A Chinese navy vessel aimed a type of radar normally used to aim weapons at a target at a Japanese navy ship in the East China Sea, prompting a Japanese protest.President Barack Obama has plans to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this spring, raising the prospects of a new U.S. push to restart long-stalled Israel-Palestinian peace efforts.The British Parliament...
The US Department of Justice’s White Paper justifying its drone strike and targeted killing program was leaked to NBC yesterday. The story is here, the white paper is here. Kevin Jon Heller already has early analysis pieces on OJ here and here. Although not yet formally approved, US military leaders have agreed to pre-emptive cyber strikes in the face of an imminent and large scale digital attack. Mike...
Though he admits that evidence that came from enhanced interrogation techniques was used to find Osama Bin Laden, outgoing Secretary of Defense and former CIA chief who oversaw the Bin Laden operation, Leon Panetta, has said that Bin Laden could have been found without resorting to torture. The German Defense Ministry has confirmed Germany will acquire armed drones. The number three leader of...
Syria protested to the UN about an Israeli air strike on its territory and warned of a possible "surprise" response. Two years later, Benghazi threatens “another revolution” in Libya. Iran is planning to speed up its research and work on developing nuclear fuel. Recent escalating violence in Darfur has caused more than 100,000 people to flee the area. British Prime Minister David Cameron has made...
Israel has carried out air strikes close to the Syria-Lebanese border. Donors have pledged $1.5 million to aid civilians displaced by the conflict in Syria. British PM Cameron has visited Algeria to discuss responses to the threat of terrorism. French troops have captured the last Islamist stronghold in Mali. ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda warned the Malian government over reports of human rights abuses by Malian forces. The UN Human Rights Council...
Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has appealed to the UN Security Council to take action on Syria which he said is "breaking up before everyone's eyes". Meanwhile, there are reports of a new massacre in Aleppo as more than 71 bodies were found by a river. Israel has boycotted the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of the rights situation in Israel, which has left the body with...
Rep. Edward Royce, Chairman of the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, has urged China to participate in the arbitration proceedings lodged by the Philippines over their dispute regarding the South China Sea. The US military has started preparations for a drone base in Western Africa, presumably in Niger or in Burkina Faso. A judge in Guatemala has ordered Mr Rios Montt, a former dictator and...
Talks have broken down at the African Union summit in Ethiopia on plans to solve the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The UN wants to set up an intervention force to fight rebels fueling conflict in the DRC, according to a UN official.According to B’Tselem, a rights group, Israel is breaking its own rules of engagement by using deadly...
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights while Countering Terrorism, Ben Emmerson, announced the launch of a special investigation into drone warfare and targeted killings yesterday. The United Nations is planning to consider later this year the scientific validity of a claim by China that a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea are part of its territory, although Japan says...
North Korea has said it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States. Several European leaders have criticized British Prime Minister David Cameron's demand for radical reform of the EU and promise of an "in-out" referendum on UK membership. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to lift the military's ban on women serving in combat, a move...
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk is stepping down in late February. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has given his long-awaited speech on UK membership of the EU, promising a referendum in 2017 if the Conservative Party wins the 2015 elections. North Korea has responded angrily to the UN Security Council Resolution condemning its December rocket launch and expanding sanctions against the state. Jordan is holding elections today under...
Russia is evacuating its citizens from Syria, which is interpreted as a loss of confidence in President Assad's chances of winning the civil war. The US has circulated a draft UN Security Council Resolution condemning last month's rocket launch in North Korea. The resolution has the support of China and presumably also Russia. A Japanese lawmaker is in Beijing for talks to defuse...
