Pretoria - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly welcomed the emergence of “serious international discussions” that could lead to an agreement in the UN Security Council to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons.

“The Secretary-General welcomes, therefore, President Obama’s decision to take time to further explore this diplomatic opportunity to achieve this crucially important objective,” the UN said in a statement.

Ban’s statement follows a flurry of diplomatic activity noted by the media in the past 72 hours, following a reported Russian proposal for Damascus.

The Russian proposal calls for securing the chemical weapon stockpiles of the Syrian government under international observation, apparently in an attempt to cool down the tension and to hold back looming US military action against Syria.

In the meantime, evidence collected by a UN team probing possible chemical weapons use in Syria on 21 August is being examined by laboratories in Europe.

In a national address last night, US President Barack Obama cited “encouraging signs in recent days” and announced that he was sending US Secretary of State John Kerry to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday for further talks, and that he would continue discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Both countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council – along with China France and the United Kingdom – which has been deadlocked over a solution to the 30-month crisis in Syria.

The UN chief welcomed the efforts by Russia to advance a possible agreement.

“He hopes the US-Russian meetings later this week will be productive in moving toward a process for addressing the Syrian chemical weapons threat, which all parties will be committed to.

“The confirmed use of chemical weapons would be an outrageous crime for which there must be accountability and determined efforts to prevent any recurrence,” the statement said. – SAnews.gov.za

I can feel the changing of the seasons in the breeze outside. Time to put the beach ball away (when was the last time you actually SAW a beach ball...

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KELOWNA, British Columbia – September 7, 2013 – Sergio Reyes, of Palmdale, Calif. and Kimberley Doerksen, of Gibsons, BC, won the inaugural Kelowna Wine Country Half Marathon, on Saturday, September 7. Produced by Destination Races of Sonoma, CA the event was the first in the Wine Country Half Marathon Series held outside of the United [...]Reyes, Doerksen Win Kelowna Half is a post from: Time-to-Run USA



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Jenna Challenor annihilated the field with a massive lead of 3.35 in the SPAR Women’s 10km race held in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday in a time of 35.24. From the start, 300m into the race Challenor looked to have a commanding position with the rest of the 3,200 runners filing in behind her. “It was a [...]Challenor wins in Pietermaritzburg is a post from: Time-to-Run South Africa



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Nairobi - Kenya's parliament has voted to withdraw the country from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, but the Hague-based tribunal said it would press ahead anyway with the trials of the country's president and his deputy.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are accused of orchestrating violence after elections in 2007. About 1 200 people were killed in ethnic blood-letting that plunged east Africa’s biggest economy into crisis.

At the time of the 2007 vote, Kenyatta, from Kenya's biggest Kikuyu ethnic group, was a rival to Ruto, a Kalenjin. After that vote was disputed, machete-wielding members from their groups were blamed for much of the post-election bloodshed.

Kenya is one of the over 120 countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, a permanent tribunal set up to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

The parliament's decision came ahead of the opening of the trial of Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang at The Hague on Tuesday.

Ruto and Sang are accused of crimes against humanity (murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population and persecution) allegedly committed in Kenya in the context of the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

Both Kenyatta and Ruto had promised to cooperate with the global court before the vote, a position echoed by Ruto's lawyer just before the decision on Thursday. But neither were available for comment on whether that was still their position after the decision was taken.

The parliamentary motion underlined mounting hostility against the court among politicians in Kenya and across Africa, who have accused it of bias as all its suspects to date have been from the continent.

Parliament, dominated by the alliance that brought Kenyatta to power in a peaceful election in March, voted to tell the government to withdraw from the ICC.

"I am setting the stage to redeem the image of the Republic of Kenya," Aden Duale, the majority leader from Kenyatta's Jubilee coalition, said on behalf of the motion.

Opposing him, minority leader Francis Nyenze warned: "We'll be seen as a pariah state. We'll be seen as people who are reactionary and who want to have their way."

Under parliamentary procedure, the government will now introduce a bill to cut ties with the court formally.

The ICC said any departure would take at least a year and it would have no effect on running cases.

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said Kenya, by withdrawing from the court, would prevent the court giving "legal protection to the Kenyan population for potential crimes in the future".

Kenya ratified the Rome Statutes in 2005, but Western diplomats have said the cooperation of the Kenyan authorities with the court has often been limited - "wafer thin", according to one senior diplomat in Nairobi.

Analysts say the ICC must do more to address African concerns that it has become a tool for world powers. – NNN-SAnews.gov.za

Australian Cross Country Championships, Symmons Plains Motor Raceway, Launceston Tasmania – 31 August 2013 Matthew Baxter competing with the Auckland Centre Team produced a standout performance at the Australian Cross Country Championships in Launceston at the weekend by winning the Australian under 20 championships. In Adelaide last year, Baxter won the schools section of the [...]Baxter wins in Australia is a post from: Time-to-Run New Zealand



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With seven models and up to eight engine variants, a uniquely diverse range of paint finishes, interior designs and options and a constantly growing program of accessories, the British brand MINI sets the benchmark for individualised driving pleasure more than ever before. The original within the premium segment of small cars has now established itself [...]Mini goes to Frankfurt Motor Show is a post from: Auto n Spire



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Pretoria – Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has issued a notice of intention to declare fracking a controlled activity of the...

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