The UN has called an end to its observer mission in Syria, as activists reported more bloodletting in an attack on civilians in the main battleground of Aleppo.
The World Food Programme has said it is sending a first shipment of emergency food aid to flood-hit areas of North Korea, where torrential rain has killed scores of people and inundated cropland.
China expressed regret Friday over former UN chief Kofi Annan's resignation as international envoy for Syria and said it would continue to "work for a political resolution" to the conflict.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that the army was fighting for the nation's future as UN officials said the regime was using fighter jets against rebels armed with tanks.
UN negotiations to draft the first international treaty on the multi-billion-dollar arms trade have ended without a deal, with some diplomats blaming the US for the deadlock.
Canada issued a scathing retort on Thursday after Russia and China vetoed another UN resolution to pressure the Syrian regime to rein in its crackdown on a 16-month-old rebellion.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon and international envoy Kofi Annan called on the UN Security Council to take strong action on the Syria conflict ahead of a vote Thursday on a western-backed resolution calling for sanctions.
Rebels declared the battle to "liberate" Damascus has begun as heavy fighting raged across the city on Tuesday and Russia said an agreement is possible for a UN resolution on the Syria crisis.
UN prosecutors open their case Monday against Bosnian Serb ex-military chief Ratko Mladic before the Yugoslav war crimes court, with their first witness to testify on how he survived a mass execution in 1992.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday it was a "disgrace" that there is no global arms trade regulation as he opened treaty talks held up by Palestinian demands for a place in the negotiations.
Exiled opposition groups tried to forge a common vision for a transition in Syria as they met Monday in Cairo as the UN rights chief accused both the regime and opposition of "serious" violations.
Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested the principles of nuclear security at the high-Level meeting during the 66th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.