UN News

NYT: "World leaders gathering for their annual meeting this week will find a new buzz: The United Nations is back in the global spotlight after securing a cease-fire in Lebanon, trying to revive the Middle East peace process and pressing Sudan to allow U.N. peacekeepers into conflict-wracked Darfur."

"George Clooney takes his plea to stop the genocide in Darfur to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday. The actor, who visited Darfur in April with his father, Nick, will address the U.N. in a briefing organized by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. Clooney and Wiesel will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon after the briefing." More

"A Senate panel postponed a vote scheduled for Thursday on approving John Bolton as U.N. ambassador, a job he has held temporarily since last year when President Bush appointed him over Democratic opposition. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., gave no reason for the delay and did not say when the vote would be held. Bolton had been opposed by many Democrats but was expected to be confirmed by the Republican-led panel." More

NYT: "U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Beirut Monday at the start of a Mideast tour to strengthen the cease-fire in Lebanon, saying it was "a very critical time" for the country. During his two-day stay, Annan will meet with Lebanese leaders and visit with U.N. peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon. He also was expected to visit Israel, Syria and Iran." "I think it's important that I come here myself to discuss with the Lebanese authorities the aftermath of the war and the measures we need to take to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and to underscore international solidarity," Annan told reporters after being met at the airport by Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh."

Alertnet: "The international community may have funded historic post-war elections in Democratic Republic of Congo but it must do more to counter a humanitarian crisis that kills thousands every week, the U.N. said on Tuesday. Food aid has been cut in half and entire families are dying from preventable diseases as aid workers struggle to tackle an emergency that continues despite the official end to the 1998-2003 war and the elections on July 30."

"With Kofi Annan's term due to expire at year's end, the U.N. Security Council is starting the search for a new secretary general. Asian nations insist it's time for someone from their region to hold the post." [Audio link from NPR]

"The No. 2 United Nations official met with top Iraqi leaders in Baghdad on Thursday to promote a new partnership meant to help muster political and economic support for Iraq's government, the U.N. said. Mark Malloch Brown, the deputy U.N. secretary-general, discussed setting up a preparatory group that will have the backing of the World Bank and include representatives of international donors, the U.N. said in a news release from its headquarters in New York." [More]

"World Refugee Day kicked off Tuesday with a message of hope from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the launch of a major UNHCR fund-raising campaign focused on youth and sports, and celebrations in the Asia-Pacific region. In his special message, Annan said that while the global refugee population was at its lowest level since 1980 and UNHCR had helped millions of people repatriate or resettle in a country of asylum, more than half those that the refugee agency cares for around the world have spent over five years in exile." [More]

A U.N.-backed investigator reported Saturday "considerable progress" in his probe of a former Lebanese prime minister's assassination, and said most of his work could be wrapped up in several months.