Deadline

More and more pressure is being placed on Syria.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Thursday called on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon by April, when he is due to present a report on the issue to the Security Council, Al Arabiya television reported.

The satellite channel said Annan told it in an interview he was referring to a full withdrawal, not a redeployment of troops within Lebanon.

Given that this is coming from the UN, one has to assume that if Syria does not comply then there will be a "warning", followed by a "deep regret", followed by a deeper "concern", without actually anything happening. But it seems things are moving in the right direction, nevertheless.