United Nations

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Army Deserter Seeks Asylum in Germany

AWOL soldier says Iraqi war violates international law

(Newser) - Specialist André Shepherd has become the first US military deserter to apply for political asylum in Germany, Der Spiegel reports. Shepherd, who disobeyed orders to redeploy to Iraq from Germany in the spring of 2007, argues in his petition that the Iraq war violates international law. "If I carried...

A Very Different Rice to be UN Ambassador

Obama will raise post to Cabinet, appoint anti-genocide crusader

(Newser) - Barack Obama will name Susan Rice as his UN ambassador when he unveils his foreign policy team today, the New York Times reports. Rice (no relation to Condoleezza), was an assistant secretary of state under Bill Clinton, but has been an Obama adviser since the beginning. She’s an advocate...

Mexico, Paraguay Named Top Pot Growers

Brazil, Argentina say use is rising as supply grows

(Newser) - Mexico holds the distinction of being the world's biggest marijuana producer—no big surprise there. But little landlocked Paraguay is turning heads after hitting No. 2 on the UN's list of top pot-growing countries, CNN reports. Paraguayan officials aren't surprised: Raids are difficult to orchestrate, marijuana fetches 500% the selling...

Man's New Best Friend: Rats Ferret Out Land Mines, TB

(Newser) - Move over, Rover: Man has a new best friend that is helping to combat two scourges plaguing the developing world. Rats, normally reviled as filthy vermin, are sniffing out land mines and detecting tuberculosis bacteria. "Rats are usually considered pests or enemies of humanity,” said one Mozambican handler,...

Pirates Demand $25M for Saudi Supertanker

Saudis have ten days to pay up to save crew and oil

(Newser) - Pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker and its crew have demanded a $25 million ransom from its owners within 10 days, reports the Guardian. The Sirius Star, which is carrying 2 million barrels of oil, is one of an astounding 17 ships being held by pirates off the coast of...

Israel Target in Syria Likely Nuclear Site: UN

Uranium, site features could be remnants of reactor

(Newser) - The Syrian facility Israel bombed last year looks a lot like a nuclear reactor, UN inspectors said today, though they stopped short of calling it one. The independent investigation found manipulated uranium and features like large cooling pumps that are hallmarks of a nuclear site, the Washington Post reports. Syria...

Obama Vows to 'Engage Vigorously' in Climate Fight

President-elect surprises conference with video message

(Newser) - In an unexpected video appearance today at a conference on climate change, President-elect Barack Obama promised to fight global warming, saying the stakes are too high to continue delaying action and denying global warming. He vowed to usher in a “new era of global cooperation” come January and says...

Africa May Force Obama's Military Hand
 Africa May Force 
 Obama's Military Hand 
OPINION
Nov 16, 2008 5:02 AM CST

Africa May Force Obama's Military Hand

Despite war weariness, Americans may have to prepare for more troops oversees

(Newser) - As Barack Obama prepares to become America’s new president, the dire situation in Africa may upend his anticipated plans to extract the US from overseas military commitments, the Economist writes. While Americans may be wary of bigger burdens oversees, “history does not take a holiday just because America...

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...

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