Ban Ki-moon

Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres Olsen said Monday that she was dropping her bid to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the United Nations Secretary-General due to the lack of support at the U.N. Security Council.

UNITED NATIONS – U.N. peacekeepers routinely trade sex for money, jewelry, cellphones and other items in countries where they are deployed in clear violation of U.N. rules, according to a draft U.N. report. A third of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by U.N. personnel involve a minor under 18.

Hammarskjold, the U.N.'s second secretary-general, died at age 56 when his DC-6 crashed near Ndola, in northern Rhodesia, now known as Zambia.

Along with the principles of freedom and democracy, the force of reason has prevailed throughout Costa Rican history. The abolition of the military is one of those exceptional steps that led Costa Rica to become a fairer, more educated society able to meet the most pressing needs of its population, focusing on human development rather than strengthening its military capabilities.

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís doubled down on his country's pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2021 during an address at the U.N. Climate Summit in New York, on Tuesday morning. There, the president called on wealthier nations to do more to facilitate climate adaptation and mitigation efforts in middle and low-income nations.

Haiti needs help funding its $2.2 billion, 10-year National Cholera Elimination Plan. So far, just 40 percent of the $448 million that will be needed in the first two years for investments in early warning, rapid response, water, sanitation and vaccines has been mobilized, and only 10 percent of the total has been pledged.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rides a bicycle next to Costa Rica's Foreign Minister Manuel González, right, in San José on July 30, 2014....

Solís: "If the situation continues as it has, the world, not just Costa Rica, is going to have to take increasingly strong measure to protect the lives of the weakest who are being bulldozed by an attitude that does not agree with the values that the government of Costa Rica defends.”

Eight foreigners are being "held for international terrorism," including U.S. freelance reporter Andrew Rosati, who writes for the Miami Herald, a team of journalists from the U.S.-based Associated Press and Italian photographer Francesca Commissari, who works for the local daily El Nacional.