The Wall Street Journal

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council on Monday renewed sanctions against rebel groups in eastern Congo, despite a U.N. report that said the measures had so far failed to stop exports of gold and other minerals that have financed a decadelong war there in which millions of civilians have been killed.

Monday's resolution asks U.N. member nations to "ensure importers, processing industries and consumers of Congolese mineral products under their jurisdiction exercise due diligence on their suppliers and on the origin of the minerals they purchase."

The resolution doesn't mention any companies or countries, but the U.N. experts' report, which is to be released in the next few weeks, does. The report, which was reviewed by news organizations including The Wall Street Journal, blames Uganda, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates for running a trading network of smuggled gold and other minerals.

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UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council on Monday renewed sanctions against rebel groups in eastern Congo, despite a U.N. report that said the measures had so far failed to stop exports of gold and other minerals that have financed a decadelong war there in which millions of civilians have been killed.

Monday's resolution asks U.N. member nations to "ensure importers, processing industries and consumers of Congolese mineral products under their jurisdiction exercise due diligence on their suppliers and on the origin of the minerals they purchase."

The resolution doesn't mention any companies or countries, but the U.N. experts' report, which is to be released in the next few weeks, does. The report, which was reviewed by news organizations including The Wall Street Journal, blames Uganda, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates for running a trading network of smuggled gold and other minerals.

Continue reading here.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will renew far-reaching economic sanctions on Sudan this month, underscoring his administration's pledge to use both carrots and sticks to induce cooperation from Khartoum on key security issues.

The announcement on sanctions came as the White House on Monday said it had established a new set of "benchmarks" for Sudan to meet in order to improve its ties with Washington.

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As the Obama administration implements a new U.S. strategy toward the United Nations, it's working with a U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, who is struggling to prove himself on the world stage.

The latest example: Mr. Ban's trip to Myanmar this month. Despite Mr. Ban's requests, Myanmar's ruling junta declined to let him visit opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. On Monday, Myanmar's U.N. envoy did say the junta would release some political prisoners, but provided no details. Outside groups say similar promises in the past have gone unfulfilled, and even Mr. Ban reacted cautiously.

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Washington police arrested five members of Congress Monday during a protest outside the Sudanese embassy over the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

Organizers said the five, who included Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement, were arrested on charges of civil disobedience after refusing a police order to disperse. 

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The stories are beginning to trickle in from displaced-persons camps in Darfur: increasing hunger, epidemics and -- the quietest killer -- a shortage of water in the Sahara.

Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His response was to expel international aid agencies that provide a lifeline to Darfurians, and with that, "never again" is being made into "once again" through a continuation of genocide by other means. But Mr. Bashir's deadly gambit provides an opportunity.

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