The UN Security Council has authorized a military force led by African troops to enter Northern Mali in an attempt to remove Islamic extremists who have gained control of that part of the country. Continue reading
Tag Archives: United Nations
UN Security Council Condemns North Korea For Missile Launch
The UN Security Council has condemned a North Korean launch of a Unha-3 rocket. The Council’s president called the action “a clear violation of Security Council resolutions.” The United States said that North Korea will face consequences for the launch. Continue reading
Massive Cholera Outbreak In Haiti Traced To UN Camp
A cholera epidemic in Haiti has killed almost 8,000 people leading the United Nations to launch a $2 billion appeal for help in stopping the deaths.
The campaign comes as reports begin to surface that the current outbreak, the worst in the world at this time, started in a United Nations camp. Dr. Daniele Lantagne, a cholera specialist, said that UN troops from Nepal arrived with the disease. Nepal has widespread cholera cases and the molecular structure of the Haitian cholera matches strains from Nepal in 2010. Continue reading
Over 2.5 Million Syrians Displaced By Civil War
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent relief organization has released figures with the United Nations showing that over 2.5 million civilians have been displaced in the country since the start of the nation’s civil war.
UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the group’s estimate was “very conservative” and said because of people on the run or in hiding it’s impossible to guess the actual number of people displaced by the war. Continue reading
Severe Weather Could Cause Major Hunger Crisis
“We are entering a new era of rising food prices and spreading hunger. Food supplies are tightening everywhere and land is becoming the most sought-after commodity as the world shifts from an age of food abundance to one of scarcity. The geopolitics of food is fast overshadowing the geopolitics of oil.”
Those chilling words from Lester Brown of the Earth policy research center in Washington come as the United Nations is reporting that grain reserves worldwide have reached such a critical point that extreme weather in the United States or other major food exporting nations next year could cause a major hunger crisis. Continue reading
Syrian Civil War Sees Bloodiest Day
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting that Wednesday marked the bloodiest day of the 18-month-old civil war with 305 people killed in the fighting. SOHR reported that 199 of the dead were civilians.
“If we count the unidentified bodies [which are not counted in official totals,] the figure will be much higher,” Rami Abdel Rahman of SOHR told the BBC. Continue reading
Children Killed By Government Airstrikes In Syria
Three children from one family are among the eight dead in air strikes in the city of Aleppo, Syria. Activists are reporting that the government is engaging in a bombardment campaign against civilian areas of the city.
The UN has listed the death toll as more than 20,000 in Syria since March 2011. Activists have put the death toll at near 30,000 adding that 40 people died on Monday from government assaults. Continue reading
UN Nuclear Watchdog Group Rebukes Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is condemning Iran for the country’s refusal to suspend uranium enrichment despite repeated admonitions from the United Nations.
Thirty-one of the 35 members voted in favor of the resolution condemning Iran, who continues to claim their enrichment is peaceful in purpose. Continue reading
Syrian Refugees Hit Record High in August
The UN has reported that over 100,000 Syrians have fled the country in the wake of the increased fighting between government forces and the Free Syrian Army. The total almost doubled the overall number of civilians fleeing the country’s civil war.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is attempting to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to allow humanitarian aid in the country. Al-Assad has previously resisted outside humanitarian assistance into the country claiming that the relief is just a “foreign plot”. Continue reading
Syrian President al-Assad Rejects Humanitarian Buffer Zones
Syrian President Bashir al-Assad made a public address on state run television where he rejected calls for a United Nations buffer zone to provide humanitarian aid to civilians impacted by the country’s civil war.
“Talk of buffer zones firstly is not on the table,” he said. “Secondly it is an unrealistic idea by hostile countries and the enemies of Syria.” Continue reading
