Major General Abdul Hafiz of Bangladesh, directs the MINURSO, since the beginning of this week, after His appointment by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The spokesman for the Quai d'Orsay (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Bernard Valero, welcomed Friday the continuing negotiations for "a realistic political solution 'to Sahara issue, because the impasse "is in nobody's interest".

The next informal talks on the Sahara will take place after the fall session of the U.N. General Assembly, said Thursday the U.N. Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, at the end of the eighth round of informal talks held in Manhasset.

British Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, commended the Moroccan autonomy plan, calling it a serious and credible contribution to the UN efforts.

Sahrawis sequestered in the Tindouf camps, "cannot be an exception in the world. It is the duty of international organizations to intervene to do them justice, put pressure on the authorities responsible for the current tragedy and put an end to this situation," said the Sahrawi activist, Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud.