Weekly News Wrap: Monday, October 6, 2014

Your weekly selection of international law and international relations headlines from around the world:

Africa

• The NYTimes carried an opinion piece on the Kenyatta case.

Middle East and Northern Africa

• Israel’s PM Netanyahu has called US criticism of the approval of new settlements in East Jerusalem “un-American”.
• Israel will summon Sweden’s Ambassador over the announcement that the new Swedish government will recognize the State of Palestine.
• The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued a report finding that IS is committing war crimes in Iraq.

Asia

• As the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong continue, other regions on the Chinese periphery watch closely.
• North and South Korean officials have agreed to resume high-level talks, possibly starting as early as the end of this month.

Europe

• Chechnyan authorities have blamed Muslim fundamentalists for a suicide bombing that killed five during festivities in Grozny.
• In a speech at Harvard, US Vice-President Biden is reported to have said that the US had to embarrass the EU into adopting sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
• US intelligence sources have reportedly decoded IS secured communications, revealing that IS fighters are trying to enter the EU by posing as Syrian refugees.

Americas

• The US and Brazil have signed an MOU to end to their decade long dispute over US Cotton support measures

World

• Last week, the 7th Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety met in Pyeongchang. The International Institute for Sustainable Development has a summary of the proceedings here.
• The IMF and the World Bank are holding their Annual Meetings in Washington DC this week. For civil society coverage, see here.