International envoy Kofi Annan raised hopes of a revived peace effort in Syria today, saying he has reached a framework with president Bashar Assad and would hold talks with rebel leaders.

France will propose giving the United Nations the power to enforce Kofi Annan’s Syrian peace plan, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said, adding a no-fly zone was an option under consideration to stem what was now a civil war.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today called for international backing of an arms embargo and other stronger measures enforced by the UN against Syria if the country fails to abide by a ceasefire designed to end the bloodshed on its soil.

Syria’s foreign minister has said the government has already withdrawn some forces from several cities, and stated that the UN-brokered ceasefire must start at the same time as the deployment of international observers.

The cold snap continued to bite in the UK this afternoon as a raft of sporting fixtures fell prey to the sub-zero conditions sweeping the country.

THE combination of severe drought and rising food prices that has left hundreds of thousands in Ethiopia threatened with starvation must provoke a real sense of déjà vu for people in the west.

England 32 Scotland 5

Two of the unbeaten teams at the U-18 Six Nations Festival in Cork go head to head tomorrow at Musgrave Park when Scotland and England clash at 2.30pm.

Ireland is pledging €100,000 to support the current Kofi Annan led mediation efforts in Kenya, following a request from the United Nations.

America branded 10 leading Kenyan politicians “criminals” today and banned them from entering the country.

Police fired tear gas to break up pro-government demonstrations in Kenya today in advance of the arrival of former UN chief Kofi Annan on a peacemaking mission.

THE UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on violations in Sudan’s strife-torn western region of Darfur today, after a rebuke from Kofi Annan that it has not paid enough attention to rights violations in the province.

In a widely expected vote, the UN General Assembly has approved a recommendation from its main budget committee to block reform proposals that would have given Secretary-General Kofi Annan more budget power.

The former chief of the Iraq oil-for-food programme has resigned – just a day before investigators release a report that is expected to accuse him of taking kickbacks under the $64bn (€51.8bn) humanitarian operation.

Negotiators failed tonight in their attempts to agree Cyprus reunification, said a Turkish official.

Hopes of a deal between the leaders of Greece, Turkey and divided Cyprus by a midnight deadline faded today as diplomats expressed pessimism and the EU ruled out agreeing to one of the major Turkish demands.

Car giant Mitsubishi today withdrew its sponsorship of a TV show hosted by controversial New Zealand broadcaster Paul Holmes, following his astonishing racial slur against United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

IN a victory for the United States, the UN Security Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution yesterday empowering the United States and Britain to govern Iraq and use its oil wealth to rebuild the country.

Washington has urged the United Nations to follow its example and lift economic sanctions against Baghdad.

The US Security Council tonight voted unanimously to extend Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s authority to speed millions of pounds of additional food and medicine to the Iraqi people until June 3.

Iraq has accused the United Nations Secretary General of helping the US-led attack on Iraq by withdrawing peacekeepers and weapons inspectors from their country.

Iraq’s foreign minister and the UN secretary-general agreed that their first high-level talks in a year got off to a ‘‘positive and constructive’’ start, but there was no sign Iraq would allow UN weapons inspectors back in the country.

One hundred and fifty-one nominations have been received for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize so far - many of them related to the response to the September 11 attacks.