Copyright 2012 The New York Sun Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:21:23 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Benny Avni :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Benny+Avni admin@nysun.net (Seth Lipsky) webmaster@nysun.com en-us BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/nephew-of-yasser-arafat-surfaces-as-aide-to-kofi/87733/ Tue, 6 Mar 2012 19:25:57 EST UNITED NATIONS — Yasser Arafat’s nephew, Nasser Al-Kidwa, will accompany former Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is scheduled to visit Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus this weekend. Mr. Al-Kidwa’s visit will renew a complex history of relationship between two infamous Middle Eastern families that have dominated the region’s politics for much of the last century. The president of the Arab League, Nabil el-Arabi, today announced the appointment of Mr. Al-Kidwa as a deputy to Mr. Annan, who was... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obama-siding-with-un-against-reforms-proposed/87466/ Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:22:55 EST UNITED NATIONS — Even as the Obama administration admonishes the United Nations for an “unwarranted” pay hike for staffers, it is going to bat for the United Nations against legislation proposed in Congress that would revolutionize the way America finances international institutions and give Washington better leverage over them. Proponents of the legislation, offered today by the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican of Florida, say... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/son-of-syrias-ex-president-appeals-directly/87390/ Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:50:57 EST UNITED NATIONS — The son of a former president of Syria, in a startling but so-far-unreported demarche here, is appealing directly to the Kremlin in the hopes of clearing the way for the Security Council here to condemn the atrocities being committed in his homeland. Samir Shishakli, who is himself a former high ranking official of the United Nations and is the son of Adib Shishakli, has written to the only person he knows who might help: Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Russia leads a... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/three-questions-emerge-from-obamas-speech-on/87353/ Thu, 19 May 2011 17:32:19 EST UNTIED NATIONS — Here are three immediate questions I have following President Obama’s speech at the State Department today: 1. Mr. Obama made clear that “Ultimately, it is up to Israelis and Palestinians to take action. No peace can be imposed upon them, not by the United States, not by anybody else.” So why did he go on to do the imposing on borders? “We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/astonishment-spreads-at-un-over-chaos-in-libyan/87281/ Wed, 30 Mar 2011 23:43:51 EST  UNITED NATIONS — One of Colonel Gadhafi’s former diplomats, an envoy who as recently as last year served as president of the General Assembly, has broken with the regime, according to a diplomatic source, and is expected to make an announcement tomorrow in yet another setback for Libya’s strongman. The announcement expected tomorrow — that Ali Treki, who has served as the president of the General Assembly in 2010, has broken up with the regime — would come on the heals defection earlier today... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obama-follows-european-lead-on-libya/87249/ Tue, 1 Mar 2011 23:42:26 EST  UNITED NATIONS – Struggling to develop a coherent strategy on Libya, Washington is attempting instead to rehabilitate the image of international institutions, including the Security Council and, amazingly, one of the United Nations’ most odious organs, the Human Rights Council. Today’s suspension of Muammar Gadhafi’s Libya from the Geneva-based 47-member human rights body was hailed by our ambassador here, Susan Rice, as an act in the “noblest traditions of the United Nations.” But the U.N... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/united-nations-silence-on-revolution-in-egypt-is/87238/ Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:52:28 EST  UNITED NATIONS – While the Middle East undergoes a remarkable transformation, one New York spot that remains almost defiantly uninterested – and totally irrelevant – is Turtle Bay. Like the Baskerville Hound, the United Nations won’t bark. Our ambassador here, Susan Rice, is finalizing a “major address” she’s expected to deliver tonight at Portland, where the World Affairs Council of Oregon is meeting. The title of her address — “Facing 21st Century Threats: Why America Needs the United... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/editorials/drama-building-at-united-nations-over-maneuvering/87240/ Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:33:25 EST UNITED NATIONS – Arab diplomats here are hoping that the controversy that is erupting over a Security Council resolution on Israel’s settlement policies will deflect attention from the spreading democratic protests in the Middle East against the non-democratic regimes. Arab diplomats at Turtle Bay decided to push the Obama administration for a decision to either wield its first Security Council veto on Friday, a move likely to anger an already agitated Middle East, or allow an anti-Israel... