Spielberg leads charge against China at UN

When Steven Spielberg resigned as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics in February - in protest at China's refusal to use its influence to stop the genocide in Darfur - he warned the Chinese government that he would do everything he could to end the "unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed" in Sudan.

And, good to his word, the director met up with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday for a powwow on how to bring this about. The First Post understands that the two men discussed one idea that would cause the Chinese maximum embarrassment - staging a conference on Sudan at the G8 summit in Tokyo this July, just one month before the Olympics.

Spielberg, whose films include Schindler's List and ET, is attempting to bring an end to the civil war in the Sudan, which has left 200,000 dead and made 2 million people homeless. China, of course, continues to trade with Sudan - taking two-thirds of Sudan's vast oil output, and selling weapons to the Khartoum government - despite international condemnation.