UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Wednesday he was unable to see his friend, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, when he stopped in Caracas on his way to the United Nations in New York because the socialist leader was still being treated for cancer.

Morales, who was in Caracas on Tuesday, said he spoke with Chavez’s family and doctor and described the socialist leader’s surprise return to Venezuela on Monday – more than two months after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba – as a “great relief.”

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The command, equipment quality and fighting ability of rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo when they captured the frontier city of Goma in November suggests they had external support, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday.

While Ban did not say from where the external support came to help the M23 rebels take Goma on November 20, U.N. experts have accused Rwanda and Uganda of aiding the revolt in the resource-rich region. Both governments strongly deny any involvement.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A delayed U.N.-mediated peace deal aimed at ending two decades of conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is due to be signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on February 24, the United Nations said on Saturday.

African leaders failed to sign the deal last month due to the concerns of some countries over who would command a new regional force that would deploy in eastern Congo and take on armed groups operating in the conflict-torn region.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 15 (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council
warned on Friday against attempts to destabilize Yemen with
weapons shipments as the country tries to rebuild after two
years of upheaval and expressed concern that former president
Ali Abdullah Saleh was undermining the process.

The 15-member council said it was ready to consider further
measures, including sanctions, “if actions aimed at undermining
the Government of National Unity and the political transition
continue.”

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The death toll in Syria is likely approaching 70,000 – up almost 10,000 from the start of the year – and civilians are paying the price for the U.N. Security Council’s lack of action to end the conflict, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday.

Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, repeated her call for the 15-member council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court to send a message to both parties in the conflict that there will be consequences for their actions.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The death toll in Syria is likely approaching 70,000 with civilians paying the price for the U.N. Security Council’s lack of action to end the nearly 2-year-old conflict, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday.

Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, repeated her call for Syria to be referred by the 15-member council to the International Criminal Court to send a message to both parties in the conflict that there would be consequences for their actions.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations sees a glimmer of hope for Syria in the opposition leader’s offer to meet government representatives to discuss a political transition in an effort to end nearly two years of fighting, a senior U.N. official said on Friday.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said last week’s offer by Moaz Alkhatib, the head of the Syrian National Coalition, was “the most promising thing we’ve heard on Syria recently.”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week kicked off on Thursday and will include hundreds of designers showing their Fall/Winter 2013 collections during the event at Lincoln Center and venues around the city.

The event, which runs through February 14, attracts 232,000 people to New York City, which estimates that millions be spent in the restaurants and hotels during Fashion Week.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week kicked off on Thursday and will include hundreds of designers showing their Fall/Winter 2013 collections during the event at Lincoln Center and venues around the city.

The event, which runs through February 14, attracts 232,000 people to New York City, which estimates that millions be spent in the restaurants and hotels during Fashion Week.

NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Grunge and punk are poised for
comebacks for fall and winter, say top U.S. department store
buyers at New York’s Fashion Week, which starts on Thursday, but
don’t rip up your flannel shirt just yet as the revival will be
taking on a more feminine flair.

The return of grunge and punk for autumn 2013 are part of a
rock ‘n’ roll theme experts expect to see in collections by the
more than 90 designers showing at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at
Manhattan’s Lincoln Center.