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/editorials/united-nations-rolls-out-the-red-carpet-to-fete/87261/ Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:07:06 EST UNITED NATIONS – The General Assembly, for the first time, will attempt tomorrow evening to morph itself into Hollywood, conducting a red-carpet premiere event that will see diplomats mingling with film stars and cinema moguls – and, in the process, promote an anti-Israeli view of the bloody wars between Arab and Jews. Julian Schnabel’s “Miral,” a tale of the Middle East’s travails through the eyes of a young Palestinian Arab girl, has already received advanced notices as a film heavy on... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/editorials/report-vindicating-israel-in-boarding-of-the-mavi/87215/ Sun, 23 Jan 2011 14:19:11 EST UNITED NATIONS — Today’s findings by Israel’s Turkel Commission present a problem for Secretary General Ban and also for Washington, which tacitly assisted him in forming, under United Nations auspices, a separate panel to probe last May’s deadly boarding of the Mavi Marmara. The Israeli commission, headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court, Yaakov Turkel, issued a 250-page report saying that Israel’s blockade of Gaza was legal under international law, as were the actions of Israeli... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/next-flashpoint-in-mideast-could-be-gas-fields/87184/ Wed, 5 Jan 2011 21:35:21 EST UNITED NATIONS – The next flashpoint in the Middle East could be the gas fields off Israel's Mediterranean coast, where the discovery of large cashes of natural gas is raising hopes that Israel could soon become energy-self-sufficient but where a dispute with Lebanon could be ignited.  The Iran-influenced Beirut government is threatening to defend its maritime “rights” and is complaining about Israel’s explorations. Lebanon’s appeals for international intervention begun last summer, immediately... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/scramble-to-avoid-a-genocide-lies-behind-ivory/87178/ Fri, 31 Dec 2010 09:01:22 EST UNITED NATIONS — Behind the controversy over the clients of Washington superlawyer Lanny Davis lies a desperate effort to avoid what threatens to become Africa’s next genocide. The drama centers on the search for a face-saving exit for the president of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, who, against the backdrop of a civil war, was defeated in the national election in the fall. Though the results are in dispute, the winner is generally acknowledged to have been Alassane Ouattara President Obama... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/iraqs-isolation-at-end-draws-to-an-end-with-less/87169/ Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:27:12 EST UNITED NATIONS — Iraq’s return from the isolation into which it was cast by Saddam Hussein will be ended with less of a bang than a whimper here, as Vice President Biden chaired the proceedings but Kuwait held out out for a substantial payday. The emirate of Kuwait blocked the American-led attempt to readmit Iraq, a budding democracy, into “the international fold” by ending restrictions imposed here during the last two decades as punishment for Saddam Hussein’s transgressions. The Kuwaiti... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/un-seeks-obamas-attendance-at-durban-iii-on-10th/87151/ Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:13:20 EST UNITED NATIONS – If the majority here gets its way, President Obama may attend next year an event celebrating a decade of verbal anti-Israel attacks at the same time that most Americans commemorate the tenth anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Countries pushing to convene a “Durban III” conference in the fall of 2011 are hoping to schedule the parley on September 11. They also call on heads of state, who will gather in New York at that time to attend the annual... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/key-un-official-admits-to-concern-over-arms/87143/ Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:57:09 EST UNITED NATIONS — The next contretemps here is going to erupt over what is a small step for the World Body that has major implications for the future of Israel’s security – the admission today by a the top United Nations official in Lebanon that he has “concerns” about the ability of a multinational force deployed there to monitor and prevent the flow of arms to Hezbollah. After briefing the Security Council today, Secretary General Ban’s special envoy to Beirut, Michael Williams, a Briton... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obama-clinton-camps-divide-over-african-hotspot/87134/ Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:42:36 EST Tension between human rights absolutists of President Obama’s inner circle and the pragmatists in Washington’s Clintonian wing will next be glimpsed in a fight that is emerging around the small but resource-rich western Africa country, Equatorial Guinea. The country has long been an American ally, but with petroleum reserves that oil analysts equate with Saudi Arabia’s, and rare earth mineral reserves that can be used in high technology manufacturing, Equatorial Guinea can easily fall prey to... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/uns-anti-jewish-resolutions-loom-as-an-early-test/87122/ Tue, 2 Nov 2010 17:26:29 EST UNITED NATIONS — The first post-election test here for President Obama — and the new leadership in the Congress — will be the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which has taken five decisions that disparage Israel’s claim of linkage to some of Judaism’s most revered shrines. Among those who call on America to withdraw from UNESCO are the presumptive Republican Speaker, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, and Majority Leader, Eric Cantor of Virginia. Other Republicans... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/support-for-israel-costs-canada-seat-on-un/87110/ Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:58:17 EST UNITED NATIONS — Canada’s increasing ties with Israel and its defense of Jerusalem have cost it a seat on the United Nations Security Council, diplomats here are saying after days of maneuvering by Arab countries, Brazil, and Cuba in which the United States had nearly disappeared. Canada’s failure to capture a seat on next year’s Security Council will break a tradition in which America’s northern neighbor has been elected to the most prestigious United Nations body in every decade since 1948... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/cuban-minister-hews-hard-line-at-united-nations/87097/ Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:22:48 EST On the eve of hearings that had been set to open in the United States Congress on whether to ease the ban on Americans traveling to Cuba, Havana’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, has been taking a hard, even strident line here at the United Nations, very much at odds with the way Fidel Castro is trying to portray Cuba in the American press these days. It has prompted old hands here at the United Nations to quote another, albeit different kind of, Marxist —  Groucho, who famously... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/see-no-evil-in-lebanon-or-korea/87026/ Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:53:04 EST UNITED NATIONS — Responding to combative provocations with meek diplomacy, the West is allowing North Korea and Iran to further arm themselves and their proxy armies, risking a much more serious military confrontation in the next rounds. Meeting the American-led United Nation command today at a village in the Korean demilitarized zone, mid-level Pyongyang military officials began negotiating a return to diplomacy that would eventually lead to a renewal of the Six Party talks. Those talks, a... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/stage-is-set-for-a-new-clash-between-america/87020/ Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — The next crisis between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyah — one from Venus, the other from Mars — is only a matter of time, though the vibes will be discernibly positive when the two meet at the White House tomorrow. The two hold diametrically opposed political philosophies: the “realist” Mr. Obama – Venus – is all about nurturing regional hopes and dreams: think Palestinian state. The “ideological” Mr. Netanyahu – Mars – is keenly attuned to the region’s real and... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obama-administration-irked-at-israel-over-pace/86998/ Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:44:01 EST UNITED NATIONS -- The Obama administration has been complaining to Israel about the pressure Washington is coming under to agree to an international probe of Israel’s raid on the Turkish “peace flotilla,” sources in both Washington and Jerusalem are telling The New York Sun. Mostly, the sources say, Washington is complaining that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cabinet has taken too long to set up its own investigation. Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, told The New York Sun Wednesday... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/iran-will-use-un-sanctions-to-seek-to-expand-its/86993/ Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:42:48 EST UNITED NATIONS – Iran is hoping to turn the sanctions resolution that the Security Council approved today into the next platform on which it is building its ever widening sphere of international influence. One of the Islamic republic’s first objectives on its way to becoming a regional power and a world leader is to create the impression that Iran and America are playing on a leveled field. If the impression sticks, the world will increasingly see two sides to every issue: in the blue corner... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/last-ditch-effort-to-block-sanctions-on-iran-is/86991/ Mon, 7 Jun 2010 20:50:54 EST UNITED NATIONS – The Security Council is expected to vote on an American-backed resolution to impose the next round of sanctions on Iran as early as Wednesday, but two countries bent on enabling Iran, Brazil and Turkey, are making a last-ditch effort to delay the vote. Ambassadors of the two countries called for a hasty Security Council consultation earlier today to try to schedule a public debate — a procedure that remotely resembles the Congressional filibuster — before any vote could takes... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/turkeys-next-move-will-be-to-marshal-moves/86984/ Mon, 31 May 2010 22:06:43 EST UNITED NATIONS – After initiating and aiding a provocation that resulted in the deaths of at least ten of its citizens, Turkey will next move to marshal world opinion and attempt to harness it to promote Prime Minister Erdogan’s regional goals, which increasingly resemble those of Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran. The Turkish government supported, guided, and aided the so-called “humanitarian” flotilla, condemned Israeli “piracy” after Monday morning’s violent clashes, and is now planning to... