sovereignty

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Amid Mideast Conflict, a New Accusation From Lebanon

Nation says Israel's killing of Hamas leader near Beirut violates its sovereignty

(Newser) - Israel hasn't confirmed it's responsible for a Tuesday drone strike in Lebanon that took out Saleh al-Arouri, the highest-ranking Hamas figure killed since war erupted in October. But Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has condemned the killing of the 57-year-old founding member of Hamas' military wing and six...

Supreme Court Rejects Puerto Rico's Sovereignty

Case was on the narrow grounds of a criminal prosecution

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Puerto Rico in a politically charged dispute over the island's power to enforce its own criminal laws. The justices ruled 6-2 that the US territory can't prosecute people for local crimes if they've already been convicted of similar charges in...

Falklands Votes to Stay British, 1,513 to 3

99.8% of islanders happy with status quo

(Newser) - The referendum on whether Falkland Islanders want to remain British has ended with a vote overwhelmingly in favor of the status quo. With turnout above 90%, 1,513 voters wanted the disputed islands to remain a British overseas territory while just three voted no, reports the BBC . "It is...

Mississippi Weighs Bill to Ignore Federal Laws

HB 490 seeks to assert 'sovereignty' of state

(Newser) - Angry about ObamaCare and the president's gun control proposals, two Mississippi state representatives have filed a bill to create the Joint Legislative Committee on the Neutralization of Federal Laws, reports the AP . Republicans Gary Chism and Jeff Smith say the bill is about supporting states rights and clawing back...

Pakistan Report: Nobody Knew bin Laden Was There

West is less than impressed with 'joke' investigation

(Newser) - After investigating for a year and a half, an independent Pakistani inquiry concludes that the government can't be blamed for Osama bin Laden's presence in the country for a very simple reason: No one knew he was there. The Daily Telegraph doesn't expect the claim to sit...

US Hands Over Last Iraq Prison

A milestone for sovereignty, challenge for the government

(Newser) - The last American-run prison in Iraq will be handed over to the Iraqis today, marking the end of a massive US prison system that has processed more than 100,000 Iraqis since the fall of Baghdad. Tariq Aziz and other former high-ranking members of Saddam Hussein's regime were handed over...

US Refuses to Recognize Iroquois Passports

Lacrosse team blocked from foreign competition

(Newser) - US officials are refusing to recognize passports held by Iroquois native Americans, blocking champion lacrosse players from traveling to a top international competition in Great Britain. The Iroquois Nationals, including players from upstate New York and Canada, have been traveling for 20 years with the passports, which were issued by...

Parade, Jubilation Follow US Pullout of Iraqi Cities

Maliki warns media not to question his forces' abilities

(Newser) - Iraq held its first full military parade since the fall of Saddam today—now known as Sovereignty Day—to celebrate the official withdrawal of US troops from cities and towns. The proceedings took place inside the Green Zone and were screened on television, but several media outlets, including the New ...

GOP Takes Aim at Obama High Court Noms

(Newser) - Republican groups have already prepared dossiers and attack strategies on a host of possible Obama Supreme Court nominees, the New York Times reports. Ten memos obtained by the Times—all about female judges and scholars—focus on records of abortion rights, gay rights, and the citing of foreign laws. Weakened...

Canada Gets Creative on Arctic Sovereignty

(Newser) - Canada has a message for Europe: Keep your mitts off our Arctic. The government has begun a multi-pronged strategy that combines tough diplomatic talk with a flurry of cultural events across the continent that stress the nation's long ties to the region, the Globe and Mail reports. Canada knows it...

As Crisis Bites, UK Changes Stance on Tibet
As Crisis Bites, UK Changes Stance on Tibet
OPINION

As Crisis Bites, UK Changes Stance on Tibet

After a century of hedging, Britain says region is part of China

(Newser) - Last month Gordon Brown called on China to pump more money into the International Monetary Fund, whose coffers are nearly bare as more nations succumb to the global financial crisis. Only a few days later, writes Robert Barnett in the New York Times, the British government quietly announced a change...

US: Attack Was 'Warning' to Jihadist-Friendly Syria

Damascus closes American school, cultural center

(Newser) - The US says its attack Sunday on a Syrian village was a warning to Damascus to take more action against Iraq-bound militants. “We are left with no choice but to take matters into our own hands,” an official tells the Times of London. Washington recently praised Syria for...

Cheney Set to Visit Georgia
 Cheney Set
 to Visit
 Georgia

Cheney Set to Visit Georgia

VP to shore up ties with embattled nation, emphasize 'common security interests'

(Newser) - Dick Cheney will visit Georgia next week to strengthen ties with the battered US ally, the AP reports. The vice president will also visit Azerbaijan and Ukraine to emphasize the US commitment to the former Soviet republics, a White House spokesman said today in announcing the trip, which is to...

Post-Soviet States No Longer Russian Puppets
Post-Soviet States No Longer Russian Puppets
analysis

Post-Soviet States No Longer Russian Puppets

Reactions to Georgia show self-interest

(Newser) - Former cold warriors can be expected to see the Georgian conflict as signalling a return to simpler East-vs-West geopolitics, writes Bridget Kendall for the BBC. But the reaction of the post-Soviet states shows something very different: Former Soviet client states whose loyalty was assured 20 years ago—including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,...

Pakistan: US Not Hunting bin Laden on Our Turf

Minister: would raise 'sovereignty issues'

(Newser) - Pakistan's foreign minister said yesterday that his country has no plans to allow US or other foreign troops into the country to search for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members, AP reports. Shah Mahmood Qureshi says that Pakistani troops, plus "grassroots" efforts to stop terrorism before it can...

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed
Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed

Bid follows this summer's Arctic territory scramble

(Newser) - Britain will submit a claim to the UN for 386,000 square miles of Antarctica, its foreign office said today, joining the international race to grab a piece of the mineral- and oil-rich territory as global warming makes it more accessible. The move violates a 1959 treaty, which Britain signed,...

Iraqis Irate Over Senate Partition Vote

Resolution pushing autonomous regions prompts backlash

(Newser) - The Iraqi government is reacting angrily to a Senate resolution passed Thursday that the US push to divide the country into three autonomous regions—Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish—to reduce ethnic bloodshed. "No Iraqi is for dividing their country or for splitting it into three weak states, unable to...

Look Out, Santa: Russia Claims North Pole

Rich oil and gas reserves lie beneath ownership dispute

(Newser) - Russian ships will arrive at the North Pole today as part of Moscow's effort to claim a 1,240-mile area of the Arctic—and with it, more than $2 trillion in oil and gas reserves. The Telegraph reports that the fleet will deposit a Russian flag at the bottom of...

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