Search: kony 2012

28 Jun Weekday News Wrap: June 28, 2012

For lack of evidence, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been acquitted of one of two counts of genocide he faces at the ICTY at this mid-point in his trial. He faces 10 other charges, including the other genocide charge affiliated with the Srebrenica massacre, wherein 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed (ICTY press release here). Turkey has sent a military convoy to its border with Syria. Regarding the Turkish fighter jet that was shot down by Syrian forces, Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF) tells...

10 May Weekday News Wrap: Thursday, May 10, 2012

US President Barack Obama has backed same-sex marriage. Foreign Policy gives a global look into which countries have already legalized same-sex marriage. Stricter international rules of the Hague Adoption Convention are seen as contributing to a drastic drop in international adoptions worldwide. As another sign of heightening tensions between China and the Philippines over disputed islands in the South China Sea, Chinese travel agencies have suspended bookings to the Philippines. The US has planned a 10-month deployment of a warship to Singapore, which may stir China’s fears...

09 May Weekday News Wrap: Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Arab League has joined the ICRC in warning of a civil war within Syria; a UN envoy bolsters this claim with reports that arms are flowing in both directions between neighboring Lebanon and Syria. Citizens of North Carolina have voted to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions, dealing a setback to LGBT-rights activists and those in favor of equal treatment for all citizens. Yesterday, we told you about the Al Jazeera journalist expelled from China, Melissa Chan. Today, Foreign Policy gives us an account of perhaps...

27 Oct Weekend Roundup: October 20-26, 2012

This week on Opinio Juris, we welcomed Kristen Boon as our newest permanent blogger. In her opening post, she examined why the Security Council’s work on Children and Armed Conflict has turned out to be controversial. She also asked readers’ opinion on a recent report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture claiming that there is an emerging customary norm that the death penalty is a form of torture or cruel and degrading treatment. Finally, she discussed a trail blazing class action against the UN over a cholera...

06 Aug Weekday News Wrap: Monday, August 6, 2012

Rebels have reported that they are coming under heavy attacks in Syria’s Aleppo. Chinese media have told the United States to “shut up” about the dispute in the South China Sea and accusing the US of exacerbating tensions in the region. 19 people are dead after Kurdish rebels attacked military outposts in Turkey over the weekend. Israel barred the envoys of four state parties with which it has no diplomatic relations and as a result, the conference of the Non-Aligned Movement scheduled to take place in the...

07 Jul Weekend Roundup June 30-July 6, 2012

This week on Opinio Juris, we had Kevin Jon Heller weighing in on Melinda Taylor’s release in Libya and offering thoughts related to whether she should be prosecuted there. Additionally, Kevin Jon proposed a thought experiment regarding ICC-State cooperation in response to the Melinda Taylor situation and gave an analysis offering more evidence as to why Libya is unable to prosecute Saif al-Islam Gaddafi with regard to its admissability challenge to the ICC, which he urged the Pre-Trial Chamber to reject until Libya could demonstrate control over Saif....

16 Nov Weekday News Wrap: Friday, November 16, 2012

Israel has intensified its aerial bombardment on the Gaza strip, after shells targeted Tel Aviv for the first time in 20 years. CNN has a Q&A about the conflict. Syrian opposition leaders are in London to meet UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. The UK has summoned the Spanish Ambassador after Spanish naval vessels allegedly intruded in Gibraltar territorial waters. The UK Ambassador to Spain was in turn summoned after a series of incidents involving Spanish fishermen and the Gibraltar police in Spanish waters. On Saturday, President Obama...

05 Jul Weekday News Wrap: July 5, 2012

Paraguay has recalled its ambassador in Venezuela in protest over allegations that the Venezuelan government tried to encourage Paraguay’s military leaders to defend the recently impeached leftist President Lugo. Yasser Arafat’s body may be exhumed to examine whether he died of polonium poisoning as revealed by an Al-Jazeera investigation. Palestinian officials are calling for an international inquiry. It’s a tough time for former IMF Managing Directors, as Spain’s Rodrigo Rato is now under investigation for his role as chief at the recently failed Bankia. As mentioned in...

20 Apr Weekday News Wrap: Friday, April 20, 2012

Anti-government protests (which forced the cancellation of last year’s event) occurred at the start of the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. The US Congress has communicated its intent to repatriate Canadian Guantanamo detainee, Omar Khadr, according to the NY Times. Abu Qatada has appealed the European Court of Human Rights’ decision to allow his deportation to Yemen, but the UK Government claims that the appeal was filed past the deadline. Prime Minister David Cameron added that he would like to put him on a plane himself were it...

02 Oct Weekday News Wrap: Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Oral arguments were heard yesterday for the second time before the US Supreme Court in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum; the transcript can be found here. You can already read the preliminary thoughts from a few of our regulars Roger, Deborah and Peter, and as Julian mentioned, starting today, we will have a roundtable discussion from a variety of guest contributors about their thoughts on the re-argumentation. Amid sanctions from Western nations, Iran’s rial currency plunged more than 25% in the last week. Geopolitics and resources have...

30 Nov Weekday News Wrap: Friday, November 30, 2012

As expected, the UN General Assembly Resolution granting non-member state status to Palestine passed on Thursday. Israel’s UN ambassador has called it a “reward for terrorism“. This article compares the votes of the European nations on Palestine’s UNESCO membership last year, and this year’s vote, and concludes that European support shifted towards the Palestinian authority. Private Bradley Manning took the stand today at the third day of the hearings in the Wikileaks case. UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon has recommended that the UN approve an African Union mission...