19 September 2012
French weekly fuels Mohammad row with cartoons
Nicholas Vinocur/Reuters
France will temporarily close its embassies and schools in twenty countries on Friday due to security concerns following the publication of a cartoon depicting caricatures of the prophet Mohammad.France will temporarily close its embassies and schools in twenty countries on Friday due to security concerns following the publication of a cartoon depicting caricatures of the prophet Mohammad.
Sudan Threatens to Expel Foreign Aid Agencies
Radio Dabanga in AllAfrica
Sudan’s Commissioner of Humanitarian Aid (HAC) has announced that foreign aid organizations that refuse to sign an agreement with HAC will be asked to leave the country. The agreement, which goes into effect in 2013, requires foreign organizations desiring to work in Sudan to have national partners and bans the provision of relief “via air or across borders.”
Antarctic ozone hole smaller than in 2011
Stephanie Nebehay/Reuters
GENEVA – The hole in the ozone layer, the earth’s protective shield against ultraviolet rays, is expected to be smaller this year over the Antarctic than last, showing how a ban on harmful substances has stopped its depletion, the United Nations said on Friday.
Nuclear Fusion Nears Efficiency Break-Even
Kate Taylor/TG Daily
Nuclear fusion is very close to the point where the amount of energy produced by the system equals or surpasses what’s been put in. Sandia scientists say that magnetically imploded tubes called liners, intended to help produce controlled nuclear fusion at scientific “breakeven energies or better, have functioned successfully in preliminary tests.
U.S. fears potential increase in terrorist movement
Guy Taylor/Washington Times
The State Department fears that terrorists are moving to exploit the wave of anti-American anger sweeping the Muslim world after a group linked to al Qaeda called for more attacks on U.S. diplomats and a suicide bomber killed 12 foreign workers in Afghanistan on Tuesday.
John Locke’s Lesson for the Arab World
Richard A. Epstein/Hoover Institution
This past week saw the murder of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American diplomats in Libya, while a fresh wave of riots and attacks on American embassies and schools took place throughout the Islamic world, from North Africa to South Asia. Clearly, the so-called Arab Spring is in disarray as intolerance rises rapidly throughout the region.
Lessons From the Past for Today’s Iran
Walter Pincus/Washington Post
A recently declassified CIA self-analysis of its misreading of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s reaction to U.N. inspections of his weapons of mass destruction program may yield insights on Iran.
E.U.-Iran Nuclear Talks ‘Useful and Constructive’
Associated Press
On Wednesday, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, reported that talks with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had been positive. Lady Ashton will brief representatives of the US and five other world powers next week about her progress in trying to restart talks with Iran.
REFILE-Iran awaits outcome of U.N. meeting before further nuclear talks
Reuters
Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, commented in a news conference that he will wait until he hears back on how European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s meeting with the US and five other countries go before scheduling any additional talks with her.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
A Coming Water Crisis?
Xander Vagg
Last Tuesday, the InterAction Council and the United Nations University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health released a report detailing the emerging threat of water scarcity. Here’s why it matters.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on the South China Sea
Yong Wang
On September 12, four experts on the South China Sea testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Beijing as an emerging power in the South China Sea.”
ASEAN and the South China Sea Dispute
Yong Wang
ASEAN held a series of meetings from September 12-15, high on the agenda was the South China Sea dispute. At the same time it is working on a Code of Conduct to help resolve the conflict.
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