Mali Refusing UN Peacekeeping Force

Mali’s government has not given the United Nations permission to send a peacekeeping force in the wake of their war with Islamic terrorists saying they’re “hesitant” to allow the foreign troops on their soil.

“We do not have a clear green light from the government of Mali yet for a peacekeeping operation,” Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the BBC. He added that outside nations involved in providing logistical and military support to Mali so far are in favor of the mission. Continue reading

Massive Cholera Outbreak In Haiti Traced To UN Camp

A cholera epidemic in Haiti has killed almost 8,000 people leading the United Nations to launch a $2 billion appeal for help in stopping the deaths.

The campaign comes as reports begin to surface that the current outbreak, the worst in the world at this time, started in a United Nations camp. Dr. Daniele Lantagne, a cholera specialist, said that UN troops from Nepal arrived with the disease. Nepal has widespread cholera cases and the molecular structure of the Haitian cholera matches strains from Nepal in 2010. Continue reading

Over 2.5 Million Syrians Displaced By Civil War

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent relief organization has released figures with the United Nations showing that over 2.5 million civilians have been displaced in the country since the start of the nation’s civil war.

UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the group’s estimate was “very conservative” and said because of people on the run or in hiding it’s impossible to guess the actual number of people displaced by the war. Continue reading

Severe Weather Could Cause Major Hunger Crisis

“We are entering a new era of rising food prices and spreading hunger. Food supplies are tightening everywhere and land is becoming the most sought-after commodity as the world shifts from an age of food abundance to one of scarcity. The geopolitics of food is fast overshadowing the geopolitics of oil.”

Those chilling words from Lester Brown of the Earth policy research center in Washington come as the United Nations is reporting that grain reserves worldwide have reached such a critical point that extreme weather in the United States or other major food exporting nations next year could cause a major hunger crisis. Continue reading

Children Killed By Government Airstrikes In Syria

Three children from one family are among the eight dead in air strikes in the city of Aleppo, Syria. Activists are reporting that the government is engaging in a bombardment campaign against civilian areas of the city.

The UN has listed the death toll as more than 20,000 in Syria since March 2011. Activists have put the death toll at near 30,000 adding that 40 people died on Monday from government assaults. Continue reading