(Abuja, November 29, 2013) – Boko Haram has abducted scores of women
and girls, used children as young as 12 in hostilities, and killed
hundreds of people in recent attacks, Human Rights Watch said today. The
Nigerian government,
meanwhile, has failed to account for hundreds of men and boys whom
security forces have rounded up and forcibly disappeared during Boko
Haram’s four-year insurgency.
The rise of an anti-Boko Haram group allied with Nigerian security
forces, the so-called Civilian Joint Task Force, has added a worrisome
new dimension to the violence. Civilian Joint Task Force members inform
security forces about presumed local Boko Haram activity; the Islamist
group then retaliates against both the neighborhood vigilante group and
the broader community.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/11/29/nigeria-boko-haram-abducts-women-recruits-children
Friday 29 November 2013
Thursday 28 November 2013
France's new African war
IS FRANCE about to embark on another African military intervention?
Things certainly seem to be moving very fast in Paris. Just over ten
months after it dispatched soldiers and fighter jets to push back an
Islamist incursion in Mali, the French are putting things into place in
order to launch another operation, possibly as early as next week, this
time in the Central African Republic (CAR).
This is Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister, making the case for intervention in Le Figaro, a newspaper, on November 25th. He described a “collapsed state” in which violence, rape and executions by armed gangs was turning into inter-religious hatred. Intervention always had a cost. But, he wrote: “We don’t want tomorrow to pay the far higher price of inaction”.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2013/11/french-foreign-policy
This is Laurent Fabius, the foreign minister, making the case for intervention in Le Figaro, a newspaper, on November 25th. He described a “collapsed state” in which violence, rape and executions by armed gangs was turning into inter-religious hatred. Intervention always had a cost. But, he wrote: “We don’t want tomorrow to pay the far higher price of inaction”.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2013/11/french-foreign-policy
China fighter jets fly through disputed zone
Beijing's "defensive measure" raises stakes in standoff with US, South Korea and Japan over the disputed airspace.
China fighter jets fly through disputed zone - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English
China fighter jets fly through disputed zone - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English
Tuesday 26 November 2013
Monday 25 November 2013
Hundreds deported to Haiti from Dominican Republic
At least 350 people have been expelled to Haiti from The Dominican Republic, or have fled of their own accord, after an elderly Dominican couple was slain in an apparent burglary near the border between the two countries.
Hundreds deported to Haiti from DR - Americas - Al Jazeera English
Hundreds deported to Haiti from DR - Americas - Al Jazeera English
Britain warns Israel against actions that undermine Iran nuclear deal
So what kind of actions do they mean? Building houses or keeping the bomb? Things are so politicized that politicians loose their sense of distinction between real threats to peace and simbology of Palestinian narrative that includes everything from house building to air strikes against unmarmed civilians as the same issue. Now it seems the British also believe that Israel may undermine something that is still nothing.
Britain's Hague warns Israel against actions that undermine Iran nuclear deal - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
Saturday 23 November 2013
Egypt expels Turkey's ambassador
Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of the overthrow of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July, calling it an "unacceptable coup".
Since Morsi's election to the president's office in June 2012, his Muslim Brotherhood organisation has forged close ties with the governing AK Party of Erdogan.
Turkey was "attempting to influence public opinion against Egyptian interests, supported meetings of organisations that seek to create instability in the country", Badr Abdelatty, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Saturday.
Egypt expels Turkey's ambassador - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Since Morsi's election to the president's office in June 2012, his Muslim Brotherhood organisation has forged close ties with the governing AK Party of Erdogan.
Turkey was "attempting to influence public opinion against Egyptian interests, supported meetings of organisations that seek to create instability in the country", Badr Abdelatty, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Saturday.
Egypt expels Turkey's ambassador - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Friday 22 November 2013
Djihadistes britanniques tués en Syrie
Le ministère dit "avoir connaissance de 200 individus liés au Royaume-Uni qui se sont rendus en Syrie et qui sont un motif d'inquiétude", tout en précisant que "leur nombre réel est vraisemblablement plus élevé".
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2013/11/21/quatre-djihadistes-britanniques-tues-en-syrie_3518223_3218.html
Thursday 21 November 2013
Ukraine drops EU plans and looks to Russia
In dramatic turnaround, government says it is suspending trade pact preparations and talking to Russia again.
