BEIRUT: As tensions soar in Lebanon after the government sent a request to the UN Security Council to consider "alternative ways and means" of establishing a special tribunal for the Hariri assassination, calls increased from local, regional and international quarters on Thursday for a return to inter-Lebanese dialogue.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters that the question of how to proceed with the tribunal had not yet been discussed by the UN Security Council.

Ban said he hoped that the Lebanese "would take the necessary measures, constitutionally, among themselves, through dialogue by promoting a national reconciliation."

However, he also said he understood the sense of frustration felt by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Security Council members over the tribunal.

Sources close to Speaker Nabih Berri told the Central News Agency on Thursday that Berri is concerned by the escalation in the political and security deadlock in Lebanon after the collapse of the latest attempt at dialogue between rival camps. Berri was said to have expressed his worry of a return to sectarian conflict, and noted that dialogue had succeeded in averting this "bitter pill" in past months.

He was quoted as saying that Lebanon was not "an island isolated from its surroundings," and urging all parties to find a solution to their differences "so that what is happening in Iraq, Morocco and Algeria does not spill over into Lebanon."

Responding to a speech made Sunday by Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, MP Walid Jumblatt, a senior member of the ruling coalition, said that although the issue of the tribunal was among the first agreed during the national dialogue held last year, Nasrallah later "received instructions" to oppose the court.

In the latest diplomatic efforts, Egyptian Ambassador Hussein Darar said that an Arab initiative to resolve the crisis was "still on the table," but that Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa would not return to Lebanon until the Lebanese themselves made progress.

"We need to remember that all sides in Lebanon hailed the Arab initiative and called for an Arab solution. The Arab solution came, so what happened? Everyone needs to remember what they said and what they asked for and what they promised," Darar told reporters after a meeting with the Maronite bishop of Beirut, Boulos Matar.

"The secretary general will not return for the sake of returning; this is not what is required. What is needed is much more than that, for matters to move forward and for all [sides] to assume the responsibilities on their shoulders," he added.

Russian Ambassador Sergey Bukin told reporters after a meeting with Berri that recent comments by Mikhail Margelov, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, reflected the Russian position on the crisis.

"In my view, this statement reflects Russia's concern over the current situation in Lebanon and the severe political crisis Lebanon is going through," Bukin said, "and as a matter of fact it reflects the well known official Russian position, in that Russia supports continuing the inter-Lebanese national dialogue to reach a political settlement to contentious issues."

Margelov warned on Wednesday that the "forceful, shortsighted approach" of the opposition would lead to the creation of the tribunal under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

Bukin said that Russia was taking part in discussions with other Security Council members over the wording of a presidential statement from the council on the implementation of Resolution 1701, and expressed confidence that consensus would be reached on the draft. The proposed statement views with concern "reports on movements of unlicensed armed militants outside UNIFIL's area of operation" and reiterates a call to "dissolve and disarm all militias and armed groups in Lebanon." It also expresses the council's "deep worry over increasing reports of the unlawful transfer of arms across the Lebanese-Syrian border which constitutes a violation of [Resolution] 1701."

The statement "welcomes the determination of the Lebanese government and the steps it is taking to stop this movement in keeping with the relevant resolutions," and calls on Syria "to take additional steps to reinforce the monitoring of its border."

The statement, drafted by France, further notes with deep concern the continued detention of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah last July, encourages a rapid solution to the issue of Lebanese detainees in Israel and expresses concern over ongoing Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace. It also suggests that a permanent solution to the disputed Shebaa Farms lies in a delineation of the border between Syria and Lebanon.

Outgoing French President Jacques Chirac once more urged the international community to assume its responsibilities and establish the tribunal on Wednesday, after meeting with Jordan's king Abdullah in Paris.

A spokesperson for Chirac said France was eager to establish the court "within a realistic time frame" and that the aim of the tribunal was to "achieve justice and to be a deterrence to those who would resort to assassinations as a means to achieve political goals."

The spokesperson added that France hopes to see a "lasting peace in a democratic Lebanon that enjoys complete sovereignty."

The International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) and several human rights bodies in Europe have issued a statement calling upon the EU to put on trial 37 suspects of the 1994 Rwandan genocide who are currently living in Europe.

"For the past 13 years, we have been calling on the International Community to take legal action against these Genocide perpetrators. We are interested in them being extradited rather than them standing trial abroad," the minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama reacted.


