Samuel Oakford

The move comes after Iraq's prime minister announced an offensive to retake the city as a wave of deadly bombings claimed by Islamic State have killed hundreds in and around Baghdad.

More than 20 nonprofit groups, most of which work explicitly with gay and transgender communities, are being blocked from participating in a major United Nations session on AIDS.

Last year, the government executed 12 foreign citizens and two Indonesians for drug crimes, sparking international outcry and leading several countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Jakarta.

As medical centers in conflict areas continue to be assaulted, the UN adopted a resolution demanding that countries comply with their obligations under international law to protect healthcare personnel and facilities.

Congress was supposed to finalize a bill last month to help the US territory solve its debt crisis, but legislators left for vacation without taking action.

A US military investigation found that series of human and equipment-related errors led to the attack in Kunduz, which lasted for a full half-hour and killed 42 people before the gunship stopped firing on the hospital.

While Burundi wallows in political upheaval, the United Nations has watched its government repress protests as dissidents and members of the opposition are tortured, killed, or disappeared.

On Monday, the prince in charge of the kingdom's economy unveiled details of an urgent reform plan that will raise capital for public investment through the partial privatization of the state oil company.

Roughly 5.5 billion people — three quarters of the world's population — have insufficient or no access to morphine, codeine, and other controlled substances used for pain relief.

Jamaica called for the UN to review the status of cannabis, questioning why the drug is still legally considered as dangerous as heroin under international law.

As world leaders meet to consider the future of global drug policy at UNGASS, the UN's special session on drugs, they will look to Portugal as an example of what decriminalization can accomplish.