Monday, August 8 06

Now it's a standoff: intervention forces are lined up, but deployment will require time and the international community can't agree on a cease-fire/peacekeeping balance. The negotiation process slowly creeps along. Hezbollah is dug in, with overwhelming support, and Israel's operations are becoming more aggressive. Lebanese PM Fuad Saniora and cabinet called to end hostilities, and pledge to regain sovereignty in the south (without foreign troops). In the meantime, civilians continue to suffer (1,2). Presidential election in D.R. Congo was seen by optimists as a great step toward democracy. What went wrong? The explanation is somewhere between corruption and a failure of institutional competence. Talks stall in Nepal again, and the stumbling block is whether the rebels (but not the interim government) will disband their armed forces.