UNITED NATIONS

The U.S. and its allies have long sought to pressure Russia and China into backing such a statement against Iran, amidst fears that Israel would unilaterally attack Iran in a pre-emptive measure in lieu of finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

The depiction of the prophet Mohammed in the Western media has long been a sore point among Muslims, who view the artistic expressions as blasphemous and highly offensive. "Innocence of Muslims," the anti-Mohammed film that gained YouTube notoriety and spurred the Benghazi, Libya, attack that killed Ambassador, is hardly the first Western media reference to the prophet to incite religious backlash.

Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin can't catch a break. Magistrates called him in for questioning on Tuesday regarding his alleged links to allegedly corrupt businessman Regis Bulot.

China has more Internet users than any other country in the world has inhabitants. Is that mass of people going to push for greater freedom? Not with government controls as stringent as they are now.

Two bombs exploded near army compounds in the Syrian city of Aleppo Sunday night, killing more than 20 people and injuring around 60 of President Bashar al-Assad's forces and residents.

Economic problems have drastically lowered standards of living across the Palestinian territories, and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is facing heated criticism from the public. But, this weekend, President Mahmoud Abbas stepped up to defend Fayyad.

Forests are extremely important to Liberians, who rely upon vast wooded areas for everything from building supplies and medicine to water protection and game habitats. Recently, a government program turned over these critical regions to big logging firms in a misguided attempt to provide income and revenue for hard-hit communities. Can Ellen Sirleaf Johnson's administration curtail what it began?

Official aid from the South to the North often goes through the Red Cross as a matter of formality and convenience.

The chief of the NATO military alliance is on a damage-control tour of Central Asia after Azerbaijan's president pardoned, promoted and financially compensated a man who hacked to death a fellow NATO soldier, who was Armenian, threatening a shaky ceasefire between two long-time foes.

Tajikistan, the poorest country in Central Asia, is attempting to revive an old hydropower plant building project, but Uzbekistan objects on environmental grounds. The World Bank has agreed to step in to assess the situation.

The UN passed a new set of international standards designed to protect the rights of domestic workers, who often suffer from abuse at the hands of their employers.

A newly reinstated negligence lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Line could become a pivotal piece of legislation in defining to what extent cruise ships may be held liable for criminal acts perpetrated against passengers at various ports of call.

Secretary Clinton's visit to East Timor was meant to be a show of support for Asia's newest democracy as it works to grow its economy and become a legitimate member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Despite modest growth in the economy in the Palestinian territories, unemployment remains the highest in the region, and despair and frustration are growing among a very young population.

There are now at least 10,000 Nigerian prostitutes – perhaps as many as 20,000 – in Italy alone.

A new UN report outlined the harm that improper chemical waste management can have on the health and economy of developing countries.

Differences on a wide range of major international issues are revealing tensions between Beijing and Washington, as well as mutual concerns that the other is playing dirty.

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced on Tuesday that they will be expanding their efforts in Syria with the help of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees. Meanwhile, the US drags its heels and the UN's efforts have amounted to nothing to stem the violence.

Syrian warplanes and ground forces bombarded the country's largest city Aleppo on Saturday as government troops struggle to clear the city of lightly-armed rebel forces nearly five weeks after they stormed their way into it, activists said.

The Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war to Turkey are now more than 100,000. Ankara isn't pleased, but can't do a lot to stop the flow -- and is leaning hard on the West to help, with little result so far.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon communicated to Iranian leaders his strong disapproval of Iran's rights record and of its stand on key issues causing regional and global tensions, within hours of his arrival in Tehran to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit Wednesday.