Search: kony 2012

23 Aug Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, August 23, 2012

Egypt has requested a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Despite the claims put forth by Julian Assange, the US says it has no case against him for which he could potentially be extradited. In Guantanamo Bay, tropical storm Isaac has delayed hearings for five detainees charged in the 9/11 attacks. The head of the IAEA has said he is “not too optimistic” for breakthroughs on talks with Iran, scheduled to resume tomorrow. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has decided to attend next week’s summit...

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...

22 Sep Weekend Roundup: September 15-21, 2012

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...

03 May Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, May 3, 2012

Chen Guangcheng says he felt pressure to take the deal to leave the US Embassy and now wants to leave China on Hillary Clinton’s plane. The US has promised to do what it can once his wishes are clear. The FAO Food Index has indicated that global food prices were down in April, though fears about inflation remain. Security is tight in Barcelona as the European Central Bank meets to discuss ways in which to fight the Eurozone crisis; protesters do not have high hopes of many...

03 Apr Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, April 3, 2012

On the 30th anniversary of the Falklands Islands/Las Malvinas invasion, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner decried the existence of a “colonialist enclave” in the 21st century as an injustice. At a remembrance ceremony in the UK, UK Prime Minister David Cameron referred to the Islanders’ right of self-determination. According to Kofi Annan, Syria has agreed to a ceasefire starting on April 10. In a follow-up to threatening action against Mali, West African nations have placed trade, economic and diplomatic sanctions on the strife-ridden country. In Senegal,...

17 Dec Weekday News Wrap: Monday, December 17th, 2012

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...

21 May Weekday News Wrap: Monday, May 21, 2012

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...

27 Jun Weekday News Wrap: June 27, 2012

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...

11 Oct Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, October 11, 2012

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...

10 Oct Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Abu Hamza al-Masri has pleaded not guilty in a US federal court, after recently being extradited by Britain. A US drone attack has killed five in Northwest Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan. Xinhua reports that Japan has shown signs of a willingness to compromise and is planning to acknowledge China’s claims on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands without however giving up on its own position. Nevertheless, the Chinese Central Bank Governor will not be leading the Chinese delegation to the IMF Meeting in Tokyo in a move...

06 Nov Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, November 6, 2012

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...