Reuters: "More than 70 Syrian military trucks left Lebanon overnight, witnesses said on Friday, carrying tanks, mortars and anti-aircraft guns as Damascus raced to complete its withdrawal by the end of the month.
Syria pledged to pull out by April 30 in response to U.S.-led pressure and in face of popular protests after the Feb. 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which the Lebanese opposition blames on Syria. Damascus denies the charge.
The U.N. Security Council ordered an international investigation into Hariri's assassination on Thursday, a move long called for by the anti-Syrian opposition. Lebanon and Syria have both said they will cooperate with investigators."
From BBC News: "A sealed list of 51 suspects accused of war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan is to be handed to the International Criminal Court.
A United Nations investigation into killings, torture and rape identified a number of government and army officials, militia and rebel leaders.
Last week, the UN Security Council ordered that suspects should appear before the court in The Hague."
Guardian: "France said it expects the U.N. Security Council to vote Thursday on a resolution that would authorize the prosecution of Sudanese war crimes suspects by the International Criminal Court - with approval virtually certain after the United States apparently dropped its objections.
Administration officials in Washington said Wednesday night that the United States was dropping its objections to using the court after concluding that opposition to the U.S. stand was too strong, particularly among Europeans."
UPDATE: "The Security Council voted Thursday night to send any war crimes suspects from the Darfur region of Sudan to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, after the United States obtained amendments to exempt Americans from the tribunal's jurisdiction." - NY Times
The UN continues to play a leading role in working to bring Hariri's killers to justice:
"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the Security Council to launch an independent international investigation into last month's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri after receiving the report of a mission he set up to probe the circumstances, causes and consequences of the murder." LINK
We've been following events in Lebanon, here and here.
UN News Service reports: "Late Saturday, an explosion in Beirut killed two people and injured at least eight others. In a statement released in New York, a spokesman for Mr. Annan said the Secretary-General was "especially saddened that this latest attack, the third in Lebanon in only a week, was carried out on the eve of Easter, just as many of the nation's Christians were preparing to attend mass."
Urging an end to the bloodshed, the statement stressed that the Lebanese people should be allowed to decide their country's future free of violence and intimidation."
"Syrian President Bashar Assad threatened former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri with "physical harm" last summer if Hariri challenged Assad's dominance over Lebanese political life, contributing to a climate of violence that led to the Feb. 14 slayings of Hariri and 19 others, according to testimony in a report released Thursday by a U.N. fact-finding team." Full Article
From MSNBC: "A U.N. report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri concluded that Lebanon's investigation into the killing wasn't satisfactory and a new international investigation is needed.
The report, released Thursday, says there was a "distinct lack of commitment" by Lebanese authorities to investigate the crime, and the investigation was not carried out "in accordance with acceptable international standards."
New York, 7 March 2005 -
Secretary-General's statement on Sudan:
The members of the Security Council came to see me this morning, at my request, to discuss Sudan.
I asked them to come and see me because I am worried that we are not moving fast enough to deal with the appalling situation in Darfur. There have been a lot of efforts on the humanitarian side, and by the African Union on the security side, which go in the right direction. But they are not enough. We keep getting reports which show that the killing and raping and burning are still going on.
I was glad to hear from Council members that they hope to have a new resolution in the course of this week, which will include agreement on a mechanism for holding individuals accountable for these dreadful crimes. That is good. We must send a clear message that the world is not going to tolerate them.
From Reuters: "Warring parties in Sudan's Darfur agreed on Thursday to revive stalled peace talks, after the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged firm action to end a conflict he described as near hell on earth.... Annan urged the U.N. Security Council to take immediate steps to stop the Darfur war, which has killed at least 70,000 people and displaced 2 million."