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/high-seas-drama-looms-off-gaza-district-as/86979/ Wed, 26 May 2010 20:27:08 EST UNITED NATIONS — A drama on the high seas is brewing in the Mediterranean as a Turkish government-backed flotilla, laden with various goods and carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists, is attempting to reach Gaza’s shores in the next few days to deliver what its members say is much needed humanitarian aid to the Hamas-controlled strip. Israel’s Navy said it would prevent the flotilla from entering Gaza and, if necessary, board the eight boats and arrest the activists. Nevertheless... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/crunch-time-near-on-a-bomb-treaty-as-egypt/86976/ Tue, 25 May 2010 20:58:26 EST UNITED NATIONS — It is crunch time for members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and if their month-long parley here collapses in the next few days it might well be the fault of Egypt, which earlier in the month of May emerged as the darling of advocates for a nuclear-free world. The Arab countries, led by Egypt and Syria, are agitating to convene a Middle Eastern regional parley within the next two years with the aim of forcing Israel to join the NPT and open its nuclear facilities to... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obama-setting-up-a-clash-with-the-hague-over/86966/ Thu, 20 May 2010 21:33:36 EST UNITED NATIONS — President Obama is setting up the next big clash between America and the International Criminal Court, according to human rights activists who say Washington’s Sudan envoy undermines the Hague-based world judicial body’s prosecution of President Bashir. In stark contrast to the Bush administration, which has eyed the ICC’s concept of “international jurisdiction” with much healthy skepticism and declined to join the court, Mr. Obama’s team has sent observers to ICC gatherings... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/united-nations-stymied-over-sinking-of-free/86964/ Wed, 19 May 2010 12:35:05 EST UNITED NATIONS — The next test of the United Nations will come tomorrow, when South Korea, with Washington’s backing, plans to ask the Security Council to take up the sinking in March of its ship, which according to Seoul investigators was attacked by a North Korean torpedo. The council is not expected to officially convene on the matter before next week. Even then, the world body may be out of whatever is the diplomatic equivalent of ammo. Envoys and aides here say they’re stymied as to what... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obamas-iran-strategy-in-limbo-as-brazil-turkey/86961/ Mon, 17 May 2010 20:30:04 EST UNITED NATIONS — Brazil and Turkey managed to fracture the Security Council today, throwing President Obama’s Iran strategy into limbo. Even if the Turtle Bay top body ends up eking out a resolution that would impose a new round of sanctions on Iran this spring, the deal that Brazil, Turkey, and Iran announced today will surely sow enough discord among the members of the Security Council that Tehran could justifiably declare that such sanctions lack the full backing of the so-called... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/us-envoy-praises-un-council-on-human-rights-as/86956/ Thu, 13 May 2010 21:54:03 EST UNITED NATIONS — There was little the American ambassador here, Susan Rice, could do today to stop the General Assembly from voting Libya and other known rights abusers for a seat on the Human Rights Council, but instead of expressing outrage, she chose to praise the United Nations’s least praiseworthy body. Ms. Rice couldn’t even bring herself to condemn Libya’s specific human rights record or even tell reporters how America voted in the General Assembly, where 155 of the 192 members deemed... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/verbal-clash-over-hezbollah-erupts-at-un-between/86952/ Tue, 11 May 2010 19:53:13 EST UNITED NATIONS — The pitfalls of Lebanon’s position as president of the United Nations Security Council were visible today, as the Beirut representative, who presided over a periodic council debate on international terrorism, clashed with Israel’s ambassador over Hezbollah’s definition as a terrorist group. At Turtle Bay, where Iran recently joined the committee to defend the rights of women and where Libya is a shoo-in for membership in the top body dealing with human rights, little stir is... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/ghost-of-edward-teller-haunts-united-nations/86944/ Thu, 6 May 2010 22:17:31 EST Are there no Edward Tellers left among nuclear policy wonks? As world diplomats gathered in Turtle Bay this week to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, I was thinking about two men whom I met in the early 1980s and who represent the opposite ends of American thinking on all things atomic: Father George Zabelka and Edward Teller. At the United Nations, President Obama’s America is claiming leadership in the race toward a nuclear-free world. Along with our newest partner — Russia — we’re... Benny Avni http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obama-faces-trap-at-un-in-demarche-by-egypt/86922/ Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:12:25 EST UNITED NATIONS — President Obama’s “nuclear spring,” celebrated by his fans across the world, is about to be turned into a trap here, as Third World countries, led by Egypt, are set to push back against America and Russia — and to try to force Israel to drop its long-held nuclear policy. Egypt’s envoy to the world body, Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz, circulated this week to key United Nations members a proposal to push Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty “as soon as possible as a... