Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 goes to Barack Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”
Link: Nobel Prize
G20 in Washington D.C. (United States)
On November 15th Washington will host the G20 Special Meeting.
The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was established in 1999 to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy. The inaugural meeting of the G-20 took place in Berlin, on December 15–16, 1999, hosted by German and Canadian finance ministers. (more…)
China Unveils $586 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan
China announced plans to spend billions on a wide array of infrastructure and social welfare projects in a bold move aimed at bolstering its economy.
Link: New York Times article
WTO Talks collapse despite progress on a list of issues
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy announced after long hours of hard talking that ministers have failed in their effort to agree on blueprint agreements in agriculture and industrial products. He told a press conference after speaking to members that out of a to-do list of 20 topics, 18 had seen positions converge but the gaps could not narrow on the 19th — the special safeguard mechanism for developing countries.
Tribunal Welcomes the Arrest of Radovan Karadzic
The Tribunal confirms that it has been advised today of the arrest by Serb authorities of the former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic. The Tribunal welcomes the arrest and looks forward to Karadzic’s prompt transfer to the Tribunal in The Hague in order to stand trial.
Aware of the serious charges brought against him by the prosecution, the Tribunal is mindful that Karadzic enjoys the presumption of innocence and is committed to do all within its competences to ensure a fair and public trial in accordance with the highest standards of international law.
This arrest may be considered another milestone in the development of international law and further fulfillment of the Tribunal’s mandate to bring to justice the most senior persons alleged to be most responsible for war crimes in the Yugoslav conflicts.
A case information sheet providing an overview of the case can be found on the Tribunal’s website at http://www.un.org/icty/cases-e/cis/mladic/cis-karadzicmladic.pdf
Link: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
UN Secretary-General BAN calls on G8 countries to agree to ambitious mid-term emission reduction targets
Whilst welcoming the statement of the G8 on climate change and the environment made in Hokkaido, Japan, this week, UN Secretary-General BAN-Ki moon called on G8 countries to agree to ambitious mid-term emission reduction targets for developed countries by next year in Copenhagen.