Weekly News Wrap: Monday, March 14, 2016

14 Mar Weekly News Wrap: Monday, March 14, 2016

14.03.16 | 0 Comments

Here’s your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world:

Al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch claimed responsibility after six gunmen opened fire on civilians at an Ivory Coast beach resort, killing at least 16 people.
Uganda has persistently violated the rights of its citizens and media in the aftermath of last month’s presidential election which saw President Yoweri Museveni retain his hold on power, the United States said.
Former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and Professor Mahmood Mamdani debate whether the ICC has an African obsession.
The UN has documented, in often excruciating detail, cases of extreme brutality by government forces across South Sudan last year. The level of sexual violence is most shocking, with some women and girls raped by ten men or more.

Russia is ready to coordinate its actions with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria to push the Islamic State group out of Raqqa, Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
The Islamic State is using several forms of contraception to maintain its supply of sex slaves, the New York Times reported on Saturday, citing interviews with more than three dozen Yazidi women who escaped from the militant group.
The Arab League has declared Lebanese movement Hezbollah a “terrorist” group, only days after the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) adopted the same stance.
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would punish anyone who belongs to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Shi’ite Islamist group Hezbollah, sympathises with it, supports it financially or harbours any of its members.
Tens of thousands of Moroccans marched though the capital Rabat on Sunday to protest against U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s position on the Western Sahara dispute and rally support for the king.
The United States and France accused the Syrian government of trying to disrupt a new round of peace talks set to begin on Monday and said Russia and Iran would need to show the Syrian government was “living up to” what had been agreed.

Japan’s most advanced attack submarine will participate in joint military exercises with Australia next month, its Ministry of Defense said, in what analysts see as a bid to win a A$50-billion ($37-billion) defense contract.
In Cambodia, workers’ rights for women are slow to come.
China will begin civilian flights to and from a disputed South China Sea island within a year, state media reported on Friday, as the government expands infrastructure on islands and reefs also claimed by other countries in the region.
U.S. and South Korean troops staged a big amphibious landing exercise on Saturday, storming simulated North Korean beach defenses amid heightened tension and threats by the North to annihilate its enemies.
North Korea has said it is ready to pre-emptively attack and “liberate” South Korea in the latest attack on its arch-enemy’s annual joint military drills with the United States.

The European Union could impose sanctions on Iran over its recent ballistic missile tests, France’s foreign minister said on Sunday.
U.S. President Barack Obama will come to London in April and urge British voters to back continued membership of the European Union, The Independent on Sunday newspaper reported.
Britain should commit to holding a vote to unite Ireland if its citizens choose to leave the European Union in a referendum in June, Northern Ireland’s nationalist deputy first minister said on Friday.

The European Union and Cuba have signed an agreement to normalise ties, paving the way for the 28-member bloc to establish full economic cooperation and aid with the Caribbean island country.
U.S. President Barack Obama promised one of Cuba’s most prominent dissident groups he would raise the issues of freedom of speech and assembly with Cuban President Raul Castro during his March 20-22 visit to the Caribbean island.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has called for a “total and complete” block on Muslims entering the United States.
The United States is looking for a way to break the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday, acknowledging that by itself it could not find a solution.

Australia is deeply concerned over the arrest of two Australian journalists in Malaysia after they attempted to question Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over corruption allegations, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Monday.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Monday she will challenge her Iranian counterpart when they meet this week over reported missile tests during a military exercise that drew the threat of a diplomatic response from the United States.

The United Nations Security Council has passed its first-ever resolution to tackle an escalating problem of sexual abuse by peacekeepers assigned to protect civilians in countries where there is conflict.

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