United Nations

Romanian Ambassador Simona-Mirela Miculescu has been appointed Representative of UN Secretary General and Director of the UN Office in Belgrade.

Miculescu was appointed by UNSG Ban Ki-moon, it was published on the Twitter account of the UN Spokesperson.

Following Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's recent visit to Washington, a source close to his ruling Progressive Party told BIRN that the US has set several conditions for Belgrade to fulfil in order to ensure investments in Serbia and Washington's support for its EU integration.

The United Nations plans to host on June 8 in Morocco a new round of talks among Libya's warring factions in an effort to end a conflict that threatens to break up the oil producer. 

About half of live dolphins caught in the Japanese coastal town of Taiji were exported to China and other countries despite global criticism of the hunting technique used, a news report has said.

The so-called "drive hunt" method has been criticized overseas as cruel and Japanese zoos and aquariums were recently forced to vow not to buy animals caught with the controversial fishing.

Saudi Arabia's supreme court has upheld a sentence of 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes against blogger Raif Badawi on charges of insulting Islam, his wife said on June 7.

The judgment came despite worldwide outrage over his case and criticism from the United Nations, United States, the European Union, Canada and others.       

GENEVA, June 5 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday said it was stepping up its field presence in the eastern Aegean islands of Greece where sea arrivals in recent weeks from Turkey have been averaging some 600 people a day, straining local reception capacities.

On World Climate Day on Friday, the SEE SEP network of CSOs from South East Europe, called on the governments of the region to act promptly and put forward ambitious commitments for the upcoming global climate agreement in Paris.

Legislation ending the US government's bulk collection of telephone data is "a historic victory for the rights of every citizen," former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden said in a commentary June 4.

A program to train and equip Syrian opposition fighters is not enough to save Syria and Iraq on its own, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu said June 4.

"We should save Syria and Iraq. It would be an over-optimistic approach if we depend merely on the train and equip program," the minister told news broadcaster A Haber.

Global food prices in May fell to their lowest since September 2009 with declines in cereals, dairy and meat products outweighing slight increases in oils and sugar, the United Nations' food agency said on June 4.