UNITED NATIONS

According to a new study, a looming drop in Pacific trade winds will result in a drastic spike in the rate of global temperature rise.

UNITAR found that 24 sites were completely destroyed, 189 severely or moderately damaged and a further 77 possibly damaged.

The Taliban accused the UN of "enmity and political motives," after it reported a record number of civilians were killed or wounded by insurgents.

A "day of silence" has prevented civilian casualties since Dec. 9, but a new U.N. report shows that a September ceasefire has largely failed.

UN report also highlights systematic human rights violations on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in March.

A senior minister said that the protests by Greenpeace activists had damaged the 1,500-year-old Nazca Lines in southern Peru.

The World Food Programme's food aid, which was a lifeline for over 1.7 million Syrian refugees, will resume by mid-December.

A UNICEF statement was released to coincide with an appeal by the U.N. calling for a record $16.4 billion in humanitarian funds.

The study, conducted by a London-based think tank, found that poorer nations had not benefited from contributions to existing climate funds.

In its first Adaptation Gap Report, the U.N. says adaptation costs are likely to increase substantially, even with emission cuts.

Amnesty International has warned of "catastrophic consequences" for nearly 4 million Syrian refugees if the world fails to act.

Developed nations have so far contributed $10 billion to the Green Climate Fund, far below the $100 billion a year target.

If current trends continue, 2014 could be even hotter than previous record years, the World Meteorological Agency warned.

Israel, which is believed to have launched a nuclear weapons program in the 1960s, has refused to officially admit to having such weapons.

The U.N.'s World Food Program said it needs an additional $64 million in December alone to support 1.8 million Syrian refugees.

Negotiations will begin amid record-breaking global temperatures observed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The country cited Western critics of North Korean defectors to back up its rebuttal of a United Nations report alleging mass human-rights abuses.

The Stalinist state has reacted with anger over a U.N. vote that suggested it face crimes-against-humanity charges.

Washington has contributed more than $3 billion to Syrian Civil War victims since the conflict started in 2011.

Kenya has seen a huge influx of refugees as conflicts in South Sudan and Somalia continue to displace hundreds of thousands of people.

Signed by representatives of both countries, the draft document proposes the disengagement of forces in three phases.