Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said today that poppy cultivation in southern Afghanistan is "out of control."
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised a five-year old Saudi Arabian peace proposal as a "pillar" in the search for Middle East peace. The Saudi plan is to be discussed later this month at an Arab summit in Riyadh. Mr. Ban spoke about the plan in a one-on-one VOA interview as he prepares for his first trip to the Middle East as U.N. chief. VOA Correspondent Peter Heinlein talked to Mr. Ban, and filed this report.
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The United States has granted a visa to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, allowing him to travel to New York to address the U.N. Security Council as it considers new sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program.
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It is the same routine every year. Iranians have cleaned their houses, purchased new clothes, and have set their traditional "Haftsin" tables, which includes seven items beginning with the Persian letter "s." Iranians will mark Norouz, the Persian new year, on March 21 with festive celebrations. But for some, this year's Norouz preparations have been mixed with fear over an uncertain future.
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The French prime minister said the humanitarian crisis in conflict-wracked Darfur should be at the top of the U.N. agenda and called for shuttle diplomacy to try to reach a political solution.
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Recent reports indicate that the final draft of the UN's proposal for the final status of Kosovo calls explicitly for full independence. RFE/RL correspondent Heather Maher spoke to Carne Ross, the director of the nonprofit diplomatic advisory group Independent Diplomat, which is advising the Kosovo government.
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An Iranian official says his government is working to get a U.S. visa for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad so he can address the U.N. Security Council.
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UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari told reporters at the end of the final round of talks on Kosovo's status on March 10 that there was no hope of reaching a compromise before he delivers his proposal to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sometime in the next few weeks.
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All 15 members of the United Nations Security Council are expected to begin consultations today over the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
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Russia and China are expressing reservations about proposals put forward by Western powers to expand United Nations sanctions on Iran to punish the country for its defiance over its nuclear program.
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UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari says yearlong talks on the future of Kosovo have ended in deadlock. Ahtisaari said "there was no will" on the part of Serbian and Kosovo ethnic Albanian leaders to agree on a solution.
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The United Nations' top torture investigator Manfred Nowak has discovered the worst violations of human rights he has ever seen in Nigerian police cells.
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