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UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17 (APP): An average of nine children have been killed or maimed every day in Afghanistan so far this year, according to a new report from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which describes the country as “the world’s most lethal warzone”.

The report, entitled “Preserving Hope in Afghanistan: Protecting children in the world’s most lethal conflict”, accuses the parties to the fighting, which has dragged on for some 40 years, of failing in their duty to shield children from its consequences.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 (APP): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the international community to “unite against corruption” to stop precious resources from being drained by illicit financial flows.

“You meet at a critical moment”, Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on behalf of the UN chief, while addressing a conference on the UN Convention Against Corruption in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital.

THE UNITED NATIONS, December 17. /TASS/: Russia has submitted to the UN Security Council its draft resolution on delivering humanitarian aid to Syria as an alternative to a document suggested by Germany, Belgium and Kuwait.

A source in the United Nations told TASS the Security Council was considering both documents, which were expected to be put up for vote this week.

NEW YORK, December 17. /TASS/: US officials claim that a Russian surveillance ship, the Viktor Leonov, is making an "unsafe maneuver" in international waters off the coast of South Carolina and Florida, CNN reports.

According to the report, the Russian vessel has been sailing off the coast of these two US states in the last few days. Anonymous US officials claim that the ship is not using running lights in low visibility weather and it is not responding to hails from other vessels seeking to avoid potential accidents.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - China and Russia on Monday proposed the U.N. Security Council lift a ban on North Korea exporting statues, seafood and textiles, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters, in a move Russia said is aimed at encouraging talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

The draft also called for a ban to be lifted on North Koreans working abroad and the termination of a 2017 requirement for all such workers to be repatriated by next week. The draft would also exempt inter-Korean rail and road cooperation projects from U.N. sanctions.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution renewing the Afghanistan sanctions regime and the mandate of the monitoring team supporting the Afghanistan Sanctions Committee.

According to the Resolution 2501, all states shall continue to take the measures on Taliban, as well as "other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with the Taliban in constituting a threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan."

UNITED NATIONS, December 16. /TASS/: More members of UN General Assembly have voted in favor of the Russian-led resolution on cybersecurity in 2019 than during the previous year, Russian Special Presidential Representative for International Information Security Cooperation Andrei Krutskikh told TASS on Monday. The resolution dubbed Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security was approved by the UN General Assembly earlier.

NEW YORK, Dec 15 (APP): An internationally acclaimed expert on genocide has grimly warned that Muslims in the Indian state of Assam and occupied Kashmir are just one step away from extermination, as he drew parallels between Narendra Modi’s government and Germany under the Nazis.

All the conditions are in place for genocide of Muslims in Kashmir and Assam, Dr. Gregory Stanton, an American who is the founder of Genocide Watch, told an audience on the Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., according to a press release issued by the Indian-American Muslim Council (IAMC).

NEW YORK, Dec 15 (APP): President United States, Donald Trump intends to withdraw about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan and will make the official announcement in the next coming days, a leading American television network reported on Saturday.

Three current and former United States officials told National Broadcasting Company (NBC) News the president is planning to announce the immediate withdrawal that will see a massive reduction in the current number of troops in the region, which are now between 12,000 and 13,000.

NEW YORK CITY, December 15. /TASS/: Republicans in the Congress upper chamber expect to put an end to impeachment process of US President Donald Trump as soon as possible. This was announced on Saturday by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is also Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

"This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly," the South Carolina Republican said answering questions from CNN at a business forum in Doha, Qatar.