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Search: kony 2012

03 Dec

Syrian forces have pounded rebel-held areas of Damascus, trying to keep them away from the airport so flights can resume. After last Thursday’s decision from the ICTY Appeals Chamber, acquitting former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and two others, Kosovo’s government has demanded an investigation into the actions of the lead prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, accusing her of abuse of power and filing unfounded charges. As we reported last week, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution giving Palestine an upgraded non-member observer state status. At EJIL: Talk!,...
03.12.12 | |

12 Nov

The EU has welcomed progress made late last week by the International Civil Aviation Organization on a the regulation of global aviation greenhouse gas emissions. Syrian opposition groups have agreed to unite and have chosen Moaz al-Khatib as their leader. Spillovers of the conflict have meanwhile affected Israeli presence in the Golan Heights. At an emergency ECOWAS summit, West African leaders have agreed to send a military force to Mali to combat Islamist militants. Russia will join an international investigation to determine the cause of death of...
12.11.12 | |

26 Dec

Israel has approved 1200 additional settlement units around Jerusalem, and with the election looming in less than a month, pressure is reportedly building on PM Netanyahu to drop the two state solution. Turkey is hopeful that progress will be made on its EU membership negotiations during the Ireland’s turn at the helm of the Union in the first six months of 2013. The new Egyptian Constitution was approved by 64% of votes cast, but only 33% of voters turned out. Shinzo Abe has been voted in by...
26.12.12 | |

31 Aug

France and the United Kingdom reported at the Security Council that all options are on the table regarding Syria. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that he will speak on Iran at the UN General Assembly in a speech next month. An IAEA report has indicated that Iran has increased its stockpiles of enriched uranium and has doubled its centrifuges. Approximately 80% of the internally displaced persons from a camp in North Darfur have returned to the camp after recent violence in the area. Foreign Policy...
31.08.12 | |

07 Aug

Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab has defected from what he terms the “terrorist regime” of President Bashar al-Assad, while violence rages on in Aleppo. IPS offers an insight into what these high-level defections mean for Syria’s future. Syria is also losing support of its ally Iran, whose Foreign Minister will visit Turkey today to discuss the situation in Syria and the capture of Iranian nationals. Hilary Clinton is visiting South Africa, where Syria will also be on the agenda. Also in South Africa, former Irish President and...
07.08.12 | |

24 Jul

Syria has rejected the bid from the Arab League offering an exit for President Al-Assad. Syria has warned of a chemical attack on invaders, according to Al Jazeera. Reuters reports that the West has warned Syria about their use. Foreign Policy analyzes the origin of the confusion surrounding whether and how Syria has threatened to use these weapons. Foreign Policy also offers a context piece entitled The Fog of Civil War, giving more insight into the complicated ongoing conflict. World markets have plummeted amid Eurozone fears, though...
24.07.12 | |

20 Nov

The ICJ has ruled against Nicaragua in the territorial and maritime dispute it had filed against Colombia, and rejected claims that Colombia violated international law. International pressure to reach a ceasefire after six days of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip is building and there are signs that Israel is open to a diplomatic solution in which Egypt is bound to play a central role. President Obama has met his Chinese counterpart arguing for co-operation on to establish rules governing trade and investment. The...
20.11.12 | |

30 Aug

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni has said that Iran will never pursue a nuclear weapon, but will not give up its right to peaceful energy at the summit for the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has asked the leaders of Iran at the summit to prove that the nuclear development in their country is for peaceful ends. At this same meeting, the president of Egypt is present for the first time since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and he praised the “brave”...
30.08.12 | |

27 Nov

Australia will abstain in the upcoming UN vote on whether to grant non-member state status to Palestine. The body of Yasser Arafat will be exhumed in Ramallah today, to determine whether his death was the result of polonium poisoning. Ehud Barak, Israel’s Minister of Defence, has announced his retirement from politics. A map of China on new Chinese passports is controversial with its neighbours as it incorporates disputed areas in the South China Sea. Several neighbours are refusing to stamp the passports or are stamping them with...
27.11.12 | |

24 May

The Taliban has reportedly circulated poison in girls’ classrooms in northern Afghanistan poisoning girls with toxic powder sent through the air shafts, leaving more than 120 students and teachers unconscious. Amnesty International launched a stinging accusation in its annual report (available here) at the UN Security Council, accusing the body of “failed leadership” and saying the Council is “tired, out of step, and increasingly unfit for purpose.” Nuclear talks between Iran and other nations entered their second day today. As we reported yesterday, the Obama administration is...
24.05.12 | |

11 May

Responding to a letter to which we linked yesterday, US Trade Representative Kirk has rejected criticism that the negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement have not been transparent. The Greek left leader has asked the EU to re-examine its commitment to austerity. In talks to normalize bilateral relations, Zimbabwe has asked the EU to lift all remaining sanctions on Mugabe and senior members of his party. The 22nd World Economic Forum on Africa is taking place in Addis Ababa. Putin will not be meeting Obama at Camp...
11.05.12 | |

26 Oct

The NY Times reports on a transcript from the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference that was recently discovered in a library at the US Treasury and has been released as an e-book by the Center for Financial Stability. The NY Times also published about the wealth accumulated by the family of outgoing Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiaobao in the past decade. Web access from mainland China to the paper’s English and Chinese websites was promptly blocked. A four-day ceasefire is supposed to start in Syria today, but there...
26.10.12 | |