Weekly News Wrap: December 2, 2013

Your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world:

Middle East

• The Israeli army fired into Syria after its troops were shot at on the occupied Golan Heights, the military said.
• The IAEA will probably need more money to verify the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, and it would take some time to prepare for the task.
• The Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas movement has cancelled its upcoming anniversary celebrations, for the first time since it came to power six years ago, as the territory grapples with economic woes.

Asia

• Afghan President Hamid Karzai lashed out at his American allies again after word came that at least one, and possibly two, NATO drone strikes had killed civilians in southern Afghanistan claiming children among their casualties.
• According to the IAEA, it has seen releases of steam and water indicating that North Korea may be seeking to restart a reactor that experts say would be capable of making plutonium for atomic bombs.
• China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon, in a major milestone for its space program.
• The US has called on North Korea to release an elderly U.S. military veteran held in custody since last month and whom Pyongyang has accused of killing civilians during the Korean War 60 years ago.

Africa

• Human Rights Watch has accused Nigerian armed group Boko Haram of abducting scores of women and girls and of using children as young as 12 in its combat operations (statement here).
• Separatist Tuareg rebels said hey were ending a five-month-old ceasefire with Mali’s government and taking up arms following violence in the northern city of Kidal.
• Central African Republic transitional leader Michel Djotodia denied European assertions that his country was on the brink of genocide and all-out inter-religious war.
• Ivory Coast sent hit squads to Ghana to kill followers of former strongman Laurent Gbagbo and paid Liberian mercenaries not to stage cross-border attacks for Gbagbo, the UN reports.

Europe

• British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in China saying he would advocate a multi-billion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and the EU.
• The Assembly of States Party to the ICC concluded their annual meeting last week in The Hague. For a press release of conclusions from the ASP meeting, click here.
• Last week, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in the case of X v. Latvia (application no. 27853/09), ruling on the return of a child to the country of origin under the Hague Abduction Convention.

Americas

• The United States has offered to destroy Syrian chemicals on a U.S. ship, according to the OPCW, and is looking for a suitable Mediterranean port where processing can be carried out.
• Honduras’ defeated leftist presidential candidate, the wife of ousted former leader Manuel Zelaya, has led thousands of supporters onto the streets of Tegucigalpa to protest an election result she has called fraudulent.