Japan kicks off first whale hunt since UN court ruling
A Japanese whaling fleet is set to leave port Saturday in the first hunt since the UN's top court last month ordered Tokyo to stop killing whales in the Antarctic.
Brazil passes trailblazing Internet privacy law
Brazil's Congress on Tuesday passed comprehensive legislation on Internet privacy in what some have likened to a web-user's bill of rights, after stunning revelations its own president was targeted by US cyber-snooping.
Philippines' oldest artworks in danger of disappearing
On a small rock wall a short drive from the Philippine capital, enigmatic carvings that are believed to date back 5,000 years are in danger of disappearing before their mysteries can be solved.
Brunei delays introduction of tough Islamic law
Brunei has postponed its implementation of tough Islamic criminal punishments that were due to begin Tuesday and have drawn condemnation from the UN's human rights office and rare criticism at home.
UN evacuates 100 Muslims from C. Africa capital
The United Nations has evacuated almost 100 Muslims from the capital of the crisis-torn Central African Republic to "save their lives", according to officials.
UN 'outrage' over South Sudan base attack
The United Nations Security Council expressed "outrage" Friday and demanded the South Sudan government prevent attacks on its bases and civilians in the war-torn country after dozens of people were killed.
Obama urges Putin to rein in Ukraine insurgents
US President Barack Obama urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a phone call Monday to press pro-Moscow groups to lay down their arms in Ukraine, as the Kiev government sought UN help to tackle the growing insurgency.
Japan says no decision on 2015-16 whaling
Japan on Monday insisted it had made no decision on whether to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean next year, after a militant environmental group said Tokyo intended to evade an international court ruling.
50,000 children could die in months in S.Sudan: UNICEF
Conflict in South Sudan has triggered a serious risk of famine that will kill up to 50,000 children within months if immediate action is not taken, the UN warned.
Italy reports 900 migrants rescued at sea
Italy has rescued 896 migrants crossing the Mediterranean by boat overnight, the navy said on Friday, after the government warned of an "emergency" caused by a surge in new arrivals.
Pope asks forgiveness for child sex abuses
Pope Francis on Friday personally asked forgiveness for thousands of child sex abuses carried out by priests and promised more action following accusations of cover-ups and excessive leniency by the Vatican.
Sri Lanka troops kill three men in search for Tigers
Sri Lanka's military on Friday shot dead three men during an operation against suspected Tamil separatist rebels, in the first major confrontation since the end of the island's war nearly five years ago, a spokesman said.
US releases $22 mln in additional aid for CAR
The United States announced Wednesday an additional $22 million in humanitarian aid for Central African Republic, on the eve of a key vote at the UN to authorize the deployment of peacekeepers.
Japan kills 251 minke whales in final Antarctic hunt
Japan killed 251 minke whales during the 2014 Antarctic hunt, in what is expected to be the last "research whaling" mission in the Southern Ocean after an international court ruling.
Iran, world powers seek to intensify nuclear talks
Iran and world powers kicked off a new round of nuclear talks Tuesday hoping to make enough progress to move up a gear and start drafting a historic final deal next month.
Two foreign UN consultants shot dead in central Somalia
A Briton and a Frenchman working for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime were shot dead Monday as they disembarked from a plane in central Somalia, officials and witnesses said.
UN chief decries death of Dutch priest in Syria
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the shooting death Monday of a well-known Dutch priest in Syria as an "inhumane act of violence."
Disease threatens flood-hit Solomons
The flood-ravaged Solomon Islands was facing a new threat Monday as the first signs of disease emerged in camps sheltering thousands of displaced residents in the capital Honiara, aid workers said.
As Rwanda marks genocide, no justice for DR Congo massacres
Twenty years after the genocide of Rwanda's Tutsi minority, the massacres of Hutu civilians who fled across the border into the DR Congo remain a taboo subject in Kigali.
Three dead, 10,000 homeless as floods devastate Solomons
Flash flooding killed at least three people and left 10,000 homeless in the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara on Friday, with another 30 missing and the death toll expected to rise, aid workers said.