Speaking on the Government's position on the issue, Karugarama said that some countries have showed no interest in taking legal action against Genocide suspects living within their territories.

Among the countries listed by IFHR that are still harbouring Rwandan Genocide perpetrators include Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Norway, among others.

Karugarama said that Belgium has tried to make some of the genocide suspects face justice while other European countries do not have the will.

Over five people have been implicated and taken to courts of law in Belgium for taking a prime role in the Genocide.

Meanwhile, media reports quotes Alain Gauthier, a human rights campaigner representing Rwandans in France, as saying that there is still 'political brakes' in France that stops them from putting Rwandan genocide suspect on trial.

In their statement, IHRF says that European Governments have an obligation to investigate these allegations and where sufficient evidence exists, to bring these persons to justice.

Report sights France

The report says that many countries have failed to conduct investigations into the presence of genocide suspects living in their territories.

"This failure is most evidenced in France where not a single trial has resulted despite numerous investigations and prosecutions," the report states in part.

Currently senior genocide perpetrator like Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, Laurent Bucyibaruta, Laurent Serubuga, Cyprien Kayumba and Sosthène Munyemana are still living under the French government's protection.

Since last year, the European Court of Human Rights has continuously condemned France for its inexcusable delays in arresting genocide fugitives in Paris.

Europe failing Justice

Pundits allege that European countries have failed to prosecute Genocide suspects in their countries.
In some European countries, their domestic laws often don't allow for genocide prosecutions. Recently, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda refused to transfer Michel Bagaragaza to Norway because of the absence of genocide legislation in that country.

However, the UK government is currently considering extraditing of Charles Munyaneza, Celestin Ugirashebuja, Emmanuel Nteziryayo and Dr Vincent Bajinja (a.k.a. Brown) to face trials in Rwanda because of some difficulties in their law.

In May last year, Rwanda issued a list of 93 most wanted genocide suspects living abroad. 37 of them are said to be lining freely in European countries.

New U.N. Secretary-General's First 100 Days Marked by Lots of Globetrotting

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's first 100 days as U.N. chief, by his own admission, have not been a honeymoon: He's done lots of globe-trotting, made some missteps, and had a few successes.

Ban mishandled U.N. reaction to Saddam Hussein's execution but has been successful in putting the international spotlight on the growing crisis in Darfur and keeping up the pressure for speedy action.

Just over three months after he took the reins of the United Nations from Kofi Annan, Ban is still trying to master the job of being a top world diplomat while running a giant international bureaucracy where 192 countries often have competing interests.

"As a grade for the first hundred days, I'd give him an A-plus for effort, and an incomplete for substance," former U.S. ambassador John Bolton said in an interview ahead of Ban's 100th day in the U.N. post on Tuesday.

Calling himself "a harmonizer and bridge-builder," the former South Korean foreign minister came to the United Nations promising to push for peace in Darfur and the Middle East.

He also promised to restore the U.N.'s tarnished reputation, which has been battered by the oil-for-food scandal in Iraq, corruption in the U.N.'s purchasing operations, and sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers.

Edward Luck, director of Columbia University's Center on International Organization, said the best secretaries-general "combine advocacy for the U.N.'s core values with a very realistic and pragmatic sense of what can be accomplished at any point in time."

"He will have to define his tenure more boldly in the future, but personally, I don't think that's something for the first hundred days," Luck said in an interview.

He said Ban has been more outspoken on some issues than many people think.

The secretary-general told Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that genocide was unacceptable and he had to live up to his promise to accept a hybrid African Union-U.N. force for Darfur, Luck said. He told President Bush that he wants to focus on climate change, and he told the Iranians that their rejection of the Holocaust is unacceptable.

But Ban ran into trouble on his first day of work Jan. 2 over Saddam's execution when he twice failed to state the U.N.'s opposition to the death penalty and stressed instead that capital punishment should be a decision of every country. The following day, his spokeswoman said he believes U.N. member states should move toward the abolition of capital punishment and the following week Ban said, "I encourage that trend."

In late January, he headed off on a four-nation African visit, including the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he tried unsuccessfully to get Sudan's al-Bashir to allow the deployment of an AU-U.N. force in Darfur.

In March, he made an unannounced visit to Iraq en route to the Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he again put the pressure on the Sudanese leader.

"He's certainly proven to be a very energetic secretary-general," Luck said. "Maybe his new label would be the ubiquitous Mr. Ban. He seems to be everywhere there needs to be a hole plugged in the dike.

"He's testing the waters in a lot of places, seeing what's possible, getting a feel for the current political dynamics and reminding people that in many cases there may be a U.N. option that they haven't considered," Luck said.

Ban hasn't been offering "any surefire solutions," he said, "but he … has been very eager to find out where the U.N. can make a difference, and to get a sense of where he should really focus his efforts in the coming months."

Lee Feinstein, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said Ban's second 50 days "are clearly better than the first, and he is making the right decision to put his energy behind getting results in Darfur."

"There's some question of whether patient diplomacy is still the right course, but he's clearly making a substantial effort and the style contrast with his predecessor is stark," Feinstein said in an interview. "Ban works behind the scene where Annan used the bully pulpit.

"He's having to overcome the perception that his lower-key style means he will be a less activist secretary-general, but it's too early to reach that conclusion, and Darfur will be a case in point," Feinstein said.

Bolton said Annan's supporters "used to put it out that he was the secular pope."

"I think the most important thing you can say about Ban Ki-moon is that he has not bought into this dangerous idea," Bolton said. "He is concentrating on doing the job of secretary-general. He's doing it in a circumspect way, kind of learning about it, but being very serious about it."

Bolton said many Americans would say he should go faster and push things through at the beginning, which he hasn't done.

"Even if you're not prepared to move in the first hundred days," he said, "the limit of the honeymoon period is the first six months. So I would say he's got another three months. But I would never underestimate the inertia in that (U.N.) building."


source -http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3025406

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says 15 British naval personnel captured in the Gulf will be freed. Meanwhile he repeated allegations that the British sailors and marines "invaded" Iranian waters, but said they would be freed as a "gift" to Britain.

For more info.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6525905.stm

28 March 2007 – A United Nations independent human rights expert on extrajudicial killings called for action in response to reported incidents in the United States, Iran, the Russian Federation, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Indonesia.

Read more - http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22046&Cr=rights&Cr1=council

Shadi Sadr and Mahboubeh Abasgholizadeh have been arraigned, charged with being a "threat to national security," and remanded on March 11 by Evin Ward 209 interrogators authorized by the Ministry of Intelligence of Islamic Republic of Iran. Sadr and Abasgholizadeh are the only two women who still remain in custody after their arrest last week. Thirty-one other women were also arrested but have been gradually released on bail (cash or bond). Sadr is a lawyer and women's rights defender and was arrested while performing her duty defending the women activists on March 4th.

Based on the Criminal Procedure Laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at any point in the investigation, the interrogator is authorized to issue a remand and extend the temporary detention until the date of the trial. If not in agreement, the prosecutor has the power to appeal the interrogator's remand to the court system. If the prosecutor does agree with the order of detention – which is often the case – it is very difficult and almost impossible for the prisoners to appeal the collective decision of the prosecutor and the interrogator. As such both Sadr and Abasgholizadeh continue to be in detention since their arrest on March 4th, 2007 without any likely prospect of being released.

Throughout their detention, Sadr and Abasgholizadeh have been interrogated in the absence of their lawyers (Mohammad Mostafaei, Farideh Gheirat, and Elham Fahimi) and were denied the right to speak with them. Furthermore, the detainees are unaware that the interrogator and the prosecutor have refused to speak with their lawyers. In the face of such confusion and the absence of any legal representation, the detainees themselves have been unable to ask for a court hearing.

Abasgholizadeh has been held incommunicado since her arrest. Sadr has had two short telephone conversations with her husband, the last of which was on Saturday, March 10. Sadr's husband, Hossein Nilchian, who contacted the Revolutionary Court authorities on March 11, has confirmed this.
The families of the two have been denied all visitation rights and are extremely alarmed, especially considering the women's medical conditions. According to other women who have recently been released from Evin Ward 209, Sadr and Abasgholizadeh have no access to medical care. Sadr is suffering from chronic stomach ulcer. Abasgholizadeh suffers from arthritis and migraine headaches.
Those recently released described the cells as being damp and very cold. To make matters worse there are no toilets in the cell. As a routine measure, the prisoners are deprived of warmth, since they are given only one blanket and forced to sleep on the cold floor. Mahnaz Mohammadi, who was arrested on March 4 th and recently released, is still suffering from pneumonia. Moreover, those in custody have reportedly been interrogated while blindfolded during the night, and thus, have had little if any sleep.

