Opinio Juris » Weekday News Wrap w30/12

Weekday News Wrap: Friday, July 27, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The skies over Somalia have become so congested with drones that the UAVs pose a threat to air traffic and potentially to an arms-embargo.
In a shift from the past, the Egyptian president, Mohamed Mursi, met with the leader of Hamas, Ismael Haniyeh.
The Netherlands suspended $6.15 million in aid to Rwanda yesterday, following a similar move by the US a day earlier, over Rwanda’s support for rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urges nations to “bridge their differences” in coming to a consensus over an arms treaty.
The United States fears that Syria is preparing for a massacre in the city of Aleppo. Navi Pillay, the UN’s High Commissioner on Human Rights, has stated there will be consequences in international law as the Syrian conflict escalates.
Jurist covers Amnesty International’s report that Syrian officials are carrying out extrajudicial executions.
Jurist also reports that the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights has urged Kenya to investigate its post-election violence in 2007.
The New International Law Blog offers more commentary on the latest ICJ decision in Belgium v. Senegal.
Foreign Policy points to five hot-spots to watch in the South China Sea as tensions in the region are on the rise and over on Project Syndicate, Gareth Evans offers background on the various territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The US Congress will probably wait until after its recess to vote on the proposed repeal of a bill restricting normal trade relations with Russia.

July 27th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/27/weekday-news-wrap-friday-july-27-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, July 26, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The UN Security Council has lifted travel bans and asset freezes on 17 Liberians, including at least two of Charles Taylor’s ex-wives.
A special assembly met in Somalia to set up a new government.
Using drones for surveillance and then shooting from helicopters, Turkey has killed 15 Kurdish rebels near its border with Iraq.
EJIL: Talk! has more on the Belgium v. Senegal case, asking whether the Court really ended the dispute between the parties. Regardless of the answer to that question, the AU and Senegal have reported that they will try Habre, the ex-leader of Chad accused of murdering and torturing thousands, in a special tribunal.
The WTO’s General Council approved guidelines to streamline accession negotiations for least developed countries.
And in other WTO news, Vanuatu will become the WTO’s 157th member.
Scotland has announced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, while Ukranian legislation seeks to ban all “homosexual propaganda.”
The New York Times reports that al-Qaeda is forcing itself into the conflict in Syria.
Jurist provides more on Venezuela’s exit from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The Appeals Chamber for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has issued a decision rejecting the Defense’s request to reconsider the February 16, 2011 ruling, a decision defining terrorism for the first time in international law. The Defense had argued the content of the decision should be revisited. The STL press release is here and the decision is here.
The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court has issued a decision protecting apolitical asylum seekers.
And for more on the UK and asylum, a first competitor at the Olympics, believed to be from West Africa, has claimed asylum in the UK, and more are expected to follow his example.
The EU Commissioner for competition, Almunia, has indicated that the settlement being negotiated with Google over alleged abuses of its dominant position by ranking its own businesses higher in search results may include worldwide remedies, given the global nature of the internet.
Following its annual review of the Chinese economy, the IMF has concluded that the Chinese Yuan is no longer substantially, but only moderately, undervalued against a basket of other currencies.
Solar wars are heating up as European manufacturers of solar panels have filed a complaint with the European Commission alleging that Chinese producers are dumping their products on the EU market. As mentioned in yesterday’s news wrap this follows hot on the heels of a complaint in China by Chinese producers, which in turn followed the imposition of anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels in the US.

July 26th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/26/weekday-news-wrap-thursday-july-26-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, July 25, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

Ghana’s President John Atta Mills has died, though details are unclear as to the cause of death. Foreign Policy has more here. Vice-President John Dramani Mahama has succeeded him, taking the oath of offices a few hours after the announcement of Mills’ death.
Fighting has intensified in Syria’s Aleppo.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has joined the chorus of warning Syria against the use of chemical weapons.
Israel’s foreign minister has stated that it will get involved in the Syrian conflict if the Syrian army loses control over its chemical weapons’ stockpiles, to ensure that the weapons do not fall in the hands of Hezbollah militants.
The European Union has rejected Israel’s request to add the Lebanese group Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations.
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez stated that Venezuela will withdraw from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, charging that the Court has become a pawn of Washington, D.C.
Leiden Law Blog points out that it’s been almost two years since the Kosovo decision at the ICJ and offers us the impact of the Kosovo case through the numbers.
A UN official has praised Somalia’s progress toward a transitional constitution.
Foreign Policy offers commentary about how to prevent Mali from becoming a failed state through US-led intervention. FP also discusses the dangers of intervention in this particular case.
The Guardian opines that regarding the Eurozone crisis, Spanish bailout is now inevitable.
The draft of a UN arms treaty is being heavily criticized by organizations that say the draft is “full of holes” as negotiators scramble in their quest for a consensus before Friday.
According to Ecuador’s foreign minister, Wikileaks’ Julian Assange is seeking asylum in the Andean country and has hired Spanish jurist Baltasar Garzon as legal advisor.
Olympics organizers in London are being slammed a few days before the Games begin for failing to prevent “rampant abuses” at two Chinese suppliers of Olympics merchandise.
Victims of an attack on a displaced civilians camp in Ivory Coast are alleging that the UN failed to protect them during a raid in which seven were killed and 50 were injured.
Fighting between the M23 rebels and the government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has led the UN to intervene by firing on rebel positions from helicopters in the eastern region.
China has promised to abide by the outcome of the WTO dispute settlement proceedings on its rare earths export restrictions, but has added that it should be able to regulate its rare earth production to limit the environmental damage connected to it, and to conserve the resources.
Forbes has a piece on the Chinese investigation into US and South Korean manufacturers of a key component of solar panels, which follows an earlier decision in the US to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels.
And, on a lighter note: in case you didn’t see Duncan Hollis’ post, our own Chris Borgen was on NYC TV yesterday talking about the blog and international law. Check it out here!

