By Gareth Evans, Australian National University | – Since a United Nations General Assembly Resolution vote in November 2012, Palestine has had the status of a state within the UN system. It is not a full member state but, like the Holy See, a non-member observer state. Australia – after a heady debate within the […]
Archives for June 2023
Iran, U.S. Renew Engagement To Avoid ‘Big Crisis’
By Golnaz Esfandiari I’m RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here’s what I’ve been following during the past week and what I’m watching for in the days ahead. ( RFE/RL) – Iran said it is engaged in indirect talks with the United States over a possible prisoner swap and the lifting of crippling American sanctions. […]
Breaching 1.5°C / 2.7° F. Climate limit would jeopardise Security, says new German govt Strategy
By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Exceeding the 1.5°C / 2.7° F. temperature limit of the Paris Climate Agreement would jeopardise the prospect of living in security and prosperity in Germany and globally, says Germany’s first-ever National Security Strategy. In the document, the government addresses growing threats that include the […]
Xi Jinping backs Palestine entry into Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as Beijing offers to Mediate Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas accomplished a great deal on his 4-day visit to Beijing, including a Chinese agreement to try to bring Palestine into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, if the other members agree. Chinese President Xi Jinping and he announced on Tuesday a strategic partnership. Some months ago Foreign Minister […]
To Avert Climate Catastrophe, US and Europe must stop Competing and Start Cooperating
Originally published in European Alternatives. ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – From a foreign policy perspective, transatlantic relations appear to have reached new heights. The United States and European Union both support Ukraine’s efforts to expel Russian troops from its territory. On the military front, NATO is enjoying boom times thanks to the reemergence […]
Oceans absorb 30% of our CO2 Emissions; Phytoplankton are Central to its Climate Impacts
By Tyler Rohr, University of Tasmania; Anthony Richardson, The University of Queensland; and Elizabeth Shadwick, CSIRO | – The ocean holds 60 times more carbon than the atmosphere and absorbs almost 30% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from human activities. This means the ocean is key to understanding the global carbon cycle and thus our […]
9/11, Climate Change Style: How burning Fossil Fuels is making our own Planet Alien to Us
( Tomdispatch.com ) – As it turns out, it’s never too late. I mention that only because last week, at nearly 79, I managed to visit Mars for the first time. You know, the red planet, or rather — so it seemed to me — the orange planet. And take my word for it, it […]
Iran confirms it is Talking with the Biden Administration about Nuclear Enrichment, Prisoners and Regional Relations
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is coming out that the US and Iran have been talking privately in Oman about a range of bilateral issues, including prisoner exchanges and Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program. This news emerged, according to Barak Ravid at Axios in the form of a complaint from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin […]
Governments at Bonn Climate Talks Should Press United Arab Emirates on Rights
Joe Stork Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa Division (Human Rights Watch ) – Ahmed Mansoor, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) best-known human rights defender, has been arbitrarily imprisoned, in isolation, since security forces raided his home just before midnight on March 20, 2017. Local media reported he was arrested and convicted for publishing […]
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