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.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
Comments