African States Want to Condemn Israel While Ignoring Darfur
African nations preparing for a major United Nations racism conference next year want Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians on the agenda, but not the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. Read
scribbling on the state of the planet
African nations preparing for a major United Nations racism conference next year want Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians on the agenda, but not the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. Read
Russia on Thursday will get its first clear indication of whether it can expect support for its Caucasian muscle-flexing from some quarters of the international community, when leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meet for an annual summit. Read
A fresh escalation in an already serious security situation in Pakistan has prompted the government to ban the Taliban. The step goes beyond those taken by former President Pervez Musharraf during his almost nine years in power. Read
The International Olympic Committee insisted Sunday that awarding the 2008 summer games to Beijing was the right thing to do, even as human rights groups lined up to hand the Chinese government – and the IOC – failing grades. Read
In a move likely to exacerbate the rift between Moscow and the West, both houses of the Russian parliament on Monday were expected to urge President Dmitry Medvedev to recognize Georgia’s breakaway regions as independent. Read
The deepening rift between Russia and the West over the invasion of Georgia may spur a resurgent Moscow to seek strengthened ties with other countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus, with ramifications for U.S. security interests in the region. Read
The decision by Belarus’ autocratic government to release political prisoners has fueled debate about whether Moscow’s closest post-Soviet ally has been unnerved by the Russia-Georgia war into speeding up efforts to improve ties with the West. Read
A controversial peace deal with Islamic separatists in the southern Philippines is in jeopardy after hundreds of radicals killed more than 30 people in attacks on several Christian-majority towns, shooting and hacking their victims to death. Read
At a time when the U.S. is moving towards full normalization of relations with Libya, Muammar Gaddafi’s son has made it clear that the North African nation is looking to Russia as its strategic partner. Read
Russia’s military intervention in Georgia in the face of Western protests is being viewed by some in the Arab world as evidence of American weakness, with media commentators voicing barely-disguised delight at what they see as a defeat for Washington. Read
In a move that will further strain relations already chilly over Russia’s military intervention in Georgia, the Bush administration is wasting little time nailing down an agreement to deploy elements of a controversial missile defense system in Poland. Read
Saying history would judge him, Pakistan’s beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf on Monday announced his resignation, ending a lengthy political crisis and depriving the United States of a key, if sometimes inconsistent, ally in the campaign against Islamist terrorism. Read
The missile defense shield deal reached Thursday between the American and Polish governments includes systems to protect Poland against the type of short-range missiles Russia reportedly used against Georgia this week. Read
President Bush has hinted that Moscow’s invasion of Georgia may have consequences for Russia’s interaction with the international community, but a unified European position in support of that stand appears unlikely. Read
While Georgia has been the focus of Russia’s military action in recent days, Moscow’s willingness to send in tanks and troops also is resonating loudly 900 miles northwest of Tbilisi, in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Read
Euthanasia has returned to the political agenda in Australia, with several new attempts to liberalize laws at a time when the country’s most prominent right-to-die campaigner is courting fresh controversy. Read
As fighting in the Caucasus continues, the U.N. Security Council looks increasingly impotent, with four meetings in as many days failing to achieve agreement on what to do or say about the conflict. Read
When the Olympic Games kick off in Beijing on Friday, Saudi Arabia’s team will, as usual, include no women. Critics say countries that prohibit women from taking part should be banned from the competition. Read
As President and Mrs. Bush head to China, three American Christians who were briefly detained Wednesday for protesting in Tiananmen Square were arrested again on Thursday when they tried to hold a press conference at the Beijing landmark. Read
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was forced to cancel a visit to Bolivia on Tuesday after protests against his left-wing ally, President Evo Morales, turned violent. Read
Islamic nations trying to prevent the handover of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court have been pressing for the ICC to try Israeli leaders. They recently endorsed the trial of fugitive Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic before a different war crimes tribunal. Read
As President Bush headed for Asia Tuesday, protestors in South Korea, his first stop, prepared to stage mass demonstrations, while the country’s conservative president called for a further strengthening of the Seoul-Washington ties. Read
The uproar over Internet censorship at the Beijing Olympics media center has achieved in days what years of advocacy have not: Some Web sites critical of Chinese policies are now available, not just at the Games facility but also elsewhere in the capital. Read
A negotiated agreement to expand an autonomous Islamic homeland in the southern Philippines is prompting fears of renewed violence between Muslims and Christians in an area that has known decades of bloodshed. Read
Under increasing pressure from the U.S., Indian and Afghan governments, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani reportedly is planning a renewed effort to rein in his country’s powerful external intelligence agency, which has been linked to terrorism across the region. Read
Under withering criticism over Internet censorship, the International Olympic Committee sought Thursday to turn the spotlight back on the Chinese government, denying that it made any secret deal to permit the blocking of sensitive Web sites during the Beijing Olympics. Read