How the West must share the blame for Aleppo's day of horror
Western powers – including the UK – will have to bear some responsibility for the abject policy that has contributed to the suffering of tens of thousands of civilians
The fall of Aleppo will have great resonance in Syria’s savage civil war. Apart from its symbolic value, it will mean that the regime now controls what was once the country’s largest city and commercial centre. It will broadcast the potency of Russian military power and the abject failure of Western policy in this crisis. It will mean that Bashar al-Assad has the enemy he has always wanted. But it will not mean that the bloodshed is going to end anytime soon.
As the regime’s forces continued to clear the last corners of what the opposition calls “Free Aleppo” the House of Commons in London held an emergency debate on Tuesday. Amid much hand-wringing George Osborne acknowledged “this tragedy was created by a vacuum of Western leadership, of American leadership, British leadership”.
Anwar Ibrahim: Malaysian court upholds jailing of key rival to PM
Former opposition leader was considered the greatest political threat to prime minister Najib Razak, but ruling bans him from running in 2018 election
Anwar Ibrahim, the former leader of the Malaysian opposition, has lost a final appeal to have his prison sentence for sodomy overturned and will serve out the remaining 16 months of his sentence in jail.
Significantly the ruling means Anwar will not be allowed to contest the next election in 2018, which the opposition saw as their best chance to unseat prime minister Najib Razak and end his ruling party’s six decades in power.
A five-member panel of judges ruled unanimously that there was no merit in Anwar’s application for a review of his 2014 conviction, his final legal option for an acquittal.
US declassifies Argentina's 'Dirty War' files amid reports of military upgrade
The White House has published intelligence documents showing US officials encouraging a crackdown on leftists in Argentina. Up to 30,000 people disappeared under the Argentine military junta between 1975 and 1984.
The US government on Monday declassified approximately 500 records on Argentina's brutal military dictatorship between 1975 and 1984, also known as the "Dirty War" period.
The second batch of declassified documents form part of US President Barack Obama's pledge to shed light on human rights abuses committed under the military junta. During the military dictatorship, Argentine authorities routinely detained and tortured leftist dissidents.
"The declassification project represents a historic effort by US government agencies and departments to search, identify, review for public access, and provide records that shed light on human rights abuses in Argentina between 1975 and 1984," the Obama administration said in a statement.
Can Putin, Abe change Asia Pacific power dynamic?
Updated 0745 GMT (1545 HKT) December 14, 2016
They're the islands where World War II never ended and now they're the focal point of a rare meeting between the leaders of Japan and Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes his first visit to Japan in 11 years on Thursday with Tokyo hopeful of progress in getting Russia to return islands in the Kuril chain that the then-Soviet Union seized three days after Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.
It's been a sore spot in Japan-Russia relations for the past 71 years and is something that both Moscow and Tokyo are looking to leverage to enhance their security and economic interests in the Pacific.
How forensics is boosting the battle against wildlife trade
SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
From rapid genetic analysis to spectrography, high-tech tools are being used to track down and prosecute perpetrators of the illegal wildlife trade – offering hope in stopping the trafficking of endangered species.
Feisal Mohammed Ali, a prominent member of the Kenyan business community, was convicted last July of trafficking two tons of elephant ivory found in a Fuji Motors parking lot in Mombasa. The landmark ruling came after two years of drama: Feisal’s flight to Tanzania, his capture and repatriation, the disappearance of nine vehicles that were major evidence in the case, and accusations of evidence tampering.
The landmark wildlife crime verdict – and 20-year sentence for Feisal – in part came down to political will, courtroom monitoring by NGOs, and police work. Also key, experts say, was the ability to use genetic tests to tie the illegally trafficked elephant tusks from different shipments to the cartel headed by Feisal.
Brazil: Clashes as Senate approves 20-year austerity plan
The Brazilian Senate has approved a controversial amendment to the constitution capping public spending for the next 20 years.
The approval of the austerity measure is an important victory for President Michel Temer.
He took office earlier this year promising to lead the country out of its worst recession in many decades.
Protests against the measure turned violent in the capital Brasilia and at least a dozen states in the country.
The opposition says the measures will mainly hit areas such as health and education, which are already underfunded.
No comments:
Post a Comment