Topic: United Nations

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Global News Blog Q&A: Who ultimately bears responsibility for Bangladesh factory disasters?

Low wages and lower safety standards have made Bangladesh a major garment producer - and a source of workplace deaths like the more than 200 killed in a Dhaka factory collapse this week.
Backchannels Should use of chemical weapons in Syria be a 'game changer?'

Last month President Obama called chemical weapons use by Syria a 'game changer,' but why do US interests change if chemical weapons are used?
Peacekeeping force for unsettled Mali gets unanimous UN vote

Resolution 2100 has French troops replaced by blue helmets and at least half the UN force will be from Africa. Al Qaeda-linked militants are still fighting in Mali's northern mountains.
Israel shoots down drone, Hezbollah denies it's theirs

The Shiite militant group in Lebanon has sent drones over Israel in the past, linking their use to Israeli violations of Lebanon's airspace.
Ghana is rising, but so are its dump-yards of cast-off appliances

As Ghana's economy booms, its consumers no longer want used appliances shipped in from the West. Now that 'e-waste' is filling dumps and causing environmental woes.
Serbia-Kosovo deal clears path to EU accession, but long road remains

The agreement to 'normalize' relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia five years ago, removes a major obstacle to each one's bid to join the EU.
Chorus grows against Obama administration's sanctions-heavy Iran policy

The Obama administration's effort to end Iran's nuclear program has focused on punitive measures, with little diplomatic outreach. Critics say this jeopardizes negotiations.
Opinion To nudge Iran talks, new UN resolution needed

UN Security Council resolutions that Iran must stop 'all' enrichment activities are outmoded, unrealistic, and hurt the Iran talks. A new resolution should promise to lift sanctions if the parties reach a reasonable agreement on Iran's nuclear program.
Chemical weapons in Syria? What Obama's high bar for proof could mean.

Three key US allies – Britain, France, and Israel – have said Syria has used chemical weapons in its civil war, but the US, wary of intervening in the conflict, is calling the evidence 'inconclusive.'
US military chief in Beijing warns of North Korea 'miscalculation'

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey is in China looking for help on North Korea. Though Beijing indicated it was 'working on' it, there are a number of reasons why China might be reluctant to push the North too hard.
Outside the camps, Syrian refugees face further hardship

With 74 percent of Syrian refugees living outside camps, life is a daily struggle to find affordable housing, jobs with living wages, and schooling for their children.
The Monitor's View Europe's ideals win a Serbia-Kosovo pact

An agreement approved Monday by Serbia and Kosovo will put an official end to 1990s genocidal conflict. It also serves as a model for ending other conflicts driven by ethnic, religious, and land disputes.
Hagel goes to Israel bearing gifts of radar and Ospreys

The US will give Israel advanced radar systems, more powerful missiles, and aircraft never before sold outside the US. Together, they could diminish Israel's sense of threat from Iran.
Could chemical weapons in Syria force Obama's hand?

President Obama last August declared that any use or transport of Syria's chemical weapons would constitute a 'red line' for US policy toward the country. Now Israel, Britain, and France say they have evidence that Syria has crossed that line.
Al Qaeda in Canada? Two men arrested, charged with terrorism.

Two men were charged with plotting a terrorist attack against a Canadian passenger train with support from Al Qaeda elements in Iran, police said Monday. The men are not Canadian citizens, but they had been in Canada a "significant amount of time," said police.
Focus On Earth Day 2013, a planetary report card on global warming

Planetary carbon dioxide concentrations are the highest they've been in the past 800,000 years, an ignominious milestone for Earth Day 2013. Still, the world is making some progress toward addressing global warming.
Backchannels Myanmar's ruler to get peace prize, despite 'ethnic cleansing' charge

On the same day that Myanmar's president is set to receive a peace award, Human Rights Watch accused his government of failing to stop ethnic cleansing carried out against ethnic Rohingya.
First West Bank marathon highlights barriers to Palestinian movement

Marathoners observed a moment of silence for the victims in the Boston attacks before running a landscape scarred by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Syrian rebels intensify rocket attacks into Lebanon

Rebels fighting the Syrian government are shelling villages on the Lebanese side of the border in order to curb a Lebanese group's efforts to help the Syrian regime.
North Korea readies short-range missile launchers

On Sunday, North Korea appeared to be planning a missile test launch and moved two short-range Scud missile launchers to its east coast. On Saturday, North Korea reiterated it would not give up its nuclear weapons.
North Korea leans toward talks, but restates intention to keep nuclear weapons

North Korea has exhibited signs it may be willing to discuss some nuclear disarmament, and negotiate to lift U.N. sanctions. But Saturday, the country reiterated its intention not to completely denuclearize.
Africa Monitor From exile, a Sudanese journalist tells Darfur's stories

Nadia Taha is a producer at Sudan Radio Service in Kenya. She spoke with the Enough Project's Laura Heaton about the dangers and rewards of reporting on the humanitarian crisis in her home country.
Uncertainty looms as judge suspends genocide trial of former Guatemala dictator

Judge Carol Patricia Flores ruled the legal process in the contentious trial of former Gen. Rios Montt be set back to November 2011, essentially nullifying all actions taken in the case since that date.
Terrorism & Security Pre-election violence rocks Baghdad, capped with cafe bombing today

Today's bomb attack in Baghdad is only the latest in a series of attacks ahead of tomorrow's provincial elections, which are considered an important test of Iraq's post-war stability.
Guatemalan court faces calls to halt former dictator's genocide trial

As a verdict in Ríos Montt's trial nears, some – including the president – deny the alleged 1980s genocide took place and warn that a guilty verdict could throw Guatemala into chaos.