Opinio Juris » weekday news wrap w05/13

Weekday News Wrap: Friday, February 1, 2013

by Jessica Dorsey

Syria protested to the UN about an Israeli air strike on its territory and warned of a possible “surprise” response.
Two years later, Benghazi threatens “another revolution” in Libya.
Iran is planning to speed up its research and work on developing nuclear fuel.
Recent escalating violence in Darfur has caused more than 100,000 people to flee the area.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has made a pledge to train Libyan security forces, in a surprise visit to Tripoli.
The UN Human Rights Council adopted a report saying that Israeli settlements violate human rights.
The Wall Street Journal has admitted that, like the NYTimes, its computer network was also attacked by Chinese hackers. In her last meeting with the press, US Secretary of State Clinton mentioned the need for an international effort, and that failing that the US was working on a few responses.
Australia has formally protested to Japan after a support ship of Japan’s whaling fleet entered Australia’s Economic Exclusive Zone.

February 1st, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | 1 Comment » http://opiniojuris.org/2013/02/01/weekday-news-wrap-friday-february-1-2013/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, January 31, 2013

by Jessica Dorsey

Israel has carried out air strikes close to the Syria-Lebanese border.
Donors have pledged $1.5 million to aid civilians displaced by the conflict in Syria.
British PM Cameron has visited Algeria to discuss responses to the threat of terrorism.
French troops have captured the last Islamist stronghold in Mali.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned the Malian government over reports of human rights abuses by Malian forces.
The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday expressed regret that the Israeli government failed to send a representative to the Council’s review of Israel’s human rights record.
European police simultaneously arrested more than 100 people in 10 countries in what they called the biggest raid on a migrant smuggling ring in the history of the EU.
Russia scrapped a law enforcement agreement with the United States, further turning back the clock on a “reset” in relations since President Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin last year.
Colombia’s FARC guerrillas have pledged to continue capturing security forces while the government asked rebels to make it clear they genuinely want to end the five-decade conflict.
Whether the AUMF covers North Africa is the question posed over at Lieber Code.
At Arms Control Blog, there is a post about the next steps for the IAEA and Iran.

January 31st, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2013/01/31/weekday-news-wrap-thursday-january-31-2013/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, January 30, 2013

by Jessica Dorsey

Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has appealed to the UN Security Council to take action on Syria which he said is “breaking up before everyone’s eyes”. Meanwhile, there are reports of a new massacre in Aleppo as more than 71 bodies were found by a river.
Israel has boycotted the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of the rights situation in Israel, which has left the body with the question of how to respond.
South Korea has launched a rocket in its third attempt to place a satellite in space from its own soil.
The US Senate has confirmed John Kerry as the next Secretary of State by a wide margin.
A US judge has approved an agreement for British oil giant BP PLC to plead guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay a record $4bn in criminal penalties for the company’s role in the 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
A Dutch district court in The Hague ruled today that Shell was partly responsible for pollution in Nigeria, a ruling activists say could set a precedent for damage claims related to the foreign activities of multinational companies.
Niger has given permission for U.S. surveillance drones to be stationed on its territory to improve intelligence on al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters in northern Mali and the wider Sahara.
An Egyptian court upheld the in absentia death sentences of seven Coptic Christians and an American preacher on charges stemming from the amateur anti-Muslim film Innocence of Muslims, which sparked violent protests in the Middle East last year
Israel will give Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s administration around $100 million in tax revenues that had been withheld in retaliation for his statehood bid in the UN.
Foreign Policy asks: is America training too many foreign armies?

January 30th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2013/01/30/weekday-news-wrap-wednesday-january-30-2013/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, January 29, 2013

by Jessica Dorsey

Rep. Edward Royce, Chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, has urged China to participate in the arbitration proceedings lodged by the Philippines over their dispute regarding the South China Sea.
The US military has started preparations for a drone base in Western Africa, presumably in Niger or in Burkina Faso.
A judge in Guatemala has ordered Mr Rios Montt, a former dictator and legislator, to stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war in the Mayan-Ixil region.
Britain is ready to deploy troops to support the French mission in Mali, although they will not participate in combat operations.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands will abdicate at the end of April in favor of her son Willem-Alexander, who will become the country’s first king in over 120 years.
Iran has denied reports of explosions at a uranium enrichment facility as Western propaganda.
Antigua and Barbados’ government has announced that it has been authorized by the WTO to suspend IP rights of US rights holders to compel the US to comply with the US-Gambling ruling.
The EFTA Court has rejected the case against Iceland over the Icesave dispute, EJIL:Talk! has a detailed analysis.
More than two-thirds of countries, including many of the world’s largest arms traders, have inadequate safeguards to prevent corruption in their defense sectors.
Yemeni forces intercepted a ship carrying a large cache of weapons – including surface-to-air missiles – that U.S. officials suspect were being smuggled from Iran and destined for Yemeni insurgents.
The UN has said that it will be forced to cut already reduced food rations to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees unless a huge cash injection is found.
Iran has said it had launched a live monkey into space, seeking to show off missile systems that have alarmed the West because the technology could potentially be used to deliver a nuclear warhead.
The US government has closed the office that focuses on closing Guantanamo, according to this story in the New York Times.

January 29th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2013/01/29/weekday-news-wrap-tuesday-january-29-2013/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Monday, January 28, 2013

by Jessica Dorsey

Talks have broken down at the African Union summit in Ethiopia on plans to solve the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UN wants to set up an intervention force to fight rebels fueling conflict in the DRC, according to a UN official.
According to B’Tselem, a rights group, Israel is breaking its own rules of engagement by using deadly force to disperse unarmed Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank.
US President Barack Obama said he has been wrestling with the question whether a U.S. military intervention in Syria’s 22-month-old civil war would help resolve the bloody conflict or make things worse.
UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon said in a statement delivered Sunday to the African Union summit that the leaders in Africa must increase efforts to lower poverty levels, end cycles of violence and accelerate development.
The French military has recaptured Goa, Mali, from Islamist rebels, although their retreat is seen as only temporary, as drugs money and ransom payments by Western government continue to fuel the rebels’ coffers.
Egyptian President Morsi has declared the state of emergency in three cities and invited opposition politicians to a national dialogue, as violent protests continued over the weekend.
Latin American states may rally behind a single candidate for the post of WTO Director-General if one of the three current candidates has a better chance of being selected.
At a recent summit with Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the EU has asked for more legal certainty for its investments in the region.
The EU and the US are in the final stages of preparing for negotiations on a free trade agreement, although the EU Trade Commissioner expects the negotiations to be anything but easy.

January 28th, 2013 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2013/01/28/weekday-news-wrap-monday-january-28-2013/ |