MER - Only U.S. votes Against U.N. Budget....Onc e Again For Israel

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> ONE MORE TIME IT'S THE U.S. AND ISRAEL ALL ALONE IN THE WORLD:<br><br>FROM THE ARTICLE: The United States voted against because it objected to a 6.7 million-dollar outlay in the budget to fund a follow-up to a 2001 world conference on racism and racial discrimination which it viewed as anti-Israel.<br><br>The US delegation withdrew from the 2001 conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, because it felt that the parley singled out Israel "for censure and abuse" and suggested that apartheid existed in the Jewish state. ...<br><br> Ban welcomed the adoption of the budget by the assembly but expressed regret that "the resolution was not adopted by consensus, marking a break with tradition after 20 years."<br><br>"The Secretary General urges all member states to return to consensus decision-making and to demonstrate a greater sense of flexibility and compromise, beyond individual national interests and in the common cause of multilateralism for the good of humankind," his press office said in a statement. <b on></b> </body>