Syrian government's isolation eases with Arab bloc summit appearance
Syrian President Bashar Assad, formerly ostracized by most Arab nations, was warmly readmitted to the Arab League.
Middle East
New U.N. estimate shows the Syrian civil war's deadly toll on civilians
More than half of the deaths were never documented due to the difficulty of collecting reliable data on death tolls in conflict zones, made still harder by the brutality of Syria's war.
U.N. vote opposes Taliban constraints against females
A U.N. Security Council resolution calls on Afghanistan's de factor rulers to quickly restore the rights of women and girls to 'full, equal, meaningful and safe' participation in society.
Humanitarians arrange multi-day prisoner swap in Yemen's long war
The deal brokered by U.N. and Red Cross officials between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels is the first major prisoner swap in almost three years.
Rapprochement could help address the Middle East's climate problem
The Middle East and North African region is among the most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change but the public health impacts are relatively unknown, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.
U.N. agrees to buy $55M crude carrier for removing stranded oil
The stranded supertanker FSO Safer has been moored off the coast of Yemen – toward the end of a pipeline to the oil and gas fields near Marib city – and nearly sank in 2020.
Status quo 'totally unacceptable' in quake-hit, war-ravaged Syria
"The tragic reality is that an effective response was hampered in part by challenges that relate directly to the unresolved issues at the heart of the conflict," the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, told the U.N. Security Council.
U.N. conference raises 28% of emergency aid target for Yemen
The U.N. emergency relief coordinator's office set a US$4.3 billion target to help people suffering in the war-torn nation.
U.N. aid chief laments 'failure' as 50,000+ quake toll expected
The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes that hit Turkey and northern Syria a week ago rose to more than 36,000 people as the search continued for loved ones trapped in the rubble despite a closing survival window.
Groups scramble aid as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll reaches 20,000
Fresh snowfall, freezing temperatures and a disrupted cross-border operation between southern Turkey and war-torn northern Syria added to the despair, frustration and anger.
Outrage over UAE appointing oil exec to lead next U.N. climate talks
Along with overseeing one of the world's biggest oil companies, Sultan Al Jaber is the UAE's minister of industry and advanced technology and chief executive of renewable energy company Masdar, based in Abu Dhabi.
U.N. reauthorizes Turkish aid route into Syria's rebel-held northwest
The border crossing allows the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to provide food, medicine and other basic items to the 4.1 million mainly displaced inhabitants of Syria's northwest Idlib province.
Iran expelled from U.N. women's commission in U.S.-led vote
The 29-8 vote in ECOSOC on Wednesday, with 16 abstentions, immediately expelled Iran from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, based on a U.S. resolution.
More than US$50 billion later, U.N. to close First Gulf War commission
As a subsidiary of the U.N. Security Council, the commission processed and paid US$52.4 billion to 1.5 million claimants for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait from 1990 to 1991.
U.N. condemns Iranian crackdown, sets up probe of human rights abuses against women and children
The U.N. human rights body's special session was called because of Tehran's violence response to the widespread protests over 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death while in the custody of the morality police for violating an Islamic dress code.
In COP27 overtime, world leaders reach deal on climate disaster aid for vulnerable nations
World leaders reached a deal for wealthy nations to pay billions of dollars into a loss and damage fund to help developing countries deal with climate disasters.