The UN expects Israel's ground offensive to wind down within 48 hours and an expanded international force to begin deploying in southern Lebanon in a week to 10 days, the UN's envoy said yesterday.
"We are not starting from zero," Alvaro de Soto, the UN special envoy for the Middle East peace process, said of preparations for an international force.
"We have building blocks in place as part of stand-by arrangements with a number of countries with earmarked contingents," he said.
The resolution approved by the UN Security Council on Friday calls for a "full cessation of hostilities" and authorizes up to 15,000 UN troops to move in to enforce a ceasefire.
The resolution says Hezbollah must halt all attacks and Israel must stop "all offensive military operations."
De Soto said Israel's offensive was in its "last throes" and should wrap up in one to two days. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has backed the UN resolution, plans to put it to a vote of his Cabinet today, officials said.
A formal, verifiable ceasefire could be reached "within a week or so," allowing the deployment of Lebanese troops along with an expanded UN force, de Soto said.
De Soto and other Western diplomats said UN troops were likely to start moving into southern Lebanon in about 10 days, barring another escalation in fighting.
Israel expects a ceasefire to take effect tomorrow, the Ynet news Web site reported, quoting sources in Olmert's office.
Israeli officials say the UN resolution will allow the army to press ahead with "defensive" operations, including attacks on Hezbollah rocket launchers and arms convoys.
De Soto said Israel will have a right to continue to defend itself once offensive operations end. But he said Israel must be mindful that its actions comply with the resolution.
"The Security Council will take very seriously any action in defiance of it," de Soto said. "We fully expect full compliance."
De Soto said the UN has already lined up several governments to send troops to join the expanded UN force.
Lebanon's prime minister yesterday said the plan to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah served the country's interests.
Fuad Saniora signaled that his Cabinet would approve the plan when it met late yesterday.
"This resolution shows that the whole world stood by Lebanon," he told reporters.
Also see story:
Israel expands ground offensive
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique