Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, January 8, 2013

08 Jan Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, January 8, 2013

• A U.S. drone strike killed eight people in northwestern Pakistan, the latest in a series of drone attacks that come as a retired U.S. general Stanley McChrystal warns their overuse may threaten American foreign policy goals.
• The trial of former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic resumed in The Hague on Monday.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked that government-issued documents, such as passports, include the words “State of Palestine” instead of “Palestinian Authority,” though there will be no rush to replace ID cards or passports to avoid confrontation with Israel.
• Rebel fighters in Mali have captured at least 12 government soldiers along with their vehicle and equipment.
• A new law passed by the US House and awaiting signature from President Obama will extend the Rewards for Justice Program, allowing for rewards for people wanted by the ICC (including Joseph Kony).
• President Obama’s new pick for the Secretary of Defense is Senator Chuck Hagel. Foreign Policy asks if Hagel will be able to stand up to the drone lobby and at Lawfare, they discuss whether a Hagel appointment at DoD and a Brennan appointment as head of CIA would shift lethal operations to the military.
• Taiwanese officials have claimed that negotiations on a free trade agreement with Singapore are nearing completion.
• Chinese sources have hinted at the possibility that the controversial prison labour camps are under review and may be abolished.
• A rewritten editorial in China’s Southern Weekly has led to public protests against Chinese media censorship.
• A British soldier was killed in Afghanistan after an attack by a member of the Afghan National Army.
• Japan has summoned the Chinese Ambassador to protest against the presence of Chinese maritime surveillance ships near the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.
• In a New York Court, Pakistani citizen Abid Naseer has pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism
• An Appeals Court in Cameroon has overturned the conviction of two allegedly gay men, who were found to be gay on the basis of their clothes and because they drank Bailey’s.
• In Thailand, pressure is building on the government not to accept the outcome of the ICJ’s interpretation of its judgment on the Temple of Preah Vihar, and to declare, inter alia, that the ICJ does not have jurisdiction to interpret its own judgment.
• Bahrain‘s highest court has upheld the conviction of 13 activists for their role in the pro-democracy uprising in 2011.

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