Reuters: "The U.N. Security Council pressed Lebanon on Wednesday to hold parliamentary elections on schedule and welcomed "noticeable progress" in Syria's withdrawal, but said all U.N. demands had not yet been met."
"Secretary-General Kofi Annan is dispatching a United Nations military team to Lebanon today to verify whether there has been a full and complete withdrawal of all Syrian troops, military assets and intelligence apparatus as mandated by Security Council resolution 1559.
A UN spokesman said Mr. Annan had asked the mission to complete its work as soon as possible following an accord worked out earlier this month by his special envoy on this issue, under which Syria agreed to withdraw from its smaller neighbour by 30 April, ending a physical presence that began with the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war." More...
WP: "The Syrian government has promised to remove all its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon by April 30, the U.N. envoy said Sunday after meeting with Syria's president and foreign minister.
The withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, where they have been stationed since 1976, has been demanded by a United Nations resolution last year, which also called on Syria to end its influence in Lebanese politics."
"Syria will completely withdraw its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday.
In meeting with Annan on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Algiers, Syrian President Bashar Assad agreed to present a firm timetable by early April for a full withdrawal of his country's forces from Lebanon.
Assad confirmed his commitment to U.N. Resolution 1559, which calls for a Syrian withdrawal." Read more...
From the Sydney Morning Herald: "The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, expects Syria to withdraw its 20,000 troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon before the country holds parliamentary elections in the northern spring, his spokesman said.
This is the first time the UN has set a deadline for the complete withdrawal of Syrian security forces, who have held sway over Lebanon for 29 years. It follows confidential discussions between Mr Annan's top envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, and Lebanese and Syrian political leaders."
"A top U.N. envoy will tell President Bashar Assad that Syria will face political and economic isolation if he does not completely and quickly withdraw from Lebanon, U.N. and U.S. officials said ... Terje Roed-Larsen plans to inform Syria that the international community is united in insisting that Damascus comply with U.N. Resolution 1559 -- and is prepared to impose wide punitive sanctions if it does not act quickly, the officials said.
"If he doesn't deliver, there will be total political and economic isolation of his country. There is a steel-hard consensus in the international community," a senior U.N. official said." More...
LA Times: "The General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution Tuesday that urges member states to adopt legislation "to prohibit all forms of human cloning in as much as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life."
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The Dispatcher spent some time in Beirut during the Lebanese civil war. This article touches on one of the holdovers of that war: the presence of thousands of Syrian troops inside Lebanon... "Mr. Roed-Larsen, until last month UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, was named to his new post to implement Security Council resolution 1559, which was adopted in September and called for the withdrawal of all remaining foreign forces from Lebanon, disbanding all militias and extending Government control over the whole country."