Human rights activists in Syria had put the death toll at around 45,000 according to the AP. In 2012 alone, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, 36,332 civilians were killed. The network specifically decried the Assad regimes record for killing civilians women and children:

The proportion of women and children to the total number of victims is 5.2 which is a conclusive  evidence that the Syrian government is deliberately targeting civilians as the internationally recognized ratio in the case of regular warfare is 2%. The Syrian government has killed more than double that percentage and in some months the percentage was more than three times that benchmark.

Last week the U.N.-Arab League envoy warned that 2013 could see over 100,000 more deaths in Syria if the civil war does not come to an end.

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Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy for the Syrian crisis, told reporters in Cairo that if the crisis continues Syria will not be divided into states "like what happened in Yugoslavia" but will face "Somalization, which means warlords, and the Syrian people will be persecuted by those who control their fate."

Syrian rebels are fighting a 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad's regime. Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed in the crisis, which began with pro-democracy protests but has morphed into a civil war.

Since starting his job in September, Brahimi has sought to advance an international plan, reached in Geneva six months ago, that calls for an open-ended cease-fire between rebels and government troops and the formation of a transitional government to run the country until elections can be held.

Over the past week Brahimi went to Damascus where he met Assad then flew to Moscow, one of Syria's closest international allies, where he discussed ways of ending the country's crisis.

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"Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued and protected," Ban said in a statement in which he expressed "deep sorrow" at news of the young woman's death and called for "further steps and reforms to deter such crimes and bring perpetrators to justice".

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From the Tulsa World:

Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, said his Senate Bill 23 is based on a bill that was passed by Alabama lawmakers last year and is aimed in part at cutting off state support for the groups pushing limits on property owner rights.

As a farmer, Anderson said he is concerned about the federal government -- pushed by the U.N.'s agenda of sustainability --forcing rules on a wide variety of things, including the creation of dust and how land can be used.

"There's a place for all that, but we also need to make sure we're not infringing on the property owners' rights to use their own land," Anderson said.

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The U.S. condemned the "highly provocative act"; Japan called the launch "extremely regrettable"; South Korea said it was "a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions ... and a threat to peace to the Korean Peninsula and around the world." The U.N.'s Ban Ki Moon concurred. China, North Korea's closest ally in the region, even offered a tepid criticism: "We hope relevant parties stay calm in order to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," said a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

But, as commentators have noted, international censure falls on deaf ears in Pyongyang. As NPR's Lim said, "There's little left to sanction, and so far, international condemnation has done little to sway Pyongyang from its path." Sanctions on the poverty-stricken country will nonetheless be tightened unilaterally following the launch, according to reports.

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They have launched a concerted campaign against military bases and the international airport, within an arc of opposition strongholds that now encircle the capital.

After recent rebel attacks on military checkpoints and bases along the 15-mile highway between southwest Damascus and the international airport prompted the airport’s two-day closure, authorities last week insisted Syria’s only international commercial airline hub had reopened.

But a GlobalPost reporter trying to drive on the highway toward the airport was stopped by Syrian soldiers who said the road was closed because they could not guarantee safe passage.

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As such, the COP 18 talks were never intended to achieve new commitments on cutting CO2 emissions, but rather clear up details and disagreements that currently exist between nations over climate issues, in order to clear the way for a 2015 agreement. But as the summit reaches its final day, many of these issues still remain unresolved.

"The Doha talks represent the hinge point between the existing UN system -- the 15-year-old Kyoto protocol -- and a future system to be settled by 2015," explained BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin, adding, "The transition has drawn all the world's nations into a negotiation of swirling diplomatic complexity."

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The GOP’s opposition to the treaty was reinforced by right-wing media freaking out over yet another United Nations effort. The pattern is well-established: take a UN treaty the US is thinking of signing, twist the language to make it seem nefarious, and then gin up hysterical opposition to it based on non-existent provisions in the treaty.

So here are five ways the right has jumped the shark over the UN.

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With 38 Republicans casting "no" votes, the 61-38 vote fell five short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify a treaty. The vote took place in an unusually solemn atmosphere, with senators sitting at their desks rather than milling around the podium. Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, looking frail and in a wheelchair, was in the chamber to support the treaty.

The treaty, already signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126 countries, including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, states that nations should strive to assure that the disabled enjoy the same rights and fundamental freedoms as their fellow citizens. Republicans objected to taking up a treaty during the lame-duck session of the Congress and warned that the treaty could pose a threat to U.S. national sovereignty.

"I do not support the cumbersome regulations and potentially overzealous international organizations with anti-American biases that infringe upon American society," said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.

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The United States produces the vast majority of firearms in this country. It's also the world’s leading weapons exporter by far.

America exported $336.5 million worth of firearms in 2011, according to customs data compiled by the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers, NISAT. That’s $200 million more than Italy, the next leading exporter.

In addition to feeding booming gun sales at home, however, the insatiable American appetite for weapons is also responsible for fueling a burgeoning small arms industry around the world. Despite producing so many of its own weapons, the United States is also the top global importer, according to a recent report that indicates US consumers are helping drive a major increase in sales.

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The historic General Assembly decision late Thursday to accept "Palestine" as a non-member observer state won't actually grant independence to the 4.3 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Israel remains an occupying force in the first two territories and continues to severely restrict access to Gaza, ruled by the Hamas militant group. Nor does the vote plaster over the rift in the Palestinian leadership that has led to the emergence of dueling governments in the West Bank and Gaza.

