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Search: kony 2012

21 Sep

A Syrian airstrike has killed at least 54 amid heavy fighting in northern Syria. At a UN Security Council meeting, Iran was attacked about the aid it is providing to Syria’s government forces. At the IAEA’s meeting in Geneva, Iran and Israel squared off about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East region. The US has lifted a ban on New Zealand naval ships visiting US ports or bases in place since 1986, after New Zealand’s decision to ban any nuclear powered ships or nuclear armed ships from...
21.09.12 | |

31 Jul

Syrian forces have intensified their attacks on the crucial Aleppo, while rebel fighters say that they are holding firm in the city they expect will become the “regime’s grave.” Russian president Vladimir Putin has ratified a stricter adoption agreement with the US, wherein foreign adoptions will be subject to tighter restrictions and families wanting to adopt will be vetted more thoroughly. An unwed couple in northern Mali was publicly stoned to death, the first reported Sharia killing since the occupation. Indonesia has challenged the European Union over...
31.07.12 | |

14 Dec

The United Kingdom has paid $3.5 million to settle a rendition case brought by Libyan dissident Sami al Saadi. The European Court of Human Rights released its decision (.pdf) in the Al Masri v. The Republic of Macedonia case finding he was a victim of CIA rendition. The ICC Appeals Chamber dismissed a challenge from ex-Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo that the Court lacks jurisdiction over him. Progress was reported in Iran’s talks with the IAEA, though there is no news on the scheduling of a site...
14.12.12 | |

11 Oct

Royal Dutch Shell Plc., faces a lawsuit today in a district court in The Hague that seeks to make Shell and other corporations responsible for pollution resulting from three oil spills in 2004, 2005 and 2007 in the Niger Delta. Russia has said it will not renew the expiring 1991 arms agreement with the US requiring the dismantaling of nuclear and chemical weapons, as it does not satisfy Russian interests in light of new realities, according to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister. Scrambling fighter planes, Turkey forced a...
11.10.12 | |

22 Aug

The IAEA has confirmed that it will engage in new talks with Iran on Friday. Iran has unveiled a new short-range missile and introduced plans to build a new missile-defense system in a show of readiness for any potential Israeli attack. Were a conflict to break out between Israel and Iran, it could cost Israel’s economy upwards of $42 billion, according to a research report carried out by BDI-Coface. Israel has also reported concern with its neighbor to the south, saying that it is worried about Egypt’s...
22.08.12 | |

15 Dec

[Craig H. Allen is the Judson Falknor Professor of Law at the University of Washington in Seattle.] On December 15, 2012, one phase of the dispute between the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Ghana over the “seizure” of the Argentine frigate ARA Libertad while in a Ghanaian port came to an end, when the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany ordered Ghana to “forthwith and unconditionally release the frigate ARA Libertad” and to “ensure that the frigate ARA Libertad, its Commander and crew...
15.12.12 | |

23 Oct

Iran has said it may stop oil production if Western sanctions tighten. The United Kingdom will double the number of drones it has in Afghanistan for combat and surveillance missions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany could take part in assisting a European mission to Mali that would train troops to fight Islamist insurgents in the north of the country. Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that the Israel-Palestinian peace process has reached a crisis point and he accused Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu of not...
23.10.12 | |

22 Sep

This week on Opinio Juris, we posted Harold Koh’s speech on international law in cyberspace, delivered earlier this week, as part of our efforts to make important international law speeches more readily available. The decision by the Obama administration to requalify the tragic events in Libya on September 11 as a terrorist attack rather than a spontaneous reaction provides a further basis, according to Julian Ku, for the legality of any US retaliation using armed force, including on the basis of the UAMF. Julian also followed up on...
22.09.12 | |

06 Nov

The United States heads to the polls today to choose a second term for President Obama or to put Mitt Romney in the Oval Office. It may be election day in the US, but Bloomberg has a profile of Xi Jinping, who will most likely be chosen to replace Chinese President Hu Jintao later this month. Amnesty has reported that Malawi’s Justice minister has suspended the country’s controversial laws against homosexuality until Parliament has had a chance to vote on their repeal. China has filed a request...
06.11.12 | |

27 Jun

As a second boat of refugees in less than a week sinks on its way from Indonesia to Australia’s Christmas Island, Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to revive an earlier plan to have refugees processed in Malaysia in exchange for the acceptance of genuine refugees. Syria’s President Assad has claimed that his country is in a state of war. Notwithstanding the recent wave of defections, US intelligence reveals that Assad’s inner circle is still intact. Senior UN diplomats are convening a meeting of world leaders on...
27.06.12 | |

21 May

Sudan has freed four captured foreign workers, initially held for “spying” for South Sudan. AFP reports on gun battles between pro- and anti-Syrian groups in Beirut, triggering fears of spillovers of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon. A Voice of America blog post reports that the NATO’s missile defense shield for Europe has entered “interim capability”. The Associated Press has received footage from Israeli human rights organization B’tselem allegedly showing a lack of intervention by Israeli soldiers as settlers fired at Palestinian protestors during clashes on Saturday. Reuters...
21.05.12 | |

17 Dec

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm at the worsening violence in Syria, including the reported mass killing of Alawites and alleged firing of long-range missiles on Syrian territory. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea celebrated its 30-year anniversary. France reported that officials from the Afghan government, the Taliban rebel movement and other factions would meet this week near Paris to discuss the country’s future. Libya’s ruling national congress ordered the temporary closure of its borders with four of its neighbors over the weekend and...
17.12.12 | |