Worldwatch

• Share

Weaker Resolution
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding that Sudan rein in Arab militiamen accused of ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs. The U.N. gave Khartoum 30 days to stop the bloodshed or the Security Council will consider economic sanctions against Sudan. The draft resolution had demanded automatic sanctions for noncompliance, but that was softened after several Security Council members, including China and Russia, objected. As many as 50,000 people have been killed in fighting and attacks by the militia, known as the Janjaweed, in the Darfur region of western Sudan. More than a million have been forced to flee their homes.

The Sudanese, who deny they are backing the militias, say they will do everything they can to comply. "Because should we fail to do so, we know our enemies would not hesitate to take other measures against our country," said Osman al Sayed, Sudan's ambassador to the African Union. But aid groups say that the watered-down resolution has let Khartoum off the hook. Relief workers in Darfur say 2.2 million people need food or medical treatment. Rains have turned overcrowded camps into muddy open sewers, increased the threat of disease, and complicated the distribution of emergency food in the region and in neighboring Chad, where 200,000 people have taken refuge. "We need to stop the attacks," says Lynn Heinisch, of U.S. aid group CARE, "and get them food, medicines and shelter before it's too late."

Getting Closure
SPAIN A judge investigating the Madrid train bombings charged a Lebanese man in connection with the attacks. Mahmoud Slimane Aoun was detained on suspicion of involvement with other suspects accused over the bombings. And an Italian court approved the extradition to Spain of Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, an alleged mastermind of the attacks that killed 191 in March.

Washed Away BANGLADESH United Nations officials arrived in the partially submerged capital, Dhaka, to assess the damage caused by the monsoon floods that have claimed almost 1,300 lives across South Asia. The government has put the cost of flood damage at almost $7 billion. PAVEL RAHMAN/AP Children swim through flood waters in the Gaibandha district

Meanwhile, a parliamentary commission set up to investigate the bombings adjourned for its summer break. The panel will reconvene on Sept. 7.

Departing From Script
MOLDOVA The government issued sanctions against the breakaway region of Trans-Dniestr after authorities in the enclave shut schools teaching in Latin script. Russian-speaking Trans-Dniestr wants schools to switch to Cyrillic, the script used during Soviet rule. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the E.U. denounced the separatists' move, with Brussels threatening its own sanctions unless the closures are reversed.

Terror Returns
UZBEKISTAN Coordinated suicide bombings struck the capital, Tashkent, killing at least three people and wounding eight. A number of suspects were apprehended by Uzbek authorities. The blasts came as 15 people with suspected links to al-Qaeda went on trial in connection with a wave of violence in March that killed almost 50.

No Going Back
SOUTH KOREA More than 450 North Koreans arrived on two flights, in what was thought to be the largest defection from the repressive state. Pyongyang accused Seoul of kidnapping its citizens, who travelled into the South via China and Vietnam.

MEANWHILE IN THE U.K....
Ring Fenced
Bounty hunters were barred from a nature reserve near Liverpool after newspaper reports claimed the fiancé of English soccer star Wayne Rooney had flung her $46,000 engagement ring into the bushes after a row over the player's alleged infidelity. The National Trust worried about the area's population of rare red squirrels, fearing the unwanted attention would drive them nuts.