But by gaining approval at a world forum overwhelmingly sympathetic to their quest, Palestinians hope to make it harder for Israel to resist global pressure to negotiate the borders of a future Palestine based on lines Israel held before capturing the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in 1967.

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received a standing ovation following his pre-vote speech, in which he asked the General Assembly to issue a "birth certificate" for Palestine.

8:00 a.m. (EST): On Thursday, Palestine is set to win U.N. recognition as a nonmember state, despite aggressive opposition from the U.S.. The result is assured with 132 of the U.N.'s 193 member states having already recognized a putative state of Palestine and pledges from nations including France and Spain to vote "yes." What the upgrade for Palestine to "nonmember" state will mean -- especially in terms of conflict resolution -- is less clear.

For many U.N. member states, the vote is a means to strengthen Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' hand over his rival Hamas, especially following the militant group's bump in popularity following Israel's military assault on Gaza this month. Abbas has said he will use a victory in the General Assembly to return to the negotiating table with Israel and push his condition that Israel freeze the growth of settlements.

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The U.N. nuclear watchdog commented Tuesday after a previously unknown group critical of Israel's undeclared nuclear weapons program posted contact information for more than 100 experts working for the IAEA.

A group called "Parastoo" — Farsi for a swallow bird and a common Iranian girl's name — claimed responsibility for posting the names on its website two days ago.

Israel is commonly acknowledged to possess nuclear weapons — something it neither confirms nor denies. It says Iran is secretly working on nuclear arms — something Tehran denies — and describes the Islamic republic as the greatest threat to the Mideast.

Iran and Arab countries, however, say the Jewish state's nuclear capacities pose the greatest menace.

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With the announcement, France becomes the first major European country to come out in favor, dealing a setback to Israel. The timing of the announcement appears aimed at swaying other European nations.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told parliament that France has long supported Palestinian ambitions for statehood and "will respond `Yes'" when the issue comes up for a vote "out of a concern for coherency."

The Palestinians say the assembly is likely to vote Thursday on a resolution raising their status at the U.N. from an observer to a nonmember observer state, a move they believe is an important step toward a two-state solution with Israel. A Palestinian state would still not be a full General Assembly member, however.

Unlike the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly and the resolution is virtually certain of approval. But such a vote by France - a permanent council member - could weigh on decisions in other European capitals.

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In its report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was ready within days to ramp up its production of 20 percent enriched uranium at its plant at Fordo using 700 more centrifuges.

That would double Iran's present output and cut in half the time it would take to acquire enough of the substance needed to make a nuclear weapon, reducing it to just over three months.

Iran says it has no interest in making nuclear arms, just nuclear power for its citizens, but the United States and other nations believe otherwise. Iran refuses to give up enrichment despite international sanctions and offers of reactor fuel from abroad and for years has stalemated an IAEA probe of suspicions that it worked secretly on developing such arms.

The IAEA report, which was circulated among the IAEA's 35 board member states, was obtained by The Associated Press. It said between the last IAEA board report in August and now, Iran had put nearly 700 centrifuges that were installed but not ready to operate at Fordo under a vacuum to make sure they are airtight.

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The meeting was to discuss Agenda 21, a nonbinding UN agreement aimed at promoting sustainable development. It is also the target of conservatives who believe that it is part of a conspiracy to forcibly move suburbanites to cities.

Jim Galloway of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the meeting, which was called by the Republican Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, took place at the Capitol and was led by a former member of the Georgia Tea Party (who was forced out because of various conspiracy theories, including birtherism), Field Searcy. A 90-minute screening of the documentary Agenda: Grinding America Down was also shown, as was a video from conservative pundit Dick Morris, who warns of Obama's "War on Suburbs" and plan to relocate everyone to urban areas.

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All countries should take steps to meet the family-planning needs of their populations as soon as possible and should, in all cases by the year 2015, seek to provide universal access to a full range of safe and reliable family-planning methods and to related reproductive health services which are not against the law. The aim should be to assist couples and individuals to achieve their reproductive goals and give them the full opportunity to exercise the right to have children by choice.

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The list of Foreign Ministry talking points also instructs diplomats to tell world leaders that Israel will retaliate against the move, without specifying details.

The Palestinians, frustrated with a four-year impasse in peace efforts, say they will ask the U.N. General Assembly on Nov. 29 to give them upgraded observer status. A draft resolution floated by the Palestinians seeks international recognition of their state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel and the U.S. strongly oppose the effort, saying all matters must be resolved through negotiations. On Wednesday, a U.S. envoy was set to meet the Palestinian president in Switzerland in a last-ditch bid to halt the bid.

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The government announced late Monday that it was accepting bids from contractors to build the homes in two Jewish enclaves in east Jerusalem, Ramot and Pisgat Zeev. The homes are among 1,200 whose construction Israel ordered fast-tracked in November 2011 after a key U.N. body granted full membership to Palestine.

While construction would take months to begin, officials indicated that the timing of the tenders was meant to signal to the Palestinians that they should consider the possible consequences of their plan to ask the U.N. General Assembly later this month to upgrade their status to non-member observer state.

Asked whether this was a sign of what could come, an Israeli official said if the Palestinians go to the General Assembly it would be a "blow to peace" and cause problems. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter with reporters.

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