Occupy the ICC
/ 9 December 2011

Occupy the ICC

As negotiations entered the 11th hour at COP17, activists chanted slogans to the ICC. Those who saw out the peaceful protest were escorted out by UN security.

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/ 31 May 2008

Somalia talks resume in Djibouti

Negotiations sponsored by the United Nations and aimed at bringing the Somali government and its main political foes into direct dialogue were due to resume on Saturday in Djibouti. The first round of discussions ended on May 16 and although the rivals did not engage in direct talks, the move was seen as a breakthrough in efforts to end conflict.

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/ 25 May 2008

Lebanon’s Suleiman set to become president

Lebanon’s Parliament is set to elect army chief General Michel Suleiman as the country’s president on Sunday, filling a post left vacant for six months by a political crisis that threatened a new civil war. A Qatari-brokered deal last week between rival Lebanese leaders defused 18 months of political stalemate that erupted into fighting this month.

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/ 22 May 2008

UN chief presses case in Burma for more aid

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon flew to Burma on Thursday to press the ruling generals to allow a full-blown international aid effort for 2,4-million people left destitute by Cyclone Nargis. The government’s official toll is 77 738 people killed and 55 917 missing, and it also estimates the damage to the economy at -billion.

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/ 19 May 2008

Call for world to do more to stop Darfur violence

A leading human rights group accused the international community on Monday of not doing enough to deter Sudan from new attacks in Darfur, where it cited a return to ”scorched-earth” policies. Human Rights Watch said the United Nations Security Council should impose sanctions on Sudanese officials behind attacks on civilians in Darfur in February.

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/ 9 May 2008

UN agency suspends Burma flights after seizure

The United Nations food agency suspended aid flights to cyclone-struck Burma on Friday after the military government seized two deliveries at Rangoon airport, apparently determined to distribute supplies on its own. Governments around the world have been pressing Burma’s ruling generals to open the country’s borders to desperately needed assistance.

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/ 2 May 2008

Top cleric vows crushing response if Iran attacked

A top cleric on Friday vowed that Iran would deal a knock-out blow to what he called maniacs in the United States and Israel if they ever attacked the Islamic republic. ”If maniacs in Washington or Tel Aviv seek to take action, the Iranian nation will slap them so hard they will not get off the floor,” hard-line cleric Ahmad Khatami said.

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/ 30 April 2008

Tsvangirai wins Zim vote, say sources

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe’s presidential election, winning 47% of the vote against the president’s 43%, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing senior government sources. One source, declining to be named, told Reuters a run-off would be needed because Tsvangirai did not win enough votes for an outright victory.

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/ 26 April 2008

A neocon by any other name

Robert Kagan, author, essayist, former diplomat, pre-eminent thinker of what is called ”neoconservatism” — and now foreign policy adviser to Republican presidential nominee John McCain — would like it to be known that there are many things that he is not.

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/ 17 April 2008

Mbeki must go, says Tsvangirai

President Thabo Mbeki must be relieved of his duties as mediator in the current impasse in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said in Johannesburg on Thursday. ”We want to thank President Mbeki for all of his efforts, but President Mbeki needs to be relieved of his duties,” he told reporters.

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/ 16 April 2008

Dozens arrested in clampdown on Zim strike

President Robert Mugabe’s security forces clamped down hard on unrest during a general strike in Zimbabwe, arresting dozens of opposition supporters before the stoppage fizzled out on Wednesday. The security forces scaled back their presence in the capital as it became clear that the call for people to remain off work had failed.

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/ 16 April 2008

Zim to haunt Mbeki at UN summit

South African President Thabo Mbeki had intended to lead a summit on Wednesday at the United Nations in New York that would focus on the increasing peacekeeping chores of African Union troops. But on Tuesday, it became clear that Mbeki would not be able to dodge the ongoing election crisis in Zimbabwe.

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/ 9 April 2008

Zille: SA must push UN to intervene in Zim

South Africa should use its powerful position on the United Nations Security Council to put the Zimbabwean election saga on the international body’s agenda, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Wednesday. Zille, who is currently in New York, said in a statement she would meet South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations.