Withdraw From Kosovo Town

100 hurt in battle to retake courthouse

(Newser) - UN police trying to retake a courthouse were forced to withdraw from the Kosovo city of Mitrovica after clashes with ethnic Serbs, reports the BBC. NATO troops were left in charge of security after the worst violence since Kosovo declared independence; AFP reported at least 100 police and protesters were...

Glacial Melt Hit Record in '06

Mar 17, 2008 8:33 AM CDT

Glacial Melt Hit Record in '06

Study finds glaciers lost an average of 4.9 feet of ice

(Newser) - Glaciers shrank an alarming average of 4.9 feet in 2006, the UN Environment Program says—a dramatic difference from ice loss numbers in the ‘80s and ‘90s, when glaciers lost an average 11.8 inches a year. UNEP’s director pointed to "many canaries in the...

US Blocks UN From Prison Inspections in Iraq

Mar 12, 2008 6:06 AM CDT

US Blocks UN From Prison Inspections in Iraq

Official is 'astonished'

(Newser) - The US has denied a top UN official access to American prisons in Iraq, drawing condemnation from the torture expert, reports AFP. "I'm astonished that the US government is not willing to grant me access," said the official. Iraqi and British forces have permitted access to their prisons....

UN Cranks Up Iran Sanctions

Mar 3, 2008 6:19 PM CST

UN Cranks Up Iran Sanctions

Security Council continues to press Tehran on nuclear concerns

(Newser) - The UN hit Iran with a third round of sanctions today for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program, Reuters reports. The 14-0 security council vote approved more travel and financial limits and boosted trade restrictions, but was curbed by a US report that Tehran had scuttled its nuclear weapon...

Darfur Sees New Cycle of Bloodshed, Refugees

Mar 2, 2008 2:32 PM CST

Darfur Sees New Cycle of Bloodshed, Refugees

Recent upset in Chad has Sudanese military, janjaweed militias on warpath

(Newser) - Darfur may be on a road back to the pitched fighting between rebels, militias and the Sudanese army that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions 5 years ago, prompting the US to call it genocide, the New York Times reports. The Sudanese government recently stepped up operations in the...

Cuba Signs Human Rights Pacts at UN

Feb 29, 2008 8:22 AM CST

Cuba Signs Human Rights Pacts at UN

But critics say the nation's dissidents must be released

(Newser) - Cuba yesterday signed a pair of legally binding human rights agreements, promising, among other things, to allow its citizens free speech, free association, and the right to travel, the BBC reports. Coming mere days after Raul Castro became president, the gesture could signal a shift in Cuba’s policy, though...

UN May Cut
Aid During Hunger Crisis

Feb 25, 2008 6:54 PM CST

UN May Cut Aid During Hunger Crisis

Rising food costs force agency to rethink relief plan

(Newser) - A UN hunger relief agency is in crisis talks today over concerns that it has to slash worldwide aid, the Financial Times reports. Officials at the World Food Programme said today that rising food prices are forcing up their budget by millions of dollars per week. “Our ability to...

Serb Protests Rock Kosovo

Feb 23, 2008 7:29 AM CST

Serb Protests Rock Kosovo

Independence stokes tensions between Russia and West

(Newser) - Mobs of Serb nationalists chanting "Kosovo is ours!" threw stones, bottles, and firecrackers at UN police yesterday as a bridge in northern Kosovo separating Serbs from ethnic Albanians became a flashpoint for conflict over the fledgling independent state. The State Dept. meanwhile ordered non-essential diplomats and all dependents...

Dozens Dead in Turkish Ground Raid

Feb 23, 2008 6:39 AM CST

Dozens Dead in Turkish Ground Raid

Troops continue to pursue Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq mountains

(Newser) - Turkish forces pursued Kurdish militants in northern Iraq for a third day today, with the Turkish military reporting least 24 militants and five Turkish soldiers killed since they sent troops across the border to attack separatist strongholds Thursday night. At least 20 other Kurds died in the air assault that...

