NEWS INTERNATIONAL
23 May 2023
(BBC)
Two months after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes, the Kremlin has issued a warrant for the arrest of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan. The ICC has dismissed it as an attempt to undermine its “lawful mandate to ensure accountability” for Russian activities in Ukraine.
22 May 2023
(BBC)
Idaho-based Micron Technology, the largest U.S. memory chip manufacturer, has been banned from major Chinese infrastructure projects on grounds that it poses “serious network security risks.” It is the first major retaliation for a series of similar U.S. measures against China’s chip sector.
19 May 2023
(BBC)
Suspended from the Arab League in 2011 when civil war erupted, Syria has been readmitted, prompting President Bashar al-Assad to call it an “historic opportunity” for Arab states to remake their region “with the least amount of foreign interference.”
19 May 2023
(CP)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other G7 leaders kicked off their summit in Japan today by announcing new sanctions against 17 Russian individuals and 18 “entities” due to human rights abuses in Ukraine. They also announced new funding they said will help to guard against nuclear weapon proliferation.
18 May 2023
(Globe & Mail)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Japan today for the opening of a G7 summit in Hiroshima. Japanese PM Fumio Kishida chose his hometown for the meeting to highlight the risk of a nuclear confrontation as Russia ramps up its rhetoric about Ukraine and its allies.
16 May 2023
(Breaking Defense)
The latest cybersecurity survey by Texas-based SolarWinds shows that foreign governments’ activities are the top concern for IT professionals at all levels of government in the U.S. Some 60 per cent of respondents ranked them as one of the greatest threats in 2023 compared with 41 per cent two years earlier. “More and more nation states use the cyber landscape to execute aggressive espionage campaigns, as well as other cyberattacks like ransomware and spyware,” says SolarWinds Vice-President Brandon Shopp.
16 May 2023
(CBC)
The three-year-old U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement “isn't worth the paper it's printed on without meaningful compliance and enforcement,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark said May 15. Naming “just a few examples”, she faulted the U.S. for not implement a ruling on automotive parts, Canada for not enhancing dairy market access, and Mexico for not meeting energy obligations.
16 May 2023
(BBC)
Amnesty International reports that the number of executions confirmed globally in 2022 was the highest in five years, with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt accounting for 90 per cent of the total. A total of 883 executions were performed across 20 countries, up 53 per cent from 2021, but AI notes the exclusion of China, which is thought to execute thousands each year. There were five in the U.S.
15 May 2023
(BBC)
In a clear repudiation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a 2014 coup, opposition parties are evidently set for a coalition majority in Thailand’s Parliament. “People have had enough in the last decade,” said Pita Limjaroenrat, whose Move Forward party has won 151 of 500 seats in the May 14 election. The second-largest party, Pheu Thai, has agreed to join Move Forward and four smaller opposition parties.
15 May 2023
(BBC)
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his main opposition rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, are headed for a May 28 election run-off vote. Erdoğan led the first round in the May 14 general election with 49.51 per cent of the vote to the National Alliance leader’s 44.88 but needed a clear majority to extend his 20-year