A diplomatic offensive by the Sudanese president has endangered the ICC’s charges against him, writes Simon Tisdall.
China’s Year of the Earth Rat has produced more than its fair share of shocks for the modern-day mandarins of Beijing. The earthquake that ripped a hole in the heart of the country on Monday is but the latest rollercoaster crisis to rock the communist leadership’s vision of a smoothly advancing 21st-century superpower.
Last September the Burmese people were on the streets, fighting for their political rights. Now they are on their knees, fighting for their lives. In both cases the main obstacle they face is the military junta that has ruled the country with merciless brutality since the 1988 coup.
A claim by the senior United Nations official in charge of humanitarian relief that up to 300Â 000 people have died in Darfur, western Sudan, since fighting erupted there in 2003 has reignited controversy over whether mortality figures are being deliberately inflated, or understated, for political reasons.
A cacophony of Washington voices is again attempting to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its ”malign influence” in Iraq and its suspect nuclear activities. Although military options remain on hold, Bush administration officials have been in briefings for the first time on possible targets inside the Islamic republic.
As Lionel Shriver once wrote, we need to talk about Kevin. It’s not as though Australia’s prime minister is likely to shoot up the school gym. But if hypercritical domestic media are to be believed, Kevin Rudd has a lot of personal problems. On substantial matters of policy, Rudd lacks vision, a crusty editorial in The Australian complained last week.
The recent upturn in violence in Iraq has dramatically underscored just how difficult it will be for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton to launch a speedy troop withdrawal if they win the presidency. March was the most lethal month there since last August when the United States military ”surge” peaked.
The road from Harar runs for more than 960km east towards the border with Somalia, penetrating deep into the desiccated badlands of the Ogaden desert, the dusty heart of Ethiopia’s war-torn Somali regional state. This is the land that the self-styled separatists of the Ogaden National Liberation Front claim as their own.
Hardliners in Washington, Beijing and Taipei continue to warn of an explosive military confrontation between China and the United States as Taiwan’s short-fuse presidential election draws close. But growing evidence suggests hawks on both sides are purposefully exaggerating the risks.
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/ 7 December 2007
For most people Washington’s second thoughts about the seriousness of the Iranian nuclear ”threat” will come as a great relief. Those in the Bush administration who appeared bent on forcing a military confrontation with Tehran some time next year will now face greater difficulties in making their case. George W Bush’s ”third world war” is on hold — at least for now, writes Simon Tisdall.