I blame two unsolved, but solvable, problems.

The result is, the second phase of the deployment has still not taken place even though it was accepted by Khartoum six months ago.

Although both Alaa and Ahmed Abdel Rahman have been detained for over a month pending investigation, no court date has been assigned yet for the case.

Although football is by far the most popular sport in Sicily, the island also has participants in other fields.

In the meantime, the opposition, although strong and immoderate, is not yet secessionist.

Until now, the government has been able to finance its vast debts locally, despite paying paltry interest rates even on longer term borrowings.

Though political parties have not been legalized, they are nonetheless active in parliament and public life.

Although reports have so far not implicated Annan directly, his management failures are abundantly clear.

Similarly, while the great firewall of China is far from perfect, the government has managed thus far to cope, even as the Internet has burgeoned in the country.

And the dollar s exalted global status has survived ever since, despite many episodes of neglect and abuse.

Despite the weakness of Japan s fiscal position, the market for Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) remains stable, at least for now.

But, despite flourishing rhetoric about promoting democracy, promoting it is still not backed with concrete plans of action.

The issue of political prisoners is still unresolved, though the Government has expressed its determination to deal with it in the shortest possible time.

Under the provisions of a five year development plan, the country is trying to create jobs for its unemployed population, though the results of these efforts have not yet materialized.

Though other international conventions apply to the cross border enforcement of arbitration awards, the New York Convention is by far the most important.

Religion Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in the country, although Catholicism is no longer officially the state religion.

Despite some advances, progress in the implementation of standards in Kosovo remains, so far, uneven.

Even though home prices have already fallen sharply, there has been no meaningful rebound.

Integration or destabilization? The decisions are anything but final, even though the isolationists now prevail.

This improvement notwithstanding, it should be noted that currently the JMAC remains a purely military entity under the FC.

Although there is currently no formal requirement to review obsolete and unsuitable laws at regular intervals, the Ministry of Justice is in the process of recasting laws and regulations.

Nevertheless, four years on, a UN investigation has yet to take place, because the military junta refuses to grant the UN access to the country.

Nonetheless, despite the technical difficulties, it should be possible to make spectacular advances in unraveling brain organization, even in humans, by adopting appropriate strategies with the tools now available.

Despite massive injections of funds and unprecedented security, insurgents have still managed to halt or reduce oil production and exports several times since the invasion.

Despite massive evidence to the contrary, many people not least theologians fear that we live in a secular age.

The achievements to date in implementing the Convention were attributable to the legislative and institutional machinery that had been created with a view to eliminating discrimination against women, although more still remained to be done.

Now, however, is not the time to freeze out Pakistan, despite the seeming chaos.

Despite the increased public awareness today, we cannot rest on our laurels.

Her baby died, but she survived, despite terrible injuries, determined to speak out so that others would not have to endure the same ordeal.

So far, relatively little help has been forthcoming from the engineers and physicists in whom Trichet placed his faith, though there has been some response.

While this has been the most inclusive peace effort to date, insecurity and ongoing disputes have prevented the Transitional Federal Government from relocating to Somalia.

First, from the rational egoist point of view, it is rational to contribute to a pension scheme now, even though this is detrimental to one's present interests (which are to spend the money now).

Though conditions in Iraq today are drawing many young men toward violence, I am convinced that we need only to provide decent jobs and housing to save them.

Syria is under constant threat, though the suffering of its population no longer makes the news.

So far, Geithner seems to have succeeded in his tests, as the stock market has indeed more than stabilized, with prices of bank shares such as Citigroup and Bank of America quadrupling from their lows. The feared implosion of Wall Street seems to have been avoided.

Even though the 1988 Brazilian Constitution recognizes equality between women and men, this principle is still far from being a true part of the daily life of significant portions of the population.

Yet, despite all the difficulties, the situation in Afghanistan, unlike that in Iraq, is not hopeless.

Although it has been operational for only a short time, the synergies between EUFOR and other European Union actors on the ground have started to take effect.

But, despite this very tangible evidence, it would be wrong to conclude that US goods are now so cheap at the existing exchange rate that the dollar must rise from its current level.

Although no one has yet caught up to Al Jazeera s news and current affairs popularity, the Saudi owned Middle East Broadcasting Center has introduced a successful 24 hour station, Al Arrabiyeh, which is challenging Al Jazeera s lead.

Though the Government of Ethiopia had agreed to allow United Nations aircraft to fly directly from Addis Ababa to Asmara, as Eritrea had previously insisted upon, UNMEE has still not received any positive response from the authorities in Asmara.

I say the right direction because, even as we have more than 40 political parties and more than 30 presidential candidates in Haiti today, I am pleased to inform the Council that the political parties are working very well together.

In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.

Wars in the Middle East, it should be recalled, have started even when the parties did not really want them.

I am happy to note that although some of the proposals have been adopted, we should now move quickly to implement them. I refer especially to the proposals that do not require amendment of the Charter.