Ukraine drops EU plans and looks to Russia - Europe - Al Jazeera English
Wednesday 20 November 2013
Kurdish leader makes historic Turkey visit
It was a breakthrough moment: Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, shouting messages of peace to thousands of spectators.
It was an emotionally momentous day for Turkish Kurds for another reason as well. Iconic Kurdish poet and singer Sivan Perwer, who fled Turkey in 1976, accompanied Barzani on his trip and returned to his homeland after decades of exile.
Kurdish leader makes historic Turkey visit - Features - Al Jazeera English
Tuesday 19 November 2013
Armed group says it carried out Beirut blasts
A Lebanese group linked to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's double suicide bombing outside Iran's embassy in Beirut that killed at least 23 people, including a senior Iranian diplomat, and wounded more than 100 others.
The bombing in the Lebanese capital was one of the deadliest in a series of attacks targeting Hezbollah, the Shia armed group, and Shia strongholds in the country in recent months.
Armed group says it carried out Beirut blasts - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai attack
At least six Egyptian soldiers have been killled in a car-bomb attack in the volatile border region of northern Sinai, security officials said.
They said the car bomb struck a bus carrying the off-duty soldiers as it travelled on the road between the border town of Rafah and the coastal city of el-Arish. Twenty soldiers were wounded in the attack.
The soldiers belong to the 2nd Field Army, which is doing most of the fighting against Islamist fighters waging an insurgency against security forces in Sinai. The bus was on its way to Cairo, the officials said.
Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai attack - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Dozens killed in Baghdad in serial bombings
A spate of bombings in the Iraqi capital Baghdad mostly targeting Shia neighbourhoods has killed at least 24 people and wounded 65, security and medical officials said.
Dozens killed in Baghdad in serial bombings - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Venezuela's president granted wide powers
Venezuela's president granted wide powers |
Maduro now able to rule by decree after Congress grants him controversial new powers to make law without its approval. |
Venezuela's president granted wide powers - Americas - Al Jazeera English
Monday 18 November 2013
Sunday 17 November 2013
Saturday 16 November 2013
Sri Lanka says it will block UN rights probe
Denials of civilian onslaught
The Rajapakse regime has consistently denied any civilians were killed in the last stages of the war
when government troops routed Tamil Tiger rebels in their last stronghold.
However, the UN and rights groups have said as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the onslaught.
Sri Lanka says it will block UN rights probe - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English
Vietnam banker sentenced to death for fraud
Vietnam is rated one of the world's most corrupt nations and graft is a top concern for many ordinary people. The communist government has vowed to clamp down on the issue.
"There will be strict punishment for state cadres and officials who received bribes," warned the deputy prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, at an anti-corruption dialogue held in Hanoi on Tuesday, according to the government's website.
Vietnam resumed executions by lethal injection earlier this year, drawing criticism from the UN's human rights office.
Vietnam banker sentenced to death for fraud - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English
Friday 15 November 2013
High Court sees African migrants for what they are: People
It wasn’t only the asylum seekers whom the court saw as human beings: It was also attentive to the distress of residents of south Tel Aviv, where many of these asylum seekers live. But while recognizing that these residents feel their personal security has deteriorated as a result of the large numbers of African migrants living in their neighborhoods, Arbel rightly stressed that this problem can’t be solved by jailing innocents.
It would have been better had the court overturned the law not only because it infringed disproportionately on human rights, but also because it served an inappropriate purpose – jailing some people in order to deter others from coming to Israel. The court considered this issue, but ultimately failed to reach a decision.
Nevertheless, the ruling’s net result is to return the situation to what it was before this law was passed – namely, that someone can be jailed for the purpose of deportation for at most 60 days. It must be hoped that the cabinet and the Knesset will seize this opportunity to develop a policy that takes Israel’s obligations toward asylum seekers seriously and upholds both their rights and the rights of residents of south Tel Aviv, rather than pitting these two disadvantaged populations against each other.
High Court sees African migrants for what they are: People - National Israel News | Haaretz
It would have been better had the court overturned the law not only because it infringed disproportionately on human rights, but also because it served an inappropriate purpose – jailing some people in order to deter others from coming to Israel. The court considered this issue, but ultimately failed to reach a decision.
Nevertheless, the ruling’s net result is to return the situation to what it was before this law was passed – namely, that someone can be jailed for the purpose of deportation for at most 60 days. It must be hoped that the cabinet and the Knesset will seize this opportunity to develop a policy that takes Israel’s obligations toward asylum seekers seriously and upholds both their rights and the rights of residents of south Tel Aviv, rather than pitting these two disadvantaged populations against each other.
