New Peace Envoy Clooney Pleads for Darfur

(NEWSER) - George Clooney figures prominently in New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof's latest report from Africa, which Kristof describes as "yet another hand-wringing column about Darfur." He offers to swap dirt on the Hollywood heartthrob for readers' interest—then offers a chilling tale of a "petty and mean-spirited" move by the UN, which yanked the Americans' security escort. More»

Beijing is trying to block UN report to the contrary

(NEWSER) - China is attempting to block publication of UN report stating that Chinese bullets were used in attacks against UN peacekeeping forces in Darfur, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The report states that 11 different kinds of Chinese-made bullet casings were found at sites where government-allied militia members attacked UN or African Union forces, but a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry dismissed the claims as “unconfirmed” and “groundless.” More»

Offers to assist Darfur via wardrobe malfunction

(NEWSER) - Accepting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at last night's Emmys, George Clooney made light of his work to raise awareness about genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. "I have offered to go to the south of Sudan and stage, like, a wardrobe malfunction," the modest actor quipped. "But it was pointed out to me that I'm 49, and the consensus was that it would just be upsetting. And kind of sad." More»

Actress slams president's Darfur policy in Newsweek

(NEWSER) - Angelina Jolie “hates” President Obama so much that she and partner Brad Pitt “get in nasty arguments all the time” about him, sources tell Us —and she lets a bit of her distaste shine through in a piece she wrote for Newsweek on Darfur. “When the administration says it intends to work to 'improve the lives of the people of Darfur,' I would like to know what that means, besides the obvious point that their lives could hardly get worse.” More»

(NEWSER) - A top UN official has declared that the "real war" in Darfur is over, but that might come as a surprise to the 3 million or so refugees still living in fear of militia attacks, writes Andrew Meldrum for Global Post. He talks to relief officials who find the pronouncement "incredibly premature," in the words of one. It "directly contradicts what we see on the ground." More»