The United States circulated a revision to its draft resolution about Sudan on Tuesday, seeking to overcome opposition on the Security Council by modifying a threat to put sanctions on the country's leaders and its oil industry if the government fails to curb violence in the Darfur region. The new version, which amended one debated by the Council's 15 member countries last week, maintained the possibility of sanctions but instead said the Council "shall consider" action, rather than "shall take" action for noncompliance. The new draft retains language calling on Secretary General Kofi Annan to create an international commission to determine whether genocide has occurred in the country, and it strengthens the role of the African Union in trying to end what the United Nations has called the world's gravest relief crisis. [more
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