Betsy Pisik

U.N. halts Gaza relief effort

The main U.N. relief agency in Gaza suspended operations Thursday after Israel fired on its convoys in at least two separate incidents, killing one driver.

January 8, 2009

U.S.-Arab dispute stalls Gaza cease-fire

A rift between the United States and Arab foreign ministers blocked efforts by the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to halt the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

January 8, 2009

Gaza solution splits U.N. members

A rift between the United States and Arab foreign ministers blocked efforts by the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to halt the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

January 7, 2009

Cease-fire calls rise after school bombing

UPDATED: Israel faced mounting pressure Tuesday for an immediate cease-fire after its army shelled a U.N.-run school in Gaza that sheltered Palestinian families.

January 7, 2009

Israel kills at least 30 in U.N. shelter

At least 30 Gazans died in Israeli artillery attacks on a U.N.-run shelter Tuesday, further inflaming international outrage at the Jewish state and renewing Arab and European calls for an immediate cease-fire.

January 6, 2009

Israel-Hamas truce urged

UPDATED: Warnings of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza dominated calls for a truce Monday, as Palestinians coped with winter temperatures, backed-up sewage and shortages of food and medicine.

January 6, 2009

Arabs seek U.N.-brokered Gaza truce

UNITED NATIONS —
Senior Arab diplomats sought a U.N.-brokered truce Monday between Israel and Hamas, as walled off Gaza coped with backed up sewage, electricity blackouts and shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

January 5, 2009

World counts on the U.N., statistically

The oft-criticized United Nations does at least one thing well. No other body gathers data and crunches numbers with as much breadth and depth as the world body and its agencies.

December 28, 2008

Shoe-sympathizers advise Bush

President Bush is receiving sympathy and advice here over the shoe incident that is captivating his critics around the world.

December 18, 2008

World leaders clash on Iran sanctions

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday briefed six key Arab states on U.S.-led efforts to stem Iran's nuclear program but achieved no new consensus on how to prevent Iran from developing nuclear-weapons technology.

December 17, 2008

Rice faults U.S.’ Mideast focus

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday at the United Nations the U.S. may have contributed to a "freedom deficit" in the Middle East by not pushing harder for democratic reforms.

December 16, 2008

Rice loads up foreign agenda

The Bush administration embarks on a late series of foreign policy initiatives this week with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the United Nations seeking help fighting Somali pirates, trying to avert a humanitarian disaster in Zimbabwe and reaching for momentum in Middle East peace efforts.

December 15, 2008

Hunger afflicts nearly 1 billion

Hunger is hitting 40 million more people than a year ago, according to the U.N. agriculture agency, citing food crises in Congo, Ethiopia, North Korea and India.

December 10, 2008

Medical graduates face challenges

A class of medical students improbably graduated from a Somali medical school Thursday, even as a humanitarian crisis has settled on the conflict-ravaged nation.

December 5, 2008

Arab leaders stay, listen to Israeli

UNITED NATIONS | A U.N. conference on religious tolerance broke new ground Wednesday when a half-dozen Arab leaders -- including Saudi King Abdullah for the first time ever -- stayed in their seats while an Israeli president spoke.

November 13, 2008

Clinton seen firm in Senate despite allies’ aspirations

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has said she has "zero" interest in trading her Senate seat for a high-profile job in an Obama administration, but that hasn't stopped some of her fervent supporters from dreaming.

November 4, 2008

Peace force stymied by Congo insurgency

UNITED NATIONS | U.N. peacekeepers are spread too thinly through eastern Congo to protect civilians or quell the fighting between rebel and government forces, U.N. officials warned Thursday.

October 31, 2008

Dual roles said to put U.N. staffers at risk

Inherently flawed security is compromising the safety of tens of thousands of U.N. employees around the world, according to the organization's third report on the fatal Dec. 11 bombing of U.N. offices in Algiers.

October 9, 2008

U.N. faults 7 in Algeria bombing

EXCLUSIVE -- An internal report assigns blame to at least seven U.N. officials for one of the organization's greatest security breakdowns ever -- the Dec. 11 bombing of U.N. headquarters in Algeria in which 17 staffers died.

October 8, 2008

U.N. appeals directed at next U.S. president

World leaders looked beyond the Bush administration during their speeches to the U.N. General Assembly, often addressing their remarks - even if indirectly - to the next U.S. president.

September 29, 2008