Obama to head UN gathering on countering terrorism
(Worthy News) – President Barack Obama is chairing a U.N. gathering of world leaders to discuss countering terrorism, a day after he and the leaders of Russia, China and Iran addressed the General Assembly on its 70th anniversary.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the United States is rallying support for the fight against groups like the Islamic State, which is attracting foreign fighters who could return to their home countries to launch attacks.
Russia on Wednesday will chair its own meeting on countering extremism as this month’s U.N. Security Council president. [ Source ]
US says states pledge 40,000-plus troops to UN peacekeeping
President Barack Obama on Monday announced notable steps to upgrade U.N peacekeeping, with his administration saying more than 50 countries have pledged to contribute more than 40,000 new troops and police to serve in some of the world’s most volatile areas.
But there was no sign the U.S., which pays a quarter of the peacekeeping budget, would put more of its own troops into the field.
The United States chaired a high-level meeting to strengthen and modernize peacekeeping, whose nearly 125,000 personnel increasingly face threats from extremist groups while being severely stretched in personnel and equipment. Deployments to crises can take several months. [ Source ]