UNITED NATIONS

Images of the Costa Concordia cruise ship sinking off the West Coast of Italy have been splashed across the global media and as the death toll rises into double digits, the question of cruise ship safety is likely on the minds of many.

Ethiopia blamed the small neighboring country of Eritrea in the killing of five European tourists on Tuesday.

A prime suspect in the Christmas Day bombings that killed more than 40 Nigerians in attacks aimed at Christian churches has escaped from police custody, officials said.

The cowardly act of the Costa Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, who has been accused of abandoning the sinking ship, leaving more than 4,200 passengers onboard, has added another unsavory chapter to the less reputable parts of maritime history. Fortunately, the seas have examples of bravery as well. If the above cases pointed to instances of cowardice and shame, there are incidents where the heroism of the captains onboard sinking ships has become legendary.

Russia has distributed a new draft resolution, on the Syria crisis, at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The draft was sent to the Council's 14 other members and has asked for concerned experts to meet on Tuesday to debate the provisions.

Let's from the get-go point out the obvious: Iran does not, even in the slightest, have any intention of quitting its attempts to acquire nuclear weapons. And why should they? No one is stopping them.

Rescuers resumed a search of the hulk of a giant cruise liner off the west coast of Italy on Monday after bad weather forced them to halt operations, but hopes were fading of finding more survivors.

A stranded Russian science satellite, loaded with rocket fuel for a roundtrip mission to Mars, is expected to plunge back to Earth on Sunday, but officials said on Friday they don't know when or where it will hit.

Pieces of a failed Russian Mars probe plummeted into the Pacific Ocean far off the Chilean coast Sunday, Russian news agencies cited a military official as saying.

The U.N. chief told Bashar al-Assad Sunday to stop killing your people and the Syrian leader offered an amnesty for crimes committed during a 10-month-old revolt against him.

Pieces of a failed Russian Mars probe plummeted into the Pacific Ocean far off the Chilean coast on Sunday, a military official told Russian news agencies.

The United Nations chief told Bashar al-Assad on Sunday to stop killing your people, and the Syrian leader offered an amnesty for so-called crimes committed during a 10-month-old revolt against him.

Phobos-Grunt -- a stranded Russian science satellite loaded with enough rocket fuel for a round-trip mission to Mars -- is expected to plunge back to Earth either Sunday or Monday, but officials don't know when or where it, or its remnants, will hit.

Myanmar's government said on Saturday 302 of the 651 detainees it freed this week were political prisoners whose release had been sought by the National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Tunisians Saturday marked the first anniversary of the revolution that started the Arab Spring with celebrations that were true to the spirit of the revolt: raucous, unscripted and driven by the energy of ordinary people.

Mohamed ElBaradei pulled out of the race for the Egyptian presidency on Saturday, with the Nobel Peace Prize winner saying the previous regime was still running the country, which has been governed by army generals since Hosni Mubarak was deposed last year.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday that the U.S. restored diplomatic relations with Myanmar as the country's new civilian government has made rapid reforms, including the release of prominent political prisoners and a cease-fire with ethnic Karen rebels.

A human-rights body of the United Nations has expressed its support for a Sikh man in France in his battle to wear his turban in defiance of French laws against religious headgear.

Afghan farmers produced 6,400 tons of opium last year, versus 4,000 tons in 2010.

Fifty-seven people were killed in tribal clashes in South Sudan this week, most of them women and children. Another 53 people were wounded in the clash between Lou Nuer and Murle groups in Jonglei state, thirteen of whom needed to be airlifted to safety.

In makeshift churches and at mass grave sites, Haitians congregated Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake that ravaged the country, killing roughly 300,000 people and leaving more than 1.5 million homeless.