UNITED NATIONS

What is so special about the term civil war, and why are governments, media and analysts shying away from openly using that label to describe what's happening in Syria?

The two countries have been at odds since early into the 16 month-old crisis in Syria, but now Turkey is ready to punish Syria for attacking two of its planes.

In the wake of the Syrian downing of a Turkish F-4 Phantom reconnaissance jet on Friday, there has been a great deal of restraint, but it appears Ankara's patience with Damascus may be wearing thin.

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meets this week to select new additions to the World Heritage List. But with little money and over 900 sites already, is the World Heritage emblem now just a fancy name for a lame duck?

According to the report, General Mowaffak Joumaa has been denied the visa due to his links to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Indigenous tribesmen joined forces with a variety of ecological groups and social movements from around the world at the People's Summit in Rio de Janeiro to denounce the ?green economy? concept under debate at Rio+20.

The United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, a two-day meeting of more than 115 political leaders from around the world, is turning out to be a major bust.

Human rights activists as well as the U.N.?s refugee agency have condemned Bangladesh for its refusal to take in Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Afghans have been fleeing their homeland in massive numbers since 1979 when Russian tanks invaded their mountainous nation

The State Department on Tuesday warned Iranian exile group Mujahideen-e Khalq, or MEK, to comply with its relocation from Iraq's Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya if it hopes to be removed from the United States' list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

?We agreed on the need for a cessation of the violence,? Obama told reporters.

Monday reports indicate that violence has once again surged in Syria, following the Saturday suspension of the United Nations monitoring mission due to unsafe conditions.

Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit, world leaders are returning to Rio de Janeiro to negotiate further progress toward sustainable development. However, the potential for this year?s Rio+20 Summit to have a similar impact is less likely.

Despite the clamor around Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), the No. 1 social networking site, the real king of the social networking sector is International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), a new survey by IDC found.

Iran has been suspected of developing nuclear weapons, and the world powers in the Russian capital will spend two days trying to get Tehran to stop the enrichment and storage of uranium to 20 percent and open a secret military facility to United Nations inspectors.

In the latest blow to international efforts to stem the spiraling bloodshed in Syria, the United Nations has announced it is suspending its observer mission.

About 1,500 Rohingya, including women, children and the wounded, who sought a safe haven in Bangladesh by sea, have already been turned back by Bangladeshi naval authorities.

Fatou Bensouda was sworn in as the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Friday, making her not only the first African, but also the first woman, to lead the United Nations-backed tribunal.

The UFC has two big matches on tap for next weekend.

British Prime Minister David Cameron had strong words for Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner on Thursday regarding the Falkland Islands.

?Life,? the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said, ?must be lived forward, but can only be understood backwards.?