NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for nuclear disarmament during a session lead by U.S. President Barack Obama.The Security Council meeting, the first presided over by a U.S. president, demonstrated increased international political will to advance the nuclear disarmament agenda Obama proposed during his speech in Prague in April, the White House said in a release.The measure, UNSC Resolution 1887, expresses the Council's concern about the threat of nuclear proliferation and the need for international action to prevent it.The resolution calls for nuclear disarmament, urging all countries to work toward establishing effective measures to effect nuclear arms reduction and disarmament, officials said.A second element called for a strengthened Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty that sets realistic and achievable goals for disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.The resolution also calls for better security for nuclear weapons material to prevent it from falling into terrorists' hands. It also underscored the panel's intent to take action if it finds nuclear weapons or related materials are provided to terrorists.The resolution demanded compliance with Security Council resolutions on Iran and North Korea, calling on both countries to negotiate solutions. The document reaffirmed that the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency plays a critical role in preventing nuclear proliferation and ensuring access to peaceful uses of atomic energy under safeguarded conditions.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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