300,000 Dead in Darfur: UN

Toughened economic measures thwart UN negotiators, draw China's ire

(NEWSER) - President Bush ordered new, tougher sanctions against Sudan today, ratcheting up pressure on Khartoum to end violence in the Darfur region. In an effort to keep the government from exploiting US resources to carry out genocide, the measures beef up enforcement and increase the number of companies and individuals barred from trading with the US or using American financial markets. 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»

Jolie writes for Time magazine

(NEWSER) - Angelina Jolie argues in a Time essay that it's put-up-or-shut-up time for the UN on Darfur. The Security Council will receive a report today on the nation's genocide under the watch of Omar al Bashir, and its response will determine whether the idea of an "international standard of justice" is real or just talk. "The evidence the prosecutor has presented is clear and compelling," she writes. "Millions of people have been displaced; hundreds of thousands have been killed." More»

(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»

Bashir, charged with genocide, holds rally at scene of crimes

(NEWSER) - Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president allegedly behind one of the world's worst campaigns of genocide and rape, traveled to Darfur yesterday to begin an uncharacteristic charm offensive. "We are with you, Darfur!", the president said, as he danced at a rally packed with thousands who appeared to have been forced to attend. The spectacle is part of Bashir's effort to head off an arrest warrant sought by prosecutors in The Hague, reports the New York Times. More»