TheRepublic.com - United Nations News

M23 rebels clash with soldiers in east Congo

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:10:32 -0400

GOMA, Congo - Clashes erupted Monday in eastern Congo between government troops and a rebel group believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda, the first fighting between the groups since the M23 rebels overtook and later retreated from the provincial capital Goma last year.

Rights group criticizes Sri Lanka's rights record

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:01:07 -0400

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - An international human rights group said Monday that respect for basic rights and liberties has declined in Sri Lanka in the four years since the government defeated separatist Tamil rebels to end a civil war.

Ivory Coast army arrests militia leader

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:34:12 -0400

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - A militia leader accused of grave crimes during Ivory Coast's 2010-11 postelection violence was taken into custody Saturday not far from the national park where his forces had been illegally occupying in the country's volatile western region, officials said.

Myanmar leader, Obama to meet while reforms stall

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:56:55 -0400

WASHINGTON - Myanmar President Thein Sein's historic White House visit next week is the culmination of U.S. outreach to a former pariah regime. That's been based on a principle of taking "action for action" by deepening ties in response to democratic reforms.

UN panel: Sanctions delaying NKorea nuke program

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:23:56 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - North Korea is still trying to import and export nuclear and ballistic missile-related items but financial and trade sanctions are slowing progress on development of their prohibited weapons, U.N. experts say in a new report.

WHO says single yellow fever shot is enough

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:11:22 -0400

GENEVA - The World Health Organization says a yellow fever booster vaccination given 10 years after the initial shot isn't necessary.

UN: 3 peacekeepers abducted between Israel-Syria

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:41:31 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - Armed men broke into a U.N. outpost in a buffer zone separating Israel and Syria and abducted three U.N military observers, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said Thursday.

Murdock: Big government's new legacy of scandal

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:32:02 -0400

NEW YORK - By DEROY MURDOCK

Watchdog: Israel trying to legalize settlements

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:29:34 -0400

JERUSALEM - An Israeli watchdog group on Thursday accused the government of taking steps to legalize four unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank, days before the U.S. secretary of state is set to arrive on a new peace mission.

UN: 14 Iranian exiles moved from Iraq to Albania

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:56:29 -0400

BAGHDAD - The first exiles from an Iranian opposition group have moved to Albania from a camp near Baghdad as part of a relocation process, the United Nations said Thursday, a step toward defusing an explosive dispute left over from the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and the U.S.-led ousting of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Watch: Scandals will mire progress on bigger issues

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:47:06 -0400

WASHINGTON - By ANN McFEATTERS

UN assembly expected to approve Syria resolution

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:11:30 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - Diplomats say the U.N. General Assembly is expected to approve an Arab-backed resolution calling for a political transition in Syria and strongly condemning President Bashar Assad's regime for escalating the use of heavy weapons.

Brazil's Azevedo to head World Trade Organization

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:53:09 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - Brazilian Ambassador Roberto Azevedo won approval Tuesday as the next director-general of the U.N. World Trade Organization and will become the first Latin American to hold the top trade post when he takes over on Sept. 1.

War crimes prosecutor receives Israel complaint

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:13:30 -0400

AMSTERDAM - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court - the permanent war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands - says she has received a complaint about Israel's 2010 raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza, and she will open a preliminary investigation.

US, Russia and Iran work to save Olympic wrestling

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:21:08 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - In Iran, Olympic wrestling champion Jordan Burroughs felt like Justin Bieber, LeBron James and Tom Brady all rolled into one.

Correction: Congo-Tanzanian Troops story

Tue, 14 May 2013 06:55:25 -0400

GOMA, Congo - In a story May 11 about the arrival of Tanzanian troops in eastern Congo, The Associated Press erroneously cited United Nations mission spokesman Col. Felix Basse. The information should have been attributed to Alexandre Essome, press information officer for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the eastern province of North Kivu.

US envoy won't attend arms talks led by Iran

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:17:00 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - The United States said Monday it will refuse to send its ambassador to any meeting of the U.N. forum where nuclear disarmament is negotiated when it's chaired by Iran because countries under U.N. sanctions shouldn't be allowed to hold such positions.

2 new diseases could both spark global outbreaks

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:43:19 -0400

LONDON - Two respiratory viruses in different parts of the world have captured the attention of global health officials - a novel coronavirus in the Middle East and a new bird flu spreading in China.

Philippines mulls pullout of Syria peacekeepers

Fri, 10 May 2013 02:10:08 -0400

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine foreign secretary said Friday that he has recommended President Benigno Aquino III pull out all Filipino U.N. peacekeepers from the Golan Heights following the abduction of four by Syrian rebels, the second such incident in two months.

Murdock: Benghazi is biggest coverup since Watergate

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:21:18 -0400

NEW YORK - By DEROY MURDOCK

Mo. bill targets United Nations agreement

Thu, 09 May 2013 05:06:13 -0400

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri - The Missouri Legislature has approved legislation barring state or local officials from adopting policies outlined in a 1992 United Nations document that could affect private property rights.

May: Decisions must be made on Syria

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:57:07 -0400

By CLIFFORD D. MAY - "Arming the rebels -- that's an option. You look at and rethink all options. It doesn't mean you do or you will. ... It doesn't mean that the president has decided on anything." -- Secretary of State Chuck Hagel, May 2

Court: Libyan trials could be a 'new Nuremberg'

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:14:21 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - If Libya can conduct fair trials of the top henchmen of the overthrown Gadhafi regime, it could be "Libya's Nuremberg moment," the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Wednesday.

UN: Global youth unemployment rate is rising

Wed, 08 May 2013 08:53:06 -0400

GENEVA - Youth unemployment is likely to rise globally to 12.8 percent by 2018, wiping out gains made in the recent economic recovery, the U.N.'s labor office said Wednesday.

China and India's rivalry extends to the Arctic

Wed, 08 May 2013 04:50:48 -0400

BEIJING - While the recent troop standoff in a remote Himalayan desert spotlights a long-running border dispute between China and India, the two emerging giants are engaged in a rivalry for global influence that spreads much farther afield.