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/russia-accuses-un-agency-of-funding-georgian/86826/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — Russia's confrontation with the West is escalating, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accusing the U.N. Development Program of collaborating with the financier George Soros to fund Mikheil Saakashvili's rise to the Georgian presidency. Russia has long accused Mr. Soros of financing the 2003 Rose Revolution, and Mr. Saakashvili in particular. Yesterday, Mr. Lavrov called for an examination of the ties between Mr. Soros and the UNDP. "At the time, George Soros was sponsoring... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obamas-man-on-the-middle-east/86736/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Senator Obama's leading voice on Middle East policy, Dennis Ross, is one of America's most talented, creative, and clear-eyed diplomats, tirelessly seeking paradigm-shifting ideas, breakthroughs, and new openings to achieve his goals. And as he told a small group of pro-Israeli Obama donors, activists, and reporters at the United Nations, the goal is peace. Mr. Ross, who climbed the ladder at Foggy Bottom from the days of President Reagan until the end of the Clinton administration and is most... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/financial-crisis-casts-pall-on-un-poverty-goals/86680/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — Members of the Black Eyed Peas performed, Bill Gates donated money, and Mayor Bloomberg hosted a party for world leaders, all in the name of eradicating half of the world's poverty by the middle of the next decade. But as leaders from the wealthy countries kept a wary eye on the financial markets, some said it was unrealistic — unfair even — to ask them to funnel money to the poor during a financial crisis. Having dedicated this year's U.N. General Assembly session to fighting... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/at-assembly-fretting-over-russias-rejection/86570/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — European diplomats are expressing concern that Russia's refusal to impose a new round of sanctions on Iran could spell an end to diplomacy and lead to a military attack to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. A Russian veto at the U.N. Security Council would scuttle any resolution on sanctions, which America is seeking over Iran's refusal to dismantle its nuclear program. Relations between Washington and Moscow have turned icy since Russia's war with Georgia this... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/bush-at-un-we-must-stand-united/86507/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — President Ahmadinejad is suggesting the Jews are to blame for the financial crisis. Delivering a speech redolent of classical European anti-Semitism, the Iranian leader accused Zionists of controlling the banks and was embraced yesterday by listeners at the General Assembly. He exchanged a long hug with the Assembly president and was feted afterward with mostly friendly questions from handpicked reporters. Mr. Ahmadinejad's speech — in which he accused "Zionists" of domineering... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/sarkozy-takes-tough-stance-against-ahmadinejad/86417/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:07:38 EST UNITED NATIONS — President Sarkozy of France would refuse to shake the hand of the Iranian president, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, the French leader told reporters today at the United Nations. At a press conference shortly after delivering a speech at the opening debate of the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Sarkozy added that President al-Assad of Syria could be used to exert a positive influence on Iran. Although Mr. Sarkozy's sentiment toward President Ahmadinejad was shared... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/palin-lands-as-belle-of-un-amid-global-finance/86404/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — The world leaders who are in New York today for the annual U.N. General Assembly debate may be more concerned about the global financial crisis than political issues or terrorism, several diplomats here say. And as presidents and prime ministers mingle at the assembly's autumn session, one figure is being eyed with curiosity: the newest Cinderella on the international scene, Governor Palin, who was scheduled to attend a reception hosted by President Bush last night at the... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/ahmadinejad-prepares-to-steal-the-scene/86300/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Billed as a dialogue between American church leaders and President Ahmadinejad of Iran, the Religions for Peace event at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Thursday is shaping up as the focal point of this week's gathering of world leaders in New York City. Mr. Ahmadinejad, who has learned in recent years how to steal the show during a visit to the city, is scheduled to deliver a speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday and hold a press conference at Turtle Bay later this week. But gems like his... