Wednesday, October 28, 2009 WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama renewed sanctions on Sudan Tuesday, a week after unveiling a new policy of pressure and incentives toward the Khartoum government aimed at settling the simmering conflict. "The crisis constituted by the actions and policies of the government of Sudan... has not been resolved," Obama said in a message to Congress about the one-year extension of sanctions. "These actions and policies are hostile to US interests and pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."The sanctions restrict US trade with and investment in Sudan, freezes the Sudanese government assets in the United States, and bans transactions with individuals and entities linked to the conflict in Darfur. They are part of a revised US policy that seeks to ensure the country does not become a "safe haven for terrorists" and that a peace deal to end a 22-year civil war in the south is fully implemented. In an example of how these sanctions are enforced, Washington lobbyist and former State Department employee Robert Cabelly was indicted on Tuesday for violating Sudan sanctions regulations. Cabelly, who was said to have brokered oil business contracts and transactions benefiting Sudan and provided Khartoum with sensitive controlled US government information, also faced charges of money laundering, passport fraud and making false statements.The new strategy involves US engagement with Khartoum government officials, although the outreach will not include President Omar al-Beshir, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on war crimes charges over the Darfur conflict.
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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