Iran Nukes
Raise 'Serious Concern' for UN

Feb 22, 2008 3:35 PM CST

Iran Nukes Raise 'Serious Concern' for UN

Watchdog group says Tehran has failed to explain its programs

(Newser) - The UN’s nuclear overseers warned today that Iran hadn’t explained various intelligence reports suggesting it was making atomic weapons and called the matter a “serious concern.” Tehran dismissed the intelligence data as "fabricated" and provided unacceptable answers, the UN report says. The developments could lead...

Seabed Rights Add Up to
Long Division

Feb 22, 2008 3:01 PM CST

Seabed Rights Add Up to Long Division

UN team weighs international claims on underwater territory

(Newser) - The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf has a big job. As some 60 countries rush to claim the ocean seabed—and the oil reserves beneath—the 21-person team of part-time scientists must settle disputes, relying on geology and the sometimes arcane Law of the Sea. “...

Violence Erupts in Split Kosovo

Feb 19, 2008 10:25 AM CST

Violence Erupts in Split Kosovo

New country 'inches away from partition'

(Newser) - Hundreds of Serbs torched government and UN buildings in Kosovo today in the worst violence since the country declared independence on Sunday, raising fears of an ethnic split, Reuters reports. Seemingly well-organized gangs rampaged near the border, driving off peacekeepers who tried to intervene. No injuries were reported. “We...

Serbia Calls Home US Envoy

Feb 18, 2008 8:26 PM CST

Serbia Calls Home US Envoy

PM vows to pull diplomats from all nations that support Kosovo independence

(Newser) - Serbia called home its US ambassador today to protest America's recognition of Kosovo's independence, the BBC reports. Serbian PM Vojislav Kostunica called the move Serbia's "first urgent measure," and warned that envoys in other countries that recognize Kosovar autonomy will soon be withdrawn.

Kosovo Independence Splits EU

Feb 18, 2008 6:11 AM CST

Kosovo Independence Splits EU

Some fear feisty new nation could inspire separatists elsewhere

(Newser) - A meeting of EU officials today to discuss Kosovo is likely to reveal deep-seated divisions within the European Union. While Britain, France and Germany are expected to recognize the newly independent Kosovo immediately, other states like Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Spain worry about the message such recognition will send to...

Gore to Investors: Ditch Guzzlers

Feb 15, 2008 7:36 AM CST

Gore to Investors: Ditch Guzzlers

Costs risk market crash, he warns

(Newser) - Nobel prize-winner Al Gore yesterday urged financial leaders at a United Nations conference in Manhattan to unload their investments in businesses reliant on carbon-intensive energy. Gore likened such investments to the subprime mortgage market, warning that "the assumption you can safely invest" in business models that assume carbon is...

Bush Envoy Wants to Rule Afghanistan, Rumors Say

Feb 11, 2008 5:10 PM CST

Bush Envoy Wants to Rule Afghanistan, Rumors Say

Ambassador lets political buzz persist

(Newser) - Diplomatic circles are abuzz about a US envoy who reportedly wants to rule Afghanistan next year. Zalmay Khalilzad, ex-US diplomat to Afghanistan and Iraq, hasn't squelched the gossip about his presidential aspirations either. He even joked at Columbia University recently that “I didn’t come here to collect contributions...

Rebel Soldier Shoots East Timor Prez

Feb 10, 2008 7:54 PM CST

Rebel Soldier Shoots East Timor Prez

Nobel Prize-winner expected to live; assassin shot dead

(Newser) - A rebel soldier shot East Timor's president today in an attack on his home, the BBC reports. President Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, underwent surgery at an Australian army hospital and is expected to live. The president’s guards shot and killed the assailant, Alfredo Reinado, who had...

Rainforests Still Fall
at Shocking Rates

Feb 3, 2008 5:45 PM CST

Rainforests Still Fall at Shocking Rates

Summit proposes financial rewards for conservation efforts

(Newser) - Rainforests continue to vanish at "alarming" rates worldwide despite decades of scientific warnings, experts say. Tropical trees are falling at 60 acres per minute—up 10 from a generation ago—accounting for roughly 20% of Earth's carbon emissions. Environmental leaders plan to preserve forests with a carbon trading system,...