Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war in Ethiopia's Tigray, the U.N. aid chief told the Security Council on Thursday, prompting the U.S. envoy to challenge the body's silence, asking: "Do African lives not matter as much as those experiencing conflict in other countries?"The U.N. official, Mark Lowcock, said the humanitarian crisis in Tigray had deteriorated over the past month with challenges to aid access and people dying of hunger. He said the world body had not seen any proof that soldiers...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war in Ethiopia's Tigray, the U.N. aid chief told the Security Council on Thursday, prompting the U.S. envoy to challenge the body's silence, asking: "Do African lives not matter as much as those experiencing conflict in other countries?"The U.N. official, Mark Lowcock, said the humanitarian crisis in Tigray had deteriorated over the past month with challenges to aid access and people dying of hunger. He said the world body had not seen any proof that soldiers...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and others are seeking support for a coalition to defend the United Nations Charter by pushing back against the use or threat of force and unilateral sanctions, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.The move by 16 countries and the Palestinians to create such a group comes as U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration boosts its multilateral engagement and with allies, reversing former President Donald Trump’s favored unilateral approach as he focused on an “America First” policy.Biden has also pledged to take on China...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and others are seeking support for a coalition to defend the United Nations Charter by pushing back against the use or threat of force and unilateral sanctions, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.The move by 16 countries and the Palestinians to create such a group comes as U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration boosts its multilateral engagement and with allies, reversing former President Donald Trump’s favored unilateral approach as he focused on an “America First” policy.Biden has also pledged to take on China...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who is Black, clashed with her Chinese counterpart on Friday when she described her own experience with racism as a challenge, but said for millions of people in countries like China and Myanmar it was deadly.During a U.N. General Assembly meeting to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “Racism was and continues to be a daily challenge wherever we are. And for millions, it’s more than a challenge. It’s deadly.”“Like in Burma, where Rohingya and...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who is Black, clashed with her Chinese counterpart on Friday when she described her own experience with racism as a challenge, but said for millions of people in countries like China and Myanmar it was deadly.During a U.N. General Assembly meeting to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “Racism was and continues to be a daily challenge wherever we are. And for millions, it’s more than a challenge. It’s deadly.”“Like in Burma, where Rohingya and...WW…

By (This March 17 story corrects to say state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, instead of state-run, in paragraph 4)NEW YORK (Reuters) - United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has agreed to an Ethiopian request for a joint investigation in the country’s northern Tigray region, where Bachelet says possible war crimes may have been committed.Fighting between government troops and the region’s former ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the mountainous region of...…By (This March 17 story corrects to say state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, instead of state-run, in paragraph 4)NEW YORK (Reuters) - United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has agreed to an Ethiopian request for a joint investigation in the country’s northern Tigray region, where Bachelet says possible war crimes may have been committed.Fighting between government troops and the region’s former ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the mountainous region of...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The war in Yemen is “back in full force,” the United Nations mediator told the Security Council on Tuesday amid renewed attempts to get the warring parties to talk and U.N. warnings that the country is spiralling toward a massive famine.Martin Griffiths told the council that there had been a dramatic deterioration in the more than six-year-long war with a Houthi offensive on Marib - the Yemeni government’s last northern stronghold - putting millions of civilians at risk.“We are also seeing other fronts in Yemen opening, including with military escalations in Hajjah...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The war in Yemen is “back in full force,” the United Nations mediator told the Security Council on Tuesday amid renewed attempts to get the warring parties to talk and U.N. warnings that the country is spiralling toward a massive famine.Martin Griffiths told the council that there had been a dramatic deterioration in the more than six-year-long war with a Houthi offensive on Marib - the Yemeni government’s last northern stronghold - putting millions of civilians at risk.“We are also seeing other fronts in Yemen opening, including with military escalations in Hajjah...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) -More than 500 rape cases have been reported to five clinics in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the United Nations said on Thursday, warning that the actual numbers were likely to be much higher due to stigma and a lack of health services.“Women say they have been raped by armed actors, they also told stories of gang rape, rape in front of family members and men being forced to rape their own family members under the threat of violence,” Wafaa Said, deputy U.N. aid coordinator in Ethiopia, said in a briefing to U.N. member states in New York.She said at least 516 rape cases...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) -More than 500 rape cases have been reported to five clinics in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the United Nations said on Thursday, warning that the actual numbers were likely to be much higher due to stigma and a lack of health services.“Women say they have been raped by armed actors, they also told stories of gang rape, rape in front of family members and men being forced to rape their own family members under the threat of violence,” Wafaa Said, deputy U.N. aid coordinator in Ethiopia, said in a briefing to U.N. member states in New York.She said at least 516 rape cases...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday blacklisted two Islamist extremist groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique as foreign terrorist organizations over accusations of links to Islamic State (ISIS).The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Congo and its leader Seka Musa Baluku and Mozambique’s Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama and its leader Abu Yasir Hassan were also named “specially designated global terrorists.”The designations prevent travel by members to the United States, freeze any U.S.-related assets, ban Americans from doing business with them and make it a crime...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday blacklisted two Islamist extremist groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique as foreign terrorist organizations over accusations of links to Islamic State (ISIS).The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Congo and its leader Seka Musa Baluku and Mozambique’s Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama and its leader Abu Yasir Hassan were also named “specially designated global terrorists.”The designations prevent travel by members to the United States, freeze any U.S.-related assets, ban Americans from doing business with them and make it a crime...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Myanmar’s military says it is ready to withstand sanctions and isolation after its Feb. 1 coup, a top United Nations official said on Wednesday as she urged countries to “take very strong measures” to restore democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.U.N. special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said 38 people died on Wednesday - the most violent day since the coup - as the military quelled protests. Schraner Burgener is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday.Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Myanmar’s military says it is ready to withstand sanctions and isolation after its Feb. 1 coup, a top United Nations official said on Wednesday as she urged countries to “take very strong measures” to restore democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.U.N. special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said 38 people died on Wednesday - the most violent day since the coup - as the military quelled protests. Schraner Burgener is due to brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday.Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government...WW…

By , NEW YORK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States lost a bid on Friday to extend a U.N. arms embargo on Iran as Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a summit of world leaders to avoid “confrontation” over a U.S. threat to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Tehran.In a U.N. Security Council vote, Russia and China opposed extending the weapons ban, which is due to expire in October under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Eleven members abstained, including France, Germany and Britain, while Washington and the Dominican Republic were the only yes votes.“The...…By , NEW YORK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States lost a bid on Friday to extend a U.N. arms embargo on Iran as Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a summit of world leaders to avoid “confrontation” over a U.S. threat to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Tehran.In a U.N. Security Council vote, Russia and China opposed extending the weapons ban, which is due to expire in October under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Eleven members abstained, including France, Germany and Britain, while Washington and the Dominican Republic were the only yes votes.“The...WW…