July 25th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/25/weekday-news-wrap-wednesday-july-25-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, July 24, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

Syria has rejected the bid from the Arab League offering an exit for President Al-Assad.
Syria has warned of a chemical attack on invaders, according to Al Jazeera. Reuters reports that the West has warned Syria about their use. Foreign Policy analyzes the origin of the confusion surrounding whether and how Syria has threatened to use these weapons.
Foreign Policy also offers a context piece entitled The Fog of Civil War, giving more insight into the complicated ongoing conflict.
World markets have plummeted amid Eurozone fears, though Italian Prime Minister Monti has said it is still too early to take new austerity measures.
EJIL: Talk! features more commentary about last week’s decision in Belgium v. Senegal from the ICJ.
Kodak has lost its appeal against Apple and RIM in a patent case in front of the US International Trade Commission.
Iran’s military has downplayed the threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, saying that it would not do so as long as it can use the Strait itself.
China has established its newest city, population 1000, on a remote island in the South China Sea, to bolster its sovereignty claims in the area.
The Philippine president, Benigno Aqino, has said he will not back down from China regarding the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
For the first time, Egypt has loosened the restrictions on Palestinians temporarily entering the country at the Rafah border crossing
A US drone struck in Pakistan, killing 12 suspected militants.
At the request of the EU, the US and Japan, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body has established a panel to consider China’s export restrictions on rare earths.
The EU has promised to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe later this year on the condition that a credible referendum on constitutional reform takes place.
The IMF has rejected reports that it will pull funding to Greece.
China and the US are holding their annual dialogue on human rights.

July 24th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/24/weekday-news-wrap-tuesday-july-24-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Monday, July 23, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The Syrian army has launched fierce attacks against rebel forces, who had made a stronghold in Damascus. Fighting has also spread to Aleppo.
The UN has extended its monitoring mission in Syria another 30 days.
The Arab League has called for Syrian President Assad to resign and has offered Assad and his family a safe exit from Syria.
Turkey has sent a battery of ground-to-air missiles to its border with Syria.
China will formerly garrison the disputed South China Sea, a move that will likely increase tensions throughout the region.
Shots were fired from Egypt into Israel at an Israeli army bus, but no one was hurt; the incident may heighten fears of an eroding Egyptian Sinai security since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. This comes after a portion of the Egypt-Israel-Jordan pipeline was exploded over the weekend.
The US’ Defense Department is looking into sending drones to Kenya to help fight al-Qaeda and al-Shebaab militants, mainly in Somalia.
Afghanistan’s intensifying “war by social media” has stepped up with new free speech activists using Twitter and Facebook to combat NATO and Taliban claims.
Saudi Arabia has called for a special Islamic summit, especially to address the threat of “sedition” in Muslim countries.
Professor Schabas offers analysis on his blog surrounding jus cogens issues from Friday’s decision from the ICJ in Belgium v. Senegal, in which the Court ordered Senegal to try Hissene Habre for allegations of torture.
Al Jazeera offers a piece on the 300,000 unregistered refugees from Myanmar living in Bangladesh, calling them the “world’s most forgotten people.”
China has filed an appeal in its WTO dispute with the US over the imposition of countervailing and anti-dumping duties on certain US steel products. The Washington Post has more here.
Russian President Putin has signed the protocol for Russia’s accession to the WTO.
Over 80 people have been killed in a range of bomb attacks and shootings in Baghdad.
Der Spiegel is reporting that the IMF will pull the plug on Greece’s funding.

July 23rd, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/07/23/weekday-news-wrap-monday-july-23-2012/ |