by Jessica Dorsey
April 10th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
April 9th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
April 8th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
April 5th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
April 4th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
- As Julian already noted, the UN General Assembly passed the first-ever Arms Trade Treaty with a total of 154 states in favor, 23 abstaining and 3 (Iran, North Korea and Syria) opposing.
- North Korea has blocked access for South Korean workers to the joint-Korean Kaesong complex because of increasing tensions on the peninsula.
- Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip today, the first Israeli strikes since November.
- Six European countries have launched joint action into investigating Google’s monitoring conduct, which may violate European privacy protection laws. Jurist has more here.
- The NYTimes has an article about the US’ increasing support for the ICC.
- EU-brokered talks between Serbia and Kosovo to resolve the status of Northern Kosovo, an area dominated by ethnic Serbs, have broken down without a deal. The collapse of the talks is seen as a setback for Serbian hopes of starting EU membership negotiations.
- Afghanistan has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, making it the 192nd party, but as a developing state it will not have to reduce its GHG emissions.
- At Lieber Code, a new post discusses the rumors about the CIA relinquishing all of its drone operation to the Department of Defense in the context of combatant privilege.
- The OUP Blog has a post on Disappearing States, tied into the Jessup Moot Court.
April 3rd, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
April 2nd, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
- Kenya’s Supreme Court has upheld Uhuru Kenyatta’s election as president. Although there were some riots over the weekend and five were killed, the situation in Kenya is described as calm but tense.
- North Korea has described its nuclear weapons program as the nation’s life, and has vowed to continue it despite the international sanctions.
- South Korea, meanwhile, has vowed a swift response to any provocation by the North and the US has deployed more radar-evading fighter jets.
- French-supported Malian forces are fighting Tuareg rebels in the north of Mali after an assault on Timbuktu city.
- An unintended consequence of the Iran sanctions is a boom in diesel smuggling from Pakistan, some of it carried in Pepsi bottles by child smugglers and other diesel coming over in barrels strapped to the backs of mules.
- Major depositors in Cyprus’s biggest bank will lose around 60 percent of savings over €100,000, a plan made clear by the central bank over the weekend.
- Over at Arms Control Blog, there is a post on former UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw’s recent declaration and international legal analysis that war is not an option with regard to Iran.
- For those looking for another online legal research tool, today Google unveiled Google Nose, allowing you to search by scent (editor’s note: Happy April Fool’s Day!)
April 1st, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
- North Korea has put its rocket units on standby aimed at the US air force bases in South Korea and the Pacific after the US flew two nuclear stealth bombers over the Korean Peninsula yesterday.
- Iran, North Korea and Syria have blocked the adoption of the UN Arms Trade Treaty, though the expectation is that with the text of the treaty in a General Assembly resolution, it would pass overwhelmingly.
- The UN Security Council has passed the first-ever “offensive” UN peacekeeping brigade to be dispatched in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, operating under orders to “neutralize” and “disarm” rebel groups they encounter.
- Thirty-one men being held at Guantanamo Bay prison have told the ICRC that they are being denied access to drinking water by their jailers.
- Human Rights Watch has called on Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of war crimes beginning with the investigation of the country’s own Minister of Resettlement, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alleged to be a former leader of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).
- Human Rights Watch has also published Hostages of the Gatekeepers, a report on abuses against internally displaced persons in Mogadishu, Somalia.
- EJIL: Talk! has an analysis of the recent news that Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, acquitted in December 2012 by the ICC, has applied for political asylum in the Netherlands citing that he fears persecution were he to be returned to his native Congo.
March 29th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
- Thailand has started peace negotiations with the Muslim separatists in its southern provinces.
- UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has argued that Mali needs an 11,000-strong peacekeeping force and a parallel force for combat and counter-terrorism operations.
- Bush v. Gore in Africa? Kenya’s Supreme Court has started hearing evidence to resolve the disputed presidential elections earlier this month.
- Theresa May, the UK’s Home Secretary, has lost the appeal against a decision that prevented the deportation of Abu Qatada to Jordan.
- The ICTY has sentenced Mićo Stanišić and Stojan Župljanin, two high level officials in Bosnian Serb structures, to 22 years’ imprisonment for crimes against humanity and war crimes (ICTY press release here).
- North Korea has cut off a military hotline with South Korea, breaking the last communication line between the two countries amid heightened tensions; in response, the US has deployed two nuclear-capable stealth bombers above South Korea as part of a “deterrence” mission.
- The biggest cyber attack in history of the internet has been taking place since mid-March against the British-Swiss anti-spam watchdog group Spamhaus.
- Though the BRICS nations have agreed in principle on a joint infrastructure fund, there need to be more discussions to hammer out the finalities of the plan for the new bank.
- The Syrian opposition has opened its first embassy in Qatar, but still voices frustration at the lack of international cooperation.
March 28th, 2013 - 6:56 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
- At the Arab League summit yesterday, a member of the opposition to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad took his vacant seat, a move that was met with applause from Arab heads of state.
- The BRICS have reached a deal approving a development bank that would rival Western-backed financial institutions.
- In his first appearance before the ICC yesterday, Congolese suspect Bosco Ntaganda has denied the charges against him of 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, pillage, using child soldiers and other crimes, though he will not need to enter his plea until his confirmation of charges hearing begins in September (ICC press release). A video of the proceedings from yesterday can be found here.
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Vietnam alleges that China fired flares at a Vietnamese fishing boat in the
South China Sea last week; China disputes any reports of damage to the ship and considers its actions appropriate and reasonable.
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Italy’s Foreign Minister has resigned to protest his government’s decision to send two Italian marines back to India to stand trial over the killing Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates while protecting the Enrica Lexie.
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Croatia will become the
28th member of the EU on July 1, the second former Yugoslav republic to join after Slovenia in 2004.
- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has recommended to the Security Council that the forces currently in Mali be converted into a UN peacekeeping operation and a separate force should be trained to confront Islamist threats in the area.
- Secretary Ban also urged members to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty.
- Over at Geographical Imaginations is a post about the Out of Sight, Out of Mind graphic on drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004 we mentioned yesterday.
- In other drone news, Quartz reports that they’re not just for the Taliban anymore: drones are now going to be used to protect endagered species of rhinoceros in India, a move becoming more common tool to help reserve administrators keep their eyes on their animals.
March 27th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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by Jessica Dorsey
March 26th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT |
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