UN chief sending humanitarian official to Syria (AP)
AP - A U.N. spokesman says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is dispatching his top humanitarian official to Syria.
West Bank settlement housing gets initial approval (AP)

Palestinians gesture during a protest in support of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad as a police officer (front) stands between them and a counter protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 22, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)AP - Israel gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to a plan to build 600 new homes in a settlement deep inside the West Bank, a move that drew rebukes from the United Nations and Palestinians and threatened to raise tensions with the U.S. as the prime minister prepares to head to the White House.
UN votes to increase African force in Somalia (AP)

A team from the guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey approach two Yemeni dhows intercepted during routine maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden February 21, 2012, in this handout supplied by the U.S. Navy February 22, 2012. Halsey is the flagship for Combined Task Force 151, a multinational, mission-based task force working under Combined Maritime Forces, to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. REUTERS/MCS 1st class Krishna Jackson/U.S. Navy/Handout (GULF OF ADEN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSAP - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize an increase in the African Union force in Somalia from 12,000 to about 17,700 and expand its areas of operation in an effort to intensify pressure on al-Shabab militants who recently joined al-Qaida.
UN: W. Africa cocaine trade generates $900M a year (AP)
AP - The U.N. agency that fights drugs and crime estimated that cocaine trafficking is generating some $900 million annually in West and Central Africa as South American cartels use the shortest route to transport drugs to Europe.
UN warns about flood risk in Eastern Europe (AP)

People break the ice on a frozen part of Danube River, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. Big chunks of melting ice moving on the Danube River have damaged hundreds of small boats and several restaurants located on rafts, officials said Monday. The thick ice, which had closed hundreds of miles (kilometers) of Europe's busy waterway during the region's recent cold snap, started moving Sunday afternoon because of rising temperatures.(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)AP - The United Nations is warning that Eastern European countries along the Danube could face flooding as the iced-over waterway thaws following a record-breaking cold snap.
Russia proposes sending UN envoy to Syria (AP)
AP - Russia on Tuesday urged the United Nations to send a special envoy to Syria to help coordinate security issues and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Rebels hold 3 peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur (AP)

Senegalese troops, beside their pet sheep, gather to receive African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) Force Commander Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba of Rwanda, at the Umm Baru team site in North Darfur February 22, 2012. The troops had been blockaded by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel group in Shegeg Tova for two days, from February 19, while conducting a long-range patrol some 60 km (37 miles) from its team site in Umm Baru. The troops were prepared to leave the area. However, as the language assistants and police advisor accompanying the troops remained with the JEM forces, the contingent refused to move until all UNAMID personnel could be reassembled. REUTERS/Albert Gonzalez Farran/UNAMID/Handout (SUDAN - Tags: MILITARY SOCIETY ANIMALS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSAP - Three civilians with a joint United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force are being held by rebels in Sudan's Darfur and accused of being spies, a spokeswoman for the mission said Monday.
China supports Arab League's proposals for Syria (AP)

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun speaks to the media in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. Jun said China was 'extremely concerned' about the escalation of the crisis in Syria. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)AP - China said Saturday that it supports the Arab League's proposals for ending the violence in Syria, a striking show of support just two weeks after Beijing vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution backing the league's plans.
UN calls for more help in W. Africa hunger crisis (AP)
AP - Top United Nations officials say 10 million people need help amid a food crisis in West Africa's Sahel region.
UN says Haiti police force best body for security (AP)

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, left, meets with residents of the Carradeux camp, a shelter for people displaced by the 2010 earthquake, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday Feb. 16, 2012. Rice is part of a delegation representing the U.N. Security Council that arrived for a four-day visit to meet with senior Haitian officials and study U.N. operations in the nation. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)AP - Haiti's national police force is the best body for providing security in this poor nation and the government should concentrate on building up the force, a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday.
U.N. assembly adopts resolution condemning Syria (Reuters)
Reuters - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly ratcheted up the pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday by overwhelmingly approving a resolution that endorses an Arab League plan calling for him to step aside.
(AP)
AP - General Assembly approves resolution backing Arab plan calling for Syria's leader to step down.
1    2    Next