Weekly News Wrap: Monday, December 15, 2014

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

Africa

• Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir claimed victory over the International Criminal Court on Saturday after it shelved further investigation of war crimes in Darfur, and reaffirmed his hard line on the rebel region.
• The ICC confirmed four charges of crimes against humanity against Charles Ble Goude, and committed the ally of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo to trial at The Hague.

Middle East and Northern Africa

• Palestinian officials are to present a draft resolution to the UN Security Council seeking a two-year deadline for Israel to end its occupation, an official has said.
• The UN Security Council has called for a “swift and transparent investigation” after a Palestinian minister died during a confrontation with Israeli soldiers.

Asia

• About 300 Chinese people are fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Monday, a rare tally that is likely to fuel worry in China that militants pose a threat to security.
• Philippine President Benigno Aquino has suspended army operations against Maoist guerrillas for a month to mark Christmas and a visit by Pope Francis, the head of the military said on Monday.

Europe

• Denmark will claim on Monday ownership of around 900,000 square kilometers of the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean by filing documents to United Nations.
• German police have noted a significant rise in far-right extremism and attacks targeting foreigners, a news report said on Sunday, amid a growing debate about a new Islamophobic movement.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande urged Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko on Sunday to press ahead with reforms to facilitate an economic recovery and access to foreign aid.
• European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned Britain not to discriminate against workers from fellow EU countries and said any moves to restrict the free movement of people could ultimately harm capital flows into London’s financial center.

Americas

• Philippine prosecutors on Monday filed murder charges against a U.S. marine over the death of a transgender Filipino outside a former U.S. Navy base, in a case that could test the close security ties between the two allies.
• Former US Vice President Dick Cheney has defended the US’ now-banned programme that tortured al-Qaeda suspects, describing the CIA operatives who ran it as heroes.His remarks came days after the US Senate released a long-awaited investigation into enhanced interrogation techniques employed by the CIA to question terror suspects post 9/11.

Oceania

• A man holding hostages in a Sydney cafe has demanded that a flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant [ISIL] group be delivered to him and warned that four bombs have been planted around the city, according to a local media report.

UN/World

• About 190 nations agreed on Sunday the building blocks of a new-style global deal due in 2015 to combat climate change amid warnings that far tougher action will be needed to limit increases in global temperatures.