Opinio Juris » weekday news wrap w46/12

Weekday News Wrap: Friday, November 16, 2012

by An Hertogen

Israel has intensified its aerial bombardment on the Gaza strip, after shells targeted Tel Aviv for the first time in 20 years. CNN has a Q&A about the conflict.
Syrian opposition leaders are in London to meet UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.
The UK has summoned the Spanish Ambassador after Spanish naval vessels allegedly intruded in Gibraltar territorial waters. The UK Ambassador to Spain was in turn summoned after a series of incidents involving Spanish fishermen and the Gibraltar police in Spanish waters.
On Saturday, President Obama is embarking on his first overseas trip since his re-election. He will visit Thailand, Myanmar and later also Cambodia to attend the ASEAN Summit. Myanmar has released hundreds of prisoners in anticipation of President Obama’s visit.
The US Ambassador to South Korea has confirmed that the US is ready to “engage constructively” with North Korea if it is serious about disarmament.
Foreign Policy summarizes the “four things you should know about China’s next leaders“, including that very little is known about them.

November 16th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/11/16/weekday-news-wrap-friday-november-16-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, November 15, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

Israel has hammered the Gaza Strip in a series of airstrikes, one of which has killed Hamas’ military commander Ahmad Jabari.
The United Nations Population Fund has declared contraception and family planning to be a human right having a positive effect on economic development.
Unlike France, the United States has stopped short of recognizing Syria’s opposition coalition.
Nigerian lawmakers have passed a bill criminalizing same-sex marriage.
The International Monetary Fund is prepared to offer funds to assist in recovery in Tunisia, a country reeling from last year’s political turmoil during the Arab Spring.
The UN Joint Human Rights office completed an investigation into allegations in the Masisi Territory and North Kivu region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and found evidence of the arbitrary execution of at least 264 civilians.
As expected, Xi Jinping has been appointed as China’s new President.
A Palestinian aide has downplayed Israeli threats to impose financial sanctions if the Palestinian push for the status of non-member observer state at the UN is successful.
News has come out that a suspected shipment of North Korean missile parts was intercepted in South Korea earlier this year while on its way to Syria on board a Chinese vessel.
EU and Canadian negotiators are meeting in Ottawa to iron out the final differences in their bilateral trade talks before the political leaders meet on the issue next week.

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Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, November 14, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

UN Development Program Chair, Helen Clark, has argued for a greater UN economic role.
Preparations are underway to exhume Yasser Arafat’s body for forensic analysis.
France has become the first European country to recognize the Syrian opposition coalition as the sole representative of its people.
Despite the EU’s decision to suspend its ETS with respect to international aviation, the US House of Representatives has accepted a modified Senate bill protecting US airlines from the effects of the EU ETS.
China’s Communist Party has concluded its conference with the election of a new Central Committee. The new line-up of leaders will be unveiled tomorrow.
An internal UN report is strongly critical of the UN’s efforts to protect civilians in the Sri Lankan civil war.
The UN General Assembly has called on the US, for the 21st year in a row, to end the trade embargo it has against Cuba.
The African Union has backed ECOWAS’ plan to send 3,300 troops to Mali.
Foreign Policy offers a piece outlining five ways terrorism has changed since 9/11.

November 14th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/11/14/weekday-news-wrap-wednesday-november-14-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, November 13, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The EU has stopped the clock on the inclusion of international aviation in its Emissions Trading System to allow recent developments in the ICAO negotiations on global aviation greenhouse gas emissions, mentioned in yesterday’s news wrap, to run their course.
Argentina is preparing to file a claim at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea in Hamburg to obtain the release of its vessel the ARA Libertad, which was seized by its creditors, as Julian reported last month.
Israel may consider bringing back its controversial targeted killing policy to stem rocket attacks from the Gaza strip. Israeli Defence Forces also fired into Syria for the second day in a row in retaliation over mortar shells from Syria spilling over into Israeli territory.
Over at Armed Groups and International Law, Dan Saxon offers an analysis of the ethical and legal obligations of journalists covering the conflict in Syria.
The UK has ordered the provisional release of Abu Qatada instead of his deportation to Jordan.
The UN has elected 18 new countries, one of which is the United States, to a three-year term on the Human Rights Council beginning January 1, 2013.
The Appeals Chamber of the ICTY has announced that the judgment in Prosecutor v. Gotovina & Markac will be issued on 16 November 2012.
NATO has said it is “ready” to help Turkey deal with Syria.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said his country should consider bringing back the death penalty, a decade after Ankara abolished capital punishment as part of reforms aimed at European Union membership.

November 13th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/11/13/weekday-news-wrap-tuesday-november-13-2012/ |

Weekday News Wrap: Monday, November 12, 2012

by Jessica Dorsey

The EU has welcomed progress made late last week by the International Civil Aviation Organization on a the regulation of global aviation greenhouse gas emissions.
Syrian opposition groups have agreed to unite and have chosen Moaz al-Khatib as their leader. Spillovers of the conflict have meanwhile affected Israeli presence in the Golan Heights.
At an emergency ECOWAS summit, West African leaders have agreed to send a military force to Mali to combat Islamist militants.
Russia will join an international investigation to determine the cause of death of Palestinian president Yassir Arafat.
Iran believes that the US drone it fired upon in international waters last week was spying on its oil tankers. Iran has launched the “biggest ever” air drills across half the country as tensions between Tehran and Washington heighten.
The International Monetary Fund has predicted a slow recovery to economies of countries involved in the Arab Spring, wrestling with rising unemployment and high inflation.

November 12th, 2012 - 8:00 AM EDT | Comments Off http://opiniojuris.org/2012/11/12/weekday-news-wrap-monday-november-12-2012/ |