In Yemen, more people die as the Gulf Cooperation Council mediator leaves with no agreement in place to end the violence.
At the UN, no good news as the question of Palestinian statehood, sweeping changes in the Middle East, and the global economic crisis dominated Wednesday's opening session of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual debate.
NATO mission in Libya is extended, and the US prepares to re-open an embassy there. Libya's new flag flies at the UN for the first time.
Turkey says it has suspended talks with Syria and is considering imposing sanctions against the neighboring country for its crackdown on anti-government protesters. More protesters killed in Syria.
Obama says he is 'frustrated' after a year of extensive diplomatic efforts, between Israel and Palestinian Authority, but that there is no shortcut to peace. French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposes a timetable of up to one year to solve the conflict.
In Iran, freed Americans heading to Oman.
Details after the break.
A Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) mediator has left Yemen with no word on a possible agreement for a peaceful transfer of power, while shelling in the capital left at least three people dead on Wednesday.
A state news report says GCC chief Abdul Latif al-Zayani left Sana'a Wednesday after meeting with Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The head of the six-nation council traveled to Yemen on Monday in an attempt to revive a GCC plan that calls for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over power to a deputy.
Medical officials say artillery fire near a protest camp in the capital left at least three people dead and 16 wounded on Wednesday. The unrest between pro and anti-government forces erupted less than 24 hours after the two sides agreed to a cease-fire.
Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi negotiated the cease-fire late Tuesday between government forces and dissident troops that are loyal to Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top general who defected to the opposition in March. The truce followed three days of clashes that had killed more than 70 people. Some of Wednesday's unrest occurred as thousands of mourners gathered in Sana'a for funerals of the victims.
UN
The question of Palestinian statehood, sweeping changes in the Middle East, and the global economic crisis dominated Wednesday's opening session of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual debate.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the 66th session of the General Assembly with his state of the world report. The news was not particularly good: there are nearly seven billion people on the planet vying for limited resources against a backdrop of climate change, armed conflict, natural disasters, and an economic crisis.
“These are extraordinary challenges. We cannot respond in ordinary ways. We need one thing above all else - solidarity,” he said.
Mr. Ban, who will begin his second and final five-year term in January, also spoke of the issue that has been overshadowing this week’s meeting, the Palestinian bid for full U.N. membership.
“We have long agreed that Palestinians deserve a state. Israel needs security. Both want peace. We pledge our unrelenting efforts to help achieve that peace through a negotiated settlement," Mr. Ban said.
On the pro-democracy movement sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Ban said it has been a source of inspiration. But he worried about six months of a government crackdown against protesters in Syria, saying the violence must stop and the moment for action is now.
Libya
NATO's decision-making body has announced a three-month extension of its mission in Libya as the United States prepares to reopen its embassy building in the capital, Tripoli, on Thursday.
With forces loyal to former leader Moammar Gadhafi still entrenched in his hometown of Sirte and a few other strategic locations, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance is determined to continue its mission “for as long as necessary.”
It is the second 90-day extension of the NATO campaign in Libya and was approved less than a week before it was set to end.
Also Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz returned to Tripoli, a day before the United States plans to raise its flag over its mission in the Libyan capital.
Cretz was based in Tripoli until December 2010. He left the country after the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks released his assessments of Mr. Gadhafi's personal life in which he described the former leader as “mercurial,” “notoriously erratic” and a “hypochondriac.”
Meanwhile, a military spokesman for Libya's National Transitional Council said NTC forces now control most of the southern desert city of Sabha – one of Mr. Gadhafi's last strongholds. Ahmed Bani said while anti-Gadhafi fighters are still encountering resistance, they have largely taken over the city.
But provisional authority forces still are struggling to oust Gadhafi loyalists from the towns of Bani Walid and Sirte.
At Bani Walid, fighting has been chaotic, with different NTC brigades arguing among themselves, fighters from other areas not getting along with local comrades and talk of traitors sabotaging the assault.
Even as battles raged for control of the last Gadhafi strongholds, Libya's interim prime minister said his administration is working to form a new government. Mahmoud Jibril told reporters Tuesday in New York the move will come within the next seven to 10 days.
He said the NTC is finalizing decisions on the exact number of ministries and whether they would all be located in the capital, Tripoli, or divided between eastern and western Libya. The council was based in the eastern stronghold of Benghazi during most of the country's ongoing civil war.
Libya's new flag flew at the U.N. Tuesday for the first time since former leader Moammar Gadhafi's ouster. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed the country's new leaders into the international community, saying the Security Council acted to protect the Libyan people from violence.
Turkey
Turkey says it has suspended talks with Syria and is considering imposing sanctions against the neighboring country for its crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish journalists in New York that he did not want things between Syria and Turkey to arrive at this point, but the Syrian government "forced" Turkey to make the decision.
He spoke after a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly late Tuesday.
Erdogan said Turkish foreign ministry officials will work with the U.S. State Department to determine what sanctions Turkey might impose.
The White House said Obama and Erdogan agreed at their meeting to consult on possible new steps that "could include sanctions, political pressure and other measures" against Syria.
Turkey shares a border with Syria and has shown reluctance toward sanctioning its southern neighbor, which is also an important trade partner.
But Turkish leaders have spoken out more and more in recent weeks against the Syrian government's violence against protesters.
On Tuesday, Syrian security forces killed six civilians in separate raids.
Heavily-armed government troops searched houses near the capital, Damascus, and in central Homs province - both centers of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Rights groups and Syrian state media also reported that armed men shot dead two policemen.
Israel/Palestinians
U.S. President Barack Obama says there can be “no shortcut” to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, as French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposes a timetable of up to one year to solve the conflict.
Both leaders took the podium at the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday. Palestinian leaders are preparing to submit their application for full U.N. membership to the Security Council on Friday.
Mr. Obama said he is frustrated by delays in the peace process, but continues to believe the dispute must be resolved through negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, and not at the United Nations.
Mr. Sarkozy said that after 60 years of failed attempts at the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, it is time to change the tactics. He proposed the resumption of peace talks in one month, an agreement on borders in six months, and a final deal in a year.
He also proposed an upgrade in the Palestinian government's U.N. status from that of observer to non-member status, a change that requires only a simple majority vote in the 193-member General Assembly.
Mr. Obama met Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Israel's security. Mr. Obama also held separate talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the General Assembly debate.
Iran
Two American hikers who had been jailed in Iran since 2009 are now free and heading to Oman.
Iranian state media say Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal boarded a plane bound for the Omani capital, Muscat, on Wednesday. It is the first leg of their journey back to the United States.
Earlier Wednesday, the two men were handed over to an Omani delegation after a judge approved an order for their release on a combined bail of $1 million.
Iranian authorities had detained Bauer, Fattal and a third American, Sarah Shourd, on spying charges in 2009. Tehran said they illegally crossed into the country from Iraq. Iran freed Shourd last year on $500,000 bail and she returned to the United States.
The families of all three hikers have released a statement saying their relief over Fattal and Bauer's freedom “knows no bounds.” They also say they want to embrace the two men and “catch up on two lost years.”
In August, an Iranian court had sentenced Bauer and Fattal to eight years in prison on spying convictions.
All three Americans had maintained their innocence and said they were hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq while on vacation. They said that if they crossed the unmarked border into Iran, it was by mistake.
The release of the two men came a day before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Analysts say Mr. Ahmadinejad may have been hoping to use the release to gain some international approval. Iranian media say he will focus on a theme of global management in his annual speech before the world body.
Alll content based on VOA News reports.
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