Article 27 of Iran's Constitution guarantees the citizens' right to assemble peacefully, which is precisely what the women defenders were doing. However, the interrogator/prosecutor claim that their peaceful gathering was instead a threat to Iran's national security. As such Sadr and Abasgholizadeh were charged according to Chapter 16, Article 113 of the Islamic Penal Code: "Whenever two or more people gather and plan to commit a crime against the internal or external security of the country or facilitate the implementation of a crime, … then they will be sentenced to two to five years of imprisonment." http://www.ghavanin.ir/detail.asp?id=6955

The women's rights advocates have become one of the main targets of the recently increased violation of human rights and the rising repression on the civil rights in the name of "national security". Another concern is that certain intelligence authorities seem to be after plotting a "corruption and moral scandal" against some prominent women detainees in order to defame and de-legitimize women's rights cause in the eyes of the larger public.

Sadr and Abasgholizadeh are prominent activists and women rights defenders who have organized the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign, which aims to abolish stoning as a legal form of punishment for adultery. After exposing two incidents of stoning and identifying 10 more individuals condemned to be stoned, the campaign has successfully saved the lives of three women and one man.



Read more :http://www.meydaan.org/showarticle.aspx?arid=206&cid=52

Nigeria's anti-graft agency has released the names of 135 politicians it says are too corrupt to run in the country's elections in April.
The lists are made up of 82 opposition candidates and 53 from the ruling party.

"Opposition ANPP party leaders, who are meeting in the capital, Abuja, say that the EFCC list is top of the agenda"

for more info. visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6338017.stm

A worker who attended the Suffolk bird flu outbreak is in hospital
with a mild respiratory illness, the Health Protection news agency said.

For more details: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6336823.stm

Another deadly bombed attack has happened again today in Baghdad market killing 135 people and 305 injured.

visit bbc.news / http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6327057.stm

The science warns us that we're running out of time and we need our leaders to deliver this year.

Meet ten of the most influential global warming movers and shakers in the US Senate. These senators are making key decisions – for better or for worse – on the global warming crisis.

The ten movers and shakers on climate policy - get to know their views on climate policy...

Visit http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentID=5834

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has been bypassed again for being the New AU boss and was succeeded by President John Kufuor of Ghana.
Mr Bashir was originally due to become AU leader in 2006 but this was postponed by a year due to human right violation going on in Darfur his own country. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has held talks with Mr Bashir on a proposed joint UN-AU peacekeeping force in Darfur but Mr Bashir remains opposed to UN troops at the AU summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Chad had also threatened to leave the AU if Mr Bashir became its leader.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Lam Akol has accepted Sudan to declined in favour of Ghana and Mr Kufuor accepted this post is to serve the AU.

Mr. Marko Hilgert a German lorry driver has thrown away tens of thousands of euros.

grab it at // http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6304943.stm

A series of bomb and gun attacks across Iraq's capital has left atleast 85 dead, this including 60 in a double bombing near a university.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6266707.stm

Monday, January 8, 2007, President Bush met with European Commission President Jose Barroso. The two leaders continued discussions on a number of key global challenges, including strengthening joint cooperation to advance peace and security in the Middle East and Afghanistan, promoting energy security, stopping the genocide in Darfur, combating terrorism, increasing prosperity and economic development around the world, and advancing free and fair trade.

His visit comes after the UN Security Council imposed restrictions on Iran's trade in nuclear materials and technology.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/asia-pacific/6229829.stm

China's population of Internet users, already the world's second-largest after the United States, has risen by 30 percent over the past year to 132 million, a state news agency said on Friday.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/12/29/china.online.ap/index.html

The world bank has announced that so far Nigeria where using all the funds recovered from the former President late General Sani Abacha to fight to boost health, education and transport etc.

read the whole story here \ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6205183.stm

Fresh heavy fighting is reported near the weak Somali government's Baidoa base, amid fears conflict could plunge the entire Horn of Africa into crisis.

Local residents say Ethiopian troops are clashing with Islamist militias.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6199239.stm

"Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems," said a senior UN Food and Agriculture Organization official