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/new-york/first-clinton-now-palin-out-of-nyc-rally/86155/ Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — Governor Palin's invitation to an anti-Iran rally in front of the United Nations next week has been rescinded. The organizers of the event, seeking to overcome the perception that the rally was becoming a political tool for the American candidates for president, announced yesterday afternoon that no "political personalities" would take part. The rally, planned for Monday, gained prominence in the campaign after representatives from several Jewish organizations secured the... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/ahmadinejad-hones-hate-message-in-general/86242/ Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — As New York gears up for the U.N. General Assembly session next week, Iran's president is honing his anti-America and anti-Israel message in what may be a ploy for attention at the annual event. Iran has emerged as a central player in a group of countries that have turned their defiance of America into a major policy plank, and diplomats will be watching closely next week as leaders of this group, including Sudan, Venezuela, and Cuba, deliver speeches at the General Assembly... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/slim-victory-for-livni-in-israeli-primary-vote/86115/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Despite a congratulatory call from Prime Minister Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's margin of victory in last night's primary vote may prove too thin to ensure her immediate ascension to Israeli prime minister. A count of the ballots from polling stations across Israel showed that projections made shortly after the polls closed gave much too wide a margin for Ms. Livni over her nearest rival for the leadership of the ruling Kadima Party, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz. "The good guys... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/ruling-israeli-party-votes-on-replacement/85994/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Members of Israel's ruling party, Kadima, go to the polls today to choose a new leader, with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni the front-runner and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz her nearest rival. The winner is expected to move quickly to try to form a coalition government, as having a sitting prime minister will improve the centrist party's chances of winning a general election. Recent polls have heavily favored the right-of-center Likud Party, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, in such an... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/iran-rachets-up-its-defiance-of-us-and-un/85938/ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — Days before Iran's president arrives here for the annual U.N. General Assembly session, his country is ratcheting up its defiance of America and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA is taking Iran to task over its refusal to cooperate with nuclear inspectors and its violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, but far from being ostracized at the General Assembly, President Ahmadinejad is expected to be fêted by some of the key countries attending the session... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/remembering-monroe-doctrine-as-tensions-rise/85790/ Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST As a new leader takes the helm at the U.N. General Assembly, the much-discussed but ill-defined "Bush doctrine" has me thinking about one of the bedrocks of American foreign policy, the Monroe Doctrine. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a former foreign minister of Nicaragua, will assume the General Assembly's presidency this week. A trained Catholic priest who was born in Los Angeles but spent his life among the Sandinistas and other secular Latin American revolutionaries, Mr. d'Escoto is expected to... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/burmese-dissident-arrested-after-year-in-hiding/85707/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — Burma's ruling junta yesterday arrested a prominent activist, while at the United Nations the Security Council gathered to discuss the U.N. envoy to Burma's recent failure to meet with the country's leading dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi. Nilar Thein, leader of a dissident group known as the 88 Generation Students, was detained by Burmese security forces after spending a year in hiding following the arrest of her husband, Kyaw Min Yu. "The arrest — and the huge increase in arrests... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/us-widens-iran-sanctions-as-drone-is-reported/85655/ Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — The U.S. Treasury Department is widening sanctions against Iran, amid reports that the country is violating U.N. Security Council resolutions barring arms sales to Sudan. The announcement yesterday of new sanctions against Iran's largest state-owned shipping line came with a warning from American officials: Iran, they said, is adapting to American sanctions, making further international financial cooperation vital. Following reports that an Iranian-made unmanned aircraft was...