Ian Williams
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/ 26 September 2006

AU to stay on in Darfur

The African Union Peace and Security Council, meeting in New York on the fringes of the United Nations annual general assembly meeting, has agreed to extend the AU force in Darfur until the end of the year. This goes some way towards heading off an impending crisis over the issue, which UN secretary general Kofi Annan and US President George W Bush had put at the top of the agenda.

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/ 23 September 2006

SA’s arms in for a twisting

South Africa’s temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council is likely to be a mixed blessing. Since the end of the Cold War, members have had to weigh the cost of their principles as the United States has twisted elbows to get its way. An American diplomat famously told Yemen during the first Gulf War that its council vote against Desert Storm was the most expensive it had ever cast.