When Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote a year-end op-edpiece for an Australian newspaper last week, he talked aboutthe future of a world body facing a new generation of threats:climate change, poverty, nuclear disarmament and human rights.

The United Nations has warned the beleaguered president of Cote d'Ivoire andhis military leaders that they may well go the way of Sudanese President OmarHassan al-Bashir: face charges of war crimes and genocide before theinternational criminal court.

As Brazil looks ahead to hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 SummerOlympics, the country is struggling to line up the technical workers necessary forthese projects, officials say.

As military-ruled Burma prepares to unveil its new politicalcast, an enduring link between the junta and the country'snotorious drug lords is poised to come under the spotlight.

Susan B. Anthony List Questions Final RNC Candidate on Plans to Promote Life, Traditional Marriage if Elected in Advance of Today's DebateContact: Kerry Brown, Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), 703-470-1926, kbrown@sba-list.orgWASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today, the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) released a Skype interview with Maria Cino, candidate for Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair. Maria Cino's interview can be viewed here www.sba-list.org/RNCChai Source: Susan B. Anthony List

Santo Domingo de Guzmán was the New World's first colonial city, the SpanishEmpire's capital, the Catholic Church's Rome in the West Indies, and FrancisDrake's most coveted prize.

For decades, fisheries around the world have relied on practices that take forgranted certain assumptions about the industry, such as protecting younger fishwhile exploiting older fish and using trophic levels to monitor the health offisheries. Recently, however, some scientists have begun to question theseunanimously accepted practices. Experts are beginning to think that the sciencebehind the global fishing industry may be completely wrong.

Nearly 12 months ago, when the U.N. heralded 2010 as the‘International Year ofBiodiversity', unrealistic goals seemed to indicate failure for the ambitiousinitiative. But now that the year is drawing to a close, some experts also see theyear's progress as encouraging, and a reason for optimism.

As 2010 draws to a close, both the United States and the United Nations havereached out to one of the world's most marginalised groups in society:indigenous peoples.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his concern at the escalating violence in Cote d'Ivoire, where as many as 20 people were reportedly killed in clashes between security forces and opposition activists."[Ban] is deeply concerned about the continuing political stalemate,"said spokesperson Farhan Haq. He called the violence a"worrying turn".

The U.S. move to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan may beseen in Washington as the only effective and viable strategyto stabilise the country, but not everyone in the diplomaticcommunity here at U.N. headquarters agrees.

This past September, world leaders meeting at the UnitedNations vowed to spend $40 billion over the next five years tosave the lives of more than 16 million women and childrendying of deadly diseases or lack of medical care, particularlyduring and after pregnancy.

Six months after the chaos surrounding security and policingat June's G20 leaders' summit in Toronto, there is littleagreement about where the buck should stop.

The U.S. Congress banned shark finning in all U.S. watersTuesday, a victory environmental advocates are hoping sends amessage to international regulators.

The United Nations is taking an unrelenting stand on thespreading constitutional crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, where twocontenders - one victorious and the other vanquished - arebattling it out for the country's presidency.