Deadlock broken on cluster bomb ban
30/5/08
Diplomats from 111 nations, including Australia, have agreed on a treaty to ban current designs of cluster bombs and require the destruction of stockpiles within eight years. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown broke the deadlock in Dublin, describing the ban as a “big step forward to make the world a safer place”. But leading producers and users of the controversial weapons, including the US, China, India, Pakistan, Russia and Israel, rejected the ban after refusing to join the talks. The agreement capped more than a year of negotiations begun in Norway and pressed home over 10 days in Dublin.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23779453-2703,00.html