High Court sees African migrants for what they are: People - National Israel News | Haaretz
Should we worry about bill requiring Knesset supermajority to negotiate on Jerusalem?
Of course, the bill has a political dimension, and not an innocuous one. Its purpose is to thwart the peace talks. The introductory notes show that the bill's intention is to even prevent "a debate” on the status of Jerusalem. What is more, today the Basic Law on Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel requires a 61-MK majority to cede portions of the city to a foreign entity - but there is no restriction on raising the issue in peace negotiation.
Other than that, this bill also has several legal flaws. Since the issue of Jerusalem is one of the core issues that will be addressed, in one way or another, in a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, the bill contradicts previous commitments Israel made. The Oslo Accords, for one, stipulate that Jerusalem will feature - alongside other issues like the Palestinian refugees, the settlements, security arrangements and borders - in the final-status stage of the talks.
Should we worry about bill requiring Knesset supermajority to negotiate on Jerusalem? - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
Other than that, this bill also has several legal flaws. Since the issue of Jerusalem is one of the core issues that will be addressed, in one way or another, in a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, the bill contradicts previous commitments Israel made. The Oslo Accords, for one, stipulate that Jerusalem will feature - alongside other issues like the Palestinian refugees, the settlements, security arrangements and borders - in the final-status stage of the talks.
Should we worry about bill requiring Knesset supermajority to negotiate on Jerusalem? - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
U.S. intervention in Syria - humanitarian action or a new imperialism?
The non-legal questions of how, or even if the use of force will improve the situation will remain crucial to the discussion.
U.S. intervention in Syria - humanitarian action or a new imperialism? - Middle East Israel News | Haaretz
U.S. intervention in Syria - humanitarian action or a new imperialism? - Middle East Israel News | Haaretz
The case against detention without trial
It should be remembered that administrative detention is incarceration without trial. It can lead to long-term imprisonment without the requirements of evidence needed for a criminal conviction. We should be reducing the use of this tool, not expanding it into the realm of criminal justice.
The case against detention without trial - Opinion Israel News | Haaretz
The case against detention without trial - Opinion Israel News | Haaretz
Top Brazil leaders jailed in corruption case
Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered former leaders of the ruling Workers' Party to begin serving sentences following landmark convictions over a congressional vote-buying scheme in a country with a long history of political corruption.
Jose Dirceu, a party founder and former chief of staff to former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, turned himself in to federal police on Friday evening to begin serving a prison sentence of more than 10 years.
He is one of 12 ordered to serve time over a scandal that nearly toppled the government during the first of the left-leaning party's three administrations.
Top Brazil leaders jailed in corruption case - Americas - Al Jazeera English
Jose Dirceu, a party founder and former chief of staff to former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, turned himself in to federal police on Friday evening to begin serving a prison sentence of more than 10 years.
He is one of 12 ordered to serve time over a scandal that nearly toppled the government during the first of the left-leaning party's three administrations.
Top Brazil leaders jailed in corruption case - Americas - Al Jazeera English
Africans push UN to call off 'racist' court - Features - Al Jazeera English
This latest pushback against the ICC was hatched at a special African Union summit held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, last month. The meeting was called at the behest of the Kenyans but many other African nations are equally keen to attack the court.
"The ICC has been hijacked and it is being used selectively in a reckless manner," Uganda's deputy foreign minister, Asuman Kiyingi, told Al Jazeera.
"We do believe that the ICC, if used appropriately, can check impunity. But if it is used in a very selective manner, and without taking into due consideration what the African leadership is saying, then, of course, it can cause us problems
Africans push UN to call off 'racist' court - Features - Al Jazeera English
Afghan refugees weigh options as 2014 looms
"Who would want to come back in these conditions? The number of people fleeing Afghanistan far exceeds those coming back," said Dr Abdul Samad Hami, deputy minister of the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR). "The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) is increasing and the out-migration is increasing too. This year, there has been a spike in the applications for European countries."
Many of those who cannot afford to move further afield are fleeing to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan already hosts more Afghan refugees than any other country, with 1.6 million Afghans living there, and Iran has the second-highest figure, giving refuge to more than 800,000. As of September 30 this year, there were 590,184 Afghans registered by UN refugee agency UNHCR as "internally displaced", compared with about 425,000 as of the middle of last year.
