On July 14, the flag was raised at U.N. Headquarters in New York for the new Republic of South Sudan.

Five days after President Obama granted U.S. recognition of South Sudan, the U.N. General Assembly voted to admit the Republic as its newest nation, the 193rd member of the world organization, after the Security Council recommended its admission.

The U.S. -brokered agreement to divide Sudan into two nations ended two decades of costly civil war and resulted in a day of celebration in Juba, South Sudan last Saturday as it declared its independence. "After so much struggle by the people of South Sudan, the United States of America welcomes the birth of a new nation," President Obama said from Washington, as the U.S. formally granted recognition during the independence ceremony attended by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, CBC News reported.