UNITED NATIONS

Syrian rebels said they shot down an army helicopter Tuesday as they battled government forces backed by air power and artillery in the fiercest fighting to hit Damascus yet.

Russia has already said it would to veto the resolution, which first proposed by Britain, the United States, France and Germany. China is expected to vote against the draft as well.

While the world's deadliest famine has officially ended, remaining food shortages coupled with insecurity and fighting between African Union forces and militant group al-Shabab have wreaked havoc on the nation and its people.

Taliban militants have threatened aid workers trying to administer the polio vaccine in Pakistan, putting the lives of 250,000 children in the remote regions of South and North Waziristan at immediate risk.

Western Australia’s reputation as the world’s deadliest place for shark attacks has made it a tough sell for prospective tourists, and local authorities have asked the federal government to consider lifting the ban on fishing of great whites to help alleviate the problem.

Speaking before scheduled talks with Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that only a simultaneous end to violence is possible, followed by a simultaneous pullout of troops closely monitored by U.N. observers.

The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its global growth forecast and warned that the outlook could dim further if policymakers in Europe do not act with enough force and speed to quell their region's debt crisis.

Using equipment supplied by Chinese electronics giants Huawei Technologies and ZTE corporation, the People's Liberation Army and the government have back door access to a vast majority of the world's electronic information, including sensitive military and intelligence data, Michael Maloof claims.

Sadly, another surfer has been killed off the coast of Australia, but humans need to recognize they are putting themselves at risk.

A bill requiring the Iranian government to design and build nuclear-powered commercial ships was approved by a parliamentary committee Sunday. The measure stipulates the government must provide nuclear fuel for the ships, which would require the Islamic Republic to continue its uranium-enrichment activities.

Former Syrian ambassador Nawaf al-Fares is calling for military intervention as fighting in Damascus escalates.

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi rejected the United Nations claims that the regime attacked the village of Tremseh with heavy weapons and aircraft, calling the accusations baseless.

China's aging and diminishing population is not a surprise, but experts lament that little is being done to prepare society for its effects.

In what could be the bloodiest event of the Syrian uprising so far, a government offensive in the western Hama region resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, most of whom were civilians, according to opposition activists.

Peru has a launched a project to combat exploitative child labor practices with a $13 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

U.N. peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being redeployed to Goma as a rebel group advances toward the city.

According to United Nations figures, about 220 million women in the developing world who do not want to get pregnant, cannot get reliable access to contraception.

Libya?s new ?liberal? government may distance itself from the West and from NATO, which helped rebels free the country from Moammar Gadhafi.

Russia isn't the first place that comes to mind when thinking of free speech, but that's exactly where the second World Media Summit was held. Attendees including BBC and CNN heard about a free press from Vladimir Putin, and about world harmony from the North Koreans.

U.N. envoy Kofi Annan said he and President Bashar al-Assad agreed on Monday on an approach to Syria's conflict that he would now take to the opposition, as Russia, Assad's main protector, distanced itself further from him.

Beady eyes. Massive jaws. Pearly white teeth with serrated edges. It?s no wonder sharks scare us. But how likely is an actual shark attack?