Afghan refugees weigh options as 2014 looms - Features - Al Jazeera English
Africans decry 'discrimination' in India
"There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India, but there are over a million Indians living in Nigeria.Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if the forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop," Jacob Nwadibia, an administrative attaché of the Nigerian high commission in New Delhi, said.
Africans decry 'discrimination' in India - In Depth - Al Jazeera English
China to ease decades-old one-child policy
China will loosen its decades-old one-child policy by allowing two children for families with one parent who was an only child and will abolish a much-criticised labour camp system, its ruling Communist Party said.
The changes were part of a key policy document released by the official Xinhua News Agency on Friday following a four-day meeting of party leaders through Tuesday in Beijing. The document also seeks to map out China's economic policy for the coming years.
China to ease decades-old one-child policy - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English
Thursday 14 November 2013
Syrian troops make further gains in Damascus
Regime forces capture the town of Hejeira in the capital's suburbs and continue to advance in northern city of Aleppo.
Last updated: 13 Nov 2013 20:03
Syrian troops make further gains in Damascus - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Wednesday 13 November 2013
Morsi: my removal was treason against Egypt
Deposed Egyptian president says in statement that he was kidnapped by the military a day before his removal from office.
Morsi: my removal was treason against Egypt - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Monday 11 November 2013
Brasil e Peru consolidam aliança com visita de Dilma
Peru e Brasil, que compartilham uma tensa fronteira e têm seus territórios banhados pelo Amazonas, darão particular importância ao cuidado com o meio ambiente através de um acordo relativo à monitoração e vigilância da região amazônica.
Outros dos compromissos abordam a redução de tarifas da telefonia móvel nas zonas de fronteira para a vigência de preços locais e não internacionais, assim como um acordo de cooperação trabalhista orientado a dar facilidades aos trabalhadores de ambos países.
http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/afp/2013/11/11/brasil-e-peru-consolidam-alianca-com-visita-de-dilma.htm#fotoNavId=pr10021782
Outros dos compromissos abordam a redução de tarifas da telefonia móvel nas zonas de fronteira para a vigência de preços locais e não internacionais, assim como um acordo de cooperação trabalhista orientado a dar facilidades aos trabalhadores de ambos países.
http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/afp/2013/11/11/brasil-e-peru-consolidam-alianca-com-visita-de-dilma.htm#fotoNavId=pr10021782
UN to rule on Thai-Cambodian border row
The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) is due to rule on the territorial dispute on Monday but there are fears the decision will revive nationalist tensions between the countries and could spark renewed clashes
UN to rule on Thai-Cambodian border row - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English
Saturday 9 November 2013
Journalists in Syria face growing risk of abduction
At least 30 journalists have been reported missing while covering Syria's civil war; the widespread kidnapping is unprecedented.
Journalists in Syria face growing risk of abduction - Middle East Israel News | Haaretz
Friday 8 November 2013
The 100 deadliest civil wars and armed conflicts since the second world war
Civil wars and armed conflicts
Inner turmoil
http://www.economist.com/content/inner-turmoil?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/dc/innerturmoil
Monday 4 November 2013
Report: Medics complicit in CIA prison abuse
Medical professionals helped design, enable and participated in "torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment" of detainees, according to the report released on Monday.
Report: Medics complicit in CIA prison abuse - Americas - Al Jazeera English
PM condemns Pakistani Taliban chief's killing
Nawaz Sharif says violence will not gain peace, in first comments since drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud.
PM condemns Pakistani Taliban chief's killing - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English
Sunday 3 November 2013
Tunisia extends state of emergency
State of emergency, which has been in place since 2011 uprisng, is extended by eight months to June 2014.
Tunisia extends state of emergency - Africa - Al Jazeera English
Dozens killed in Nigeria wedding attack
At least 30 killed, including groom, when convoy was ambushed on highway in northeastern state of Borno.
Dozens killed in Nigeria wedding attack - Africa - Al Jazeera English
Saturday 2 November 2013
Suicide attack tests Tunisia's transition
Tunis, Tunisia - On Wednesday morning, October 31, a suicide bomber blew himself up on the beach outside a luxury hotel in Sousse, one of Tunisia's major tourist destinations.
Suicide attack tests Tunisia's transition - Features - Al Jazeera English
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