http://192.168.2.6/music/20060901/2006VOA0901.mp3

It's 15:00 Universal Time and here is the news from the Voice of America.
I'm David Deforest, from the VOA news center in Washington.

The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution calling for deployment of an international peacekeeping force to Darfur. Under the plan, the UN would absorb and expand an African Union force that has not been able to control violence in the region. The deployment would not occur without approval of Sudan's government which has repeatedly rejected any UN mission to the region. 12 of the Security Council's 15 members voted in favor of the resolution. Russia, China and Qatar all abstained. US Ambassador John Bolton said unanimity was not essential.

"We are not gonna sacrifice the need to take a stronger hand to try and stop the genocide in Sudan just because we can't get unanimity. And China will be the one that has to explain why it's not voting in favor of this resolution." Ambassador John Bolton.

Lebanese Prime Minister Froid Sinora has appealed to international donors for a half billion dollars in financial aid to help his country recover from the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Mr. Sinora said 15 years of postwar redevelopment have been wiped out in fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia. He was addressing delegates from 60 governments and 8 organizations at a donor's conference in Stockholm.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is criticizing Israel for using cluster bombs in Lebanon during the war with Hezbollah. Speaking in Jordan today, Mr. Annan said cluster weapons should not be used against civilians.

Pakistani military officials say soldiers have found the body of fugitive Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. He died Saturday at an inner explosion that destroyed his mountain cave hideout in southwestern Balochistan province. His killing sparked large-scale unrest.

Iran has vowed to continue its nuclear program despite the UN Security Council deadline today for the Iranian government to stop enriching uranium or face possible sanctions. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his nation will not back down in the face of intimidation and give up its right to nuclear technology. Speaking to a crowd in northern Iran, the President said his government will not accept what he called bullying, invasion or violation of its rights. Later today, the UN nuclear agency is to submit a report on Iran's nuclear activities to the UN Security Council.

President Bush is in the western US state of Utah to deliver the first of a new series of speeches designed to counter opposition to the Iraq war. The White House says Mr. Bush will acknowledge these are unsettling times in Iraq. But he will discuss the war in a broader context of the war on terrorism. He will be speaking today at a convention of the veterans group, the American Legion.

Human Rights Watch says Kyrgyzstan is not protecting asylum seekers and refugees and is thus violating international law. The group says Kyrgyzstan forcibly returned 4 Uzbek refugees to neighboring Uzbekistan recently, jeopardizing their safety. VOA's Lisa McAdams has more from Moscow.
The Kyrgyz government's record on protecting Uzbek refugees and asylum seekers who fled last year's violent uprising in Andijan has been mixed. In the first month after the violence, during which Uzbek government troops reportedly opened fire on civilians, authorities in Bishkek sent back 4 Uzbeks and secretly jailed others before bowing to international pressure to protect the refugees. More than a year later, the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are preparing to meet next month in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. Human Rights Watch Moscow Director Allison Gill tells VOA the growing closeness between Kyrgyzstan, a fledgling democracy and authoritarian Uzbekistan is cause for concern.

"Either the Kyrgyz authorities are actively cooperating with the Uzbek government or they are tacitly allowing the Uzbek security services to operate in Kyrgyzstan." Gill says Uzbek asylum seekers are no longer safe in Kyrgyzstan. Lisa McAdam, VOA news, Moscow.

Nigeria's 2 main oil worker's unions have called a strike. They are protesting a wave of kidnappings and violence in the Niger Delta region.
I'm David Deforest, VOA news. More news on the Internet at VOAnews.com