Weekday News Wrap: Monday, August 26, 2013

26 Aug Weekday News Wrap: Monday, August 26, 2013

• UN inspectors will be allowed into the Damascus suburb to investigate an alleged chemical weapon attack that killed approximately 355 civilians last week. Julian mentioned that the US may be looking into military intervention into Syria, a move that Russia is concerned about, warning the US not to repeat past mistakes in the region. Despite Russia’s pleas for restraint, in Jordan, military commanders from Western and Muslim countries are meeting to discuss the Syria conflict, as Western powers weigh military action.
• Dapo Akande, at EJIL:Talk, has a response to Kevin and Dov Jacobs on the recent discussion regarding the VCLT, the ICC and Syria.
• In other calls for restraint, the US said it was alarmed by an escalation in fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo between M23 rebels and Congolese soldiers, and again called on neighboring Rwanda to stop its support for the rebels.
• Israel has pushed forward with plans to construct 1,500 apartments in a settlement in East Jerusalem, a move that could undermine recently renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
• German newspaper Der Spiegel has claimed that the NSA bugged the UN’s New York headquarters (Spiegel’s story auf Deutsch here).

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