Search: kony 2012

21 Jun Weekday News Wrap: June 21, 2012

The Telegraph asks whether the Rio Summit is destined to fail. If you want to keep up-to-date with the Rio+20 conference, the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Earth Negotiations Bulletins are a useful starting point. In a statement before the Ways and Means Committee of the United States House of Representatives, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns argued in favour of lifting the Jackson Vanik amendment and extending permanent normal trade relations status to Russia. In Moscow, nuclear talks on Iran have failed to reach a breakthrough....

12 Jun Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The four staff members of the ICC will remain in a 45-day detention in Libya while investigations into the meetings the staff had with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi are carried out. Al Arabyia reports that Melinda Taylor will be freed if she gives Libyan officials information on the whereabouts of Mohammed Ismail, Gaddafi’s former right-hand man. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has asked for his charges to be dismissed at the ICTY for lack of evidence. Human Rights Watch reports that Syria is committing grave abuses of...

01 Oct Weekday News Wrap: Monday, October 1, 2012

The US Supreme Court begins its new term today and will hear re-argumentation in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. SCOTUS Blog offers insight into what is at stake and for whom in this case. After 10 years’ imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay, Omar Khadr was repatriated to Canada, where he will serve the rest of his sentence. At the UN General Assembly, several leaders of the Muslim world questioned the Western notion of freedom of speech in light of the recent film sparking protests and violence across the...

07 Sep Weekday News Wrap: Friday, September 7, 2012

The International Economic Law and Policy Blog is reporting on a case filed against the WTO in a US District Court seeking a declaration that the “ruling of the Appellate Body of the WTO concerning the Country of Origin Labeling Act is null and void in the United States and throughout the world” on the basis that US law prevails over the WTO Agreements, as stipulated in Section 102(a)(1) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Asian and Pacific leaders are meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, this weekend for...

27 Mar Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Amnesty International reports that fewer nations are applying the death penalty, but that those who do are making more use of it. The increase is particularly noticeable in the Middle East. Amnesty International urges EU states to renew their commitment to examine their involvement in CIA secret flights Associated Press reports that the White House offered key concessions, such as advance notice and limits on the type of targets, to Pakistani intelligence officials to save the CIA’s drone programme The US and Australia are reportedly considering to...

18 May Weekday News Wrap: Friday, May 18, 2012

Reuters reports that the G8 leaders are meeting today amidst further fears about the Eurozone crisis and the possibility of a “Grexit”. According to the Independent, UK PM Cameron will pressure German Chancellor Merkel to do more to save the euro. The Washington Post compares the opposing points of view of Germany and most other nations on how to improve growth in Europe. Over on Foreign Policy, Clyde Prestowitz argues why Germany should leave the euro. Foreign Policy continues the discussion our own Peter Spiro has been...

04 Jul Weekday News Wrap: July 4, 2012

In an end to a 7 months standoff, Pakistan has reopened border crossings for US and NATO military supplies after US Secretary of State Clinton issued an apology of the November air strike that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Japan has protested against Russia’s Prime Minister Medvedev visit on Tuesday to the disputed Kuril Islands. A Chinese newspaper is accusing the Philippines of fomenting tension over the South China Sea ahead of an ASEAN meeting later this week. Iran has announced that it has successfully tested medium...

29 May Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The current ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has been nominated by FIFA to head an ethics investigation into the organization’s match-fixing and corruption issues. Charles Taylor will be sentenced tomorrow in The Hague. You can watch the sentencing live with links provided on the Court’s website. Also in The Hague tomorrow, the ICC will release the judgment on the Prosecution’s appeal in the Mbarushimana case. As our own Deborah Pearlstein pointed out, the New York Times has an article detailing President Obama’s counterterrorism and targeting strategy in the...

12 Dec Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Following the EU’s example yesterday, the US has recognized Syria’s opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and many more world powers are poised to do the same at the “Friends of the Syrian People” conference opens today in Morocco. Human Rights Watch has a report of the Syrian government using incendiary bombs on at least four occasions since mid-November in civilian areas. North Korea has successfully launched a rocket. The UN Secretary-General has condemned the test. The US has defended its low-key approach to...

03 Jul Weekday News Wrap: July 3, 2012

Syria’s President Assad has expressed regret at the downing of the Turkish jet last month and has vowed to apologize should it be established that the jet was shot down in international airspace. Human Rights Watch has released a report on arbitrary arrests, detention and torture in Syria since the beginning of the civil unrest in March 2011. A Reuters article discusses how the failing of diplomacy in Syria is pushing some states to get more actively involved in the dispute. UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay...

12 Apr Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, April 12, 2012

Dioncounde Traore will be sworn in as Mali’s interim president today and is tasked with pulling the nation in turmoil back on the right track. Syria has said it will comply with its truce deadlines today by halting military activity, but reserves its right to combat terrorist attacks. Kofi Annan says that Iran can be part of Syria’s solution. In the wake of the Arab Spring, start-up social media and networking companies are thriving in the Middle East. Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu will propose direct talks with Palestinian...

22 Jun Weekday News Wrap: June 22, 2012

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, summary or arbitrary executions has held that the US drone strikes flout internationally recognized human rights standards and may even be war crimes. The Washington Post has an opinion piece on the impact of drone attacks on diplomacy. The Atlantic has a follow up piece. The US is using Facebook to drive a wedge between the Syrian military and Assad. One Syrian air force pilot has already defected to Jordan. Meanwhile, the US has denied that it is willing to...