political nonsense

A report by the human rights organization Amnesty International accused Israel of deliberately attacking civilian targets during the recent conflict in Lebanon, the UN reported that Israel dropped cluster bombs on at least 170 villages and other places in south Lebanon, many of which have yet to explode, the UN Development Agency is reporting that Lebanon’s 15-year economic and social recovery from civil war has been wiped out over the past month, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Israel of breaking the 10-day-old ceasefire, and France demanded that Israel lift its blockade on Lebanon.
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UN Secretary General Koffi Annan is warning the humanitarian crisis in Darfur is worsening by the day.
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Israeli forces will complete their pullout from southern Lebanon within 10 days, giving way to U.N. and Lebanese forces, Israel’s army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, said Tuesday.
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The United Nations Human Rights Council condemned Israel for violating human rights and international humanitarian law in its military operations in Lebanon.
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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s cabinet on Sunday approved a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities with Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, a political source said. In the meantime, Israel tried to inflict as much damage as possible.

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The United Nations Environment Program is expressing “grave concern” over a massive oil spill off the Lebanese coast in the Mediterranean Sea. The spill occurred when Israel bombed a Lebanese power station. Scientists say that almost as much oil may has entered the water as during the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker incident in Alaska. The oil spill now covers 50 miles of the Lebanese coast.
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour strongly condemned the Israeli bombing of Qana and said an independent investigation is needed. The International Committee of the Red Cross criticized what it described as the recurring lack of respect for international humanitarian law by both Israel and Hizbollah. Protests over the bombing of Qana were held throughout the Muslim world including in Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan.
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In Beirut, over 5,000 Lebanese protesters stormed the United Nations compound in protest.
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The U.N. Security Council passed a weakened resolution Monday giving Iran until Aug. 31 to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.
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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday there would be no cease-fire in the coming days to stop fighting between his nation’s forces and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia.

“Quite a few days of fighting are still before us,”

Olmert told a conference of local officials.
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The U.N. Human Rights Committee called on the White House today to shut down all “secret detention” facilities and grant the International Committee of the Red Cross access to any detainee held in armed conflict. The committee says it has “credible and uncontested” information the US has detained prisoners “secretly and in secret places for months and years.”
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The United Nations Security Council was due to hold an emergency session on Sunday afternoon to discuss the Lebanese crisis in advance of Monday’s scheduled meeting about an international peacekeeping force for the region.
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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday for talks on ending the war in Lebanon as Israel signaled it would not demand the immediate disarming of Hizbollah as part of any deal.
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United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan is accusing Israel of what he calls an “apparently deliberate” attack on a UN base in southern Lebanon that killed four UN observers.
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The Prime Minister of Lebanon is pleading for help, while the UN and the US continue to argue on the conditions of a ceasefire.
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United Nations relief coordinator Jan Egeland on Sunday condemned the devastation caused by Israeli airstrikes in Beirut describing it as ‘horrific’ and terming it ‘a violation of humanitarian law.’
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UN Secretary General Kofi Annan renewed calls for an end to fighting between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, warning of a ‘major humanitarian disaster’ as Israeli troops massed along their northern border Friday, possibly preparing for a ground invasion.
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At the United Nations, the US continues to block a Security Council resolution demanding Israel’s immediate withdrawal from Gaza and emergency aid to the Palestinians. The resolution also calls for the release of the Israeli soldier and an end to all rocket attacks on Israeli towns. US Ambassador John Bolton said: “Our position remains the same — we don’t see at this point any utility in council action at all.”
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Sudan is blocking the top humanitarian official at the United Nations from visiting the Darfur region. The official, Jan Egeland, accused Sudan of trying to hide the ethnic cleansing that is occurring in the area.
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The 15-member UN Security Council unanimously approved a non-binding statement giving Iran 30 days to comply with demands that it abandon uranium enrichment activities.
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