Section: The Conversation (USA)
Lockerbie experience is no model for the effective prosecution of MH17 bombers
Demands for justice for the victims of Flight MH17, including war crimes prosecutions for those responsible, persist. AAP/Lloyd JonesAn investigative team, comprising authorities from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, recently concluded that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down by a BUK missile on July 17, 2014....
Putin’s cyber play: What are all these Russian hackers up to?
Russia is pressing its national interests online. Flags and keyboard via shutterstock.comRussia has been implicated in many breaches of U.S. networks in recent months, most notably the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hacks, whose data were subsequently dumped to the whistleblowing site WikiLeaks....
Friday essay: talking, writing and fighting like girls
Raise your voice … a protester from the women’s rights group Femen protests in the Ukraine. Gleb Garanich/ReutersThe phrase “the personal is political” has been entwined with the feminist movement since the 1970s. The idea that every individual woman’s experience speaks to broader social and political structures that affect...
Cool heads needed as investigation into downing of MH17 points blame at Russia
The findings from the Dutch-led investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airways flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 offer a compelling case that the missile used was fired from territory controlled by pro-Russian rebels, using a missile system that came from and was returned to Russia. The Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT) said...
Queer rights have polarised the world – here’s what we can do about it
In much of the world, gay rights, and recognition of sexual and gender diversity, appear to be progressing. In Europe, the US, Latin America and Australasia, acceptance is growing of the idea that queer rights are human rights. Still, in large parts of the world, people face rape, murder and torture if they are perceived to be openly homosexual...
What’s holding Russia back from ratifying the Paris climate agreement?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that his country will ratify the Paris climate agreement in October, a significant boost in the campaign to have the agreement become legally binding by the end of the year. India will join the 61 other countries that have formally signed up to limit future global temperature rise to a maximum of...
Video refereeing could be a major own goal for football – here’s why
Ajax’s 5-0 cup victory against fellow Dutch premier division side Willem II on September 21 saw a first in football: the official world debut for a video assistant referee in a competitive game. Sitting in a van with six TV screens inside the stadium, the assistant quickly proved his effectiveness. He recommended by headset to the on-pitch...
Brexit threatens Britain’s reputation as an agenda-setter for foreign aid
Soft power, getting softer? DFID – UK Department for International Development/flickr.com, CC BYThe world is facing a host of complex challenges, from climate change to migration to the spread of infectious diseases. No nation acting alone can hope to solve them. Britain has been serious about tackling these problems, but to do so it needs...
War of words: how Europe is fighting back against Russian disinformation
For a little more than a year, a small group of eight officials with the EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS) has been working on a counter-propaganda strategy that reads like something out of the Cold War. The initiative was the result of a decision at a summit of the European Council in March 2015 which concluded that action was...
Twin crises in Syria and Ukraine prove the West cannot restrain Russia
Only days after the latest ceasefire agreement came into force in Syria, a United Nations aid convoy en route to Aleppo was attacked and destroyed. The UN was quick to declare this both a premeditated attack and a war crime. Citing air space intelligence, the US government released a statement accusing the Russian Air Force of responsibility,...
