United Nations

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Kosovo Independence Splits EU
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
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

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

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

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,...

Afghan Senate Revokes Call for Execution

About-face is lifeline for journalism student convicted of blasphemy

(Newser) - Following international outcry, the Afghan Senate has withdrawn its call for the execution of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, a 23-year-old student convicted of blasphemy for downloading a report on women's rights. The Senate now calls its previous endorsement of the death penalty for Kambaksh "a technical mistake," raising hopes...

Rebels Storm Chad's Capital in Coup Attempt

French, US embassies prepare to evacuate amid fighting

(Newser) - Rebels looking to overthrow Chad's president stormed the capital today, advancing toward the African nation’s presidential palace and ransacking its parliament building, CNN reports. Ndjamena has been the site of fierce clashes between rebels and government forces, and today, a military source told the AFP it “is in...

Kenya Leaders Agree to Peace Talk Structure

Immediate issues could be resolved within 15 days, Annan says

(Newser) - Kenya's rival leaders have agreed on an outline for peace talks, Kofi Annan said today. Larger problems could take a year to iron out, but the ex-UN chief said the most pressing issues--ending the killings, aiding those hit by the turmoil, and fixing "immediate" political woes--could be solved within...

New Peace Envoy Clooney Pleads for Darfur

Sees 'hope' after first mission to Africa

(Newser) - Actor George Clooney was officially designated a United Nations peace envoy yesterday—but he had already wrapped up his first mission. "If I'm going to go somewhere that cameras are going to follow me, they might as well follow me to places that people should be looking at,"...

Kenya Upheaval Could Reach 'Catastrophic Levels'

As violence continues, UN boss will join predecessor in talks

(Newser) - Kenya's political turmoil continues to wreak havoc, and it is "threatening to escalate to catastrophic levels," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today. After the killing of another member of Raila Odinga's opposition party yesterday, the country faced renewed violence, Reuters reports. The death toll has reached 850 since...

In Kenya, Annan Denounces Violent 'Abuses'

Former UN head finds crisis 'tragic'; dozens more deaths reported

(Newser) - Kofi Annan, in Kenya to mediate a settlement to the brutal conflict rocking the country, condemned the "gross and systematic abuses of human rights"  he had seen on a tour of the country's worst flashpoints, the BBC reports. Dozens more gruesome deaths were reported today. Annan spoke of...

Former UN Boss Tackling Kenya Crisis

Kofi Annan flying in to mediate as election violence continues

(Newser) - Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan will fly to Kenya today to try to mediate the nation's political crisis and stop the violence. He faces a difficult task. Members of President Mwai Kibaki's cabinet are hostile to mediation, and opposition leader Raila Odinga is in no mood to back down....

Gaza City Shuts Off Power Amid Claimed Fuel Shortage

Israelis say move meant to create crisis

(Newser) - Gaza City’s sole power plant has shut down due to what Palestinian officials claim are insufficient fuel supplies, the BBC reports. Israel—which provides 60% of Gaza’s electricity—closed its border last week with the Gaza Strip, preventing the import of virtually all supplies. The move followed a...

Nigerian Rebels Seek Help From Clooney

Militants offer invite after UN names him 'messenger of peace'

(Newser) - Nigeria’s top rebel group urged George Clooney to come heal their war-torn land today, the AP reports. The militants, who often pressure officials by blowing up oil pipelines, promised to work with Clooney “and other credible peace makers" to cool off fighting in Nigeria. Clooney gave no immediate...

United Nations U Seeks to Make Grade as Real College

Boss aims to turn institution into a global degree-awarding university

(Newser) - If you’ve never heard of the United Nations University, don’t feel bad. The institution, or, really, network of institutions, is more of a think tank: Spread across 13 academies around the world, it researches matters important to the global village. Now, the institution's new rector Konrad Osterwalder seeks...

151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says
151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says
Jan 9, 2008 7:47 PM CST

151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says

New survey touted as most reliable yet, but definite figure hard to come by

(Newser) - More than 150,000 Iraqis—about 120 a day—were killed in the first three years of the Iraqi war following the US invasion in 2003, a new study says. The estimate, from the WHO and the Iraqi government, is said to be the most scientific study yet of the...

Why Obama Is No JFK
Why Obama
Is No JFK
OPINION
Jan 8, 2008 5:10 PM CST

Why Obama Is No JFK

Comparisons fail to note fellow senator's experience on world stage

(Newser) - The election of a charismatic 43-year-old president nearly a half-century ago may indeed represent a precedent for Barack Obama's upstart candidacy, but Ted Widmer notes in Washington Monthly that JFK had something Barack can’t boast: a substantial foreign policy record. Born into world affairs, Kennedy was in the room...

Odinga Rejects Unity Rule; Kenya Health Crisis Looms

Aid chiefs sound alarm in wake of chaos

(Newser) - Opposition leader Raila Odinga today rejected President Mwai Kibaki's offer of a unity government and demanded an international mediator, AP reports. "We want a properly negotiated settlement, not a coalition government," Odinga said, warning that his party would stage more rallies, threatening a new burst of violence after...

Libyan Minister Meets Rice, Signs Pacts

Washington visit latest chapter in makeover for former pariah state

(Newser) - In the latest sign of a remarkable turnaround in relations between the countries, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today hosted Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam, who later signed agreements on science and technology. Leader Moammar Gaddafi's renunciation of terrorism and enmity with the West has opened relations, the Washington ...

US Diplomat Shot Dead in Sudan
US Diplomat Shot Dead
in Sudan
Jan 1, 2008 8:22 AM CST

US Diplomat Shot Dead in Sudan

USAID official succumbs to injuries in Khartoum

(Newser) - A US diplomat has died of injuries suffered when he was shot five times early this morning as he rode through the streets of Khartoum, the AP reports. The attack immediately killed his driver. The shooting occurred a day after a joint African Union-United Nations force took over peacekeeping duties...

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