Spain cracks down on judicial human rights activism
The Spanish Parliament has voted to press ahead with a bill which will limit the ability of Spanish judges to pursue human rights cases outside the country.
China
Crisis in the skies: China, Japan, the US and the East China Sea dispute
Japan’s refusal to accept that the islands are disputed rules out negotiations leaving China little option.
Internet freedom on Edward Snowden’s flight path
Regardless of what you think of Edward Snowden’s actions (fairly honourable, in my view), the attempt to hide out in countries with some fairly questionable records on media freedom is raising eyebrows.
So why did Stephen Hawking think it was ok to visit Iran and China?
Is Israel uniquely bad, or has hypocrisy towards the Jewish state become so widely accepted among some progressives that even an eminent scholar like Hawking is susceptible to hypocritical and lazy double standards?
‘Peace’ to Xi Jinping may be the authoritarian status quo
Since his inaugural address as President of China, analysts and interested parties have been decoding the message that Xi Jinping brings and what change, if any, can be expected in China.
Cabinet split over approach to China
There appears to be a split in the cabinet over Britain’s diplomatic approach to China, with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and foreign secretary William Hague wanting a tougher approach.
Syria: Cameron presses China and Russia; $1.5bn pledged for UN aid operation; more horror in Aleppo
David Cameron today pressed China and Russia to act on Syria as $1.5bn was pledged for the UN aid operation and more unspeakable horror was uncovered in Aleppo.
China’s forced labour camps may end
The People’s Republic of China has announced that it may cease its use of forced labour camps. The policy of “re-education through labour” has been a system of punishment in China since Mao Zedong introduced it in 1957. Since itstest
Markit: Eurozone manufacturing “shows signs of moderating” (while the UK’s still in a slump)
The eurozone shows slow signs of improvement as a downgrade looms for the UK’s credit rating – Tony Burke reports on the state of the global economy.
Bloggers used rhyming slang to swerve China’s censors and talk about Xi Jinping
With the new Chinese leadership brought into the light yesterday, Left Foot Forward looks at what public opinion is, and how much public opinion can be found.