Editorials Sunday, August 17, 2008

The Africa peace initiative

IT WAS recorded that the United Nations Security Council deployed a record number of peacekeepers to 19 peace operations around the world in 2007. At present, more than 100,000 blue berets and civilian staff are serving in the field to build and keep peace around the world. [The Punch]

After the Bakassi handover

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) had, in October 2002, sat in judgment over the disputed ownership of Bakassi Peninsula and resolved the matter in favour of Cameroun. Since then, tension has remained heightened in the Peninsula especially on the part of Nigerians who felt that the judgment was not in the best interest of the country. [Daily Sun]

The Jose Medellin exception

Tuesday's execution of Jose Medellin, a Mexican citizen who was convicted of the 1993 rape and murder of two girls in Texas, ended the life of a vicious criminal. But it also flouted a treaty signed by the U.S. that will now offer less protection to Americans arrested and imprisoned abroad -- unless Congress acts. [Los Angeles Times]

Mr. Ng’s Death

This country’s harsh regime of immigration enforcement is racked with troubles from top to bottom, from the federal raids recklessly sweeping thousands of harmless immigrants into custody to the scandal-riddled detention system that abuses and neglects them once they get there. [New York Times]

Spreading Hope

IN HIS 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush surprised many when he proposed to take the fight against AIDS to Africa. At the time, slowing the spread of the disease seemed quixotic, particularly on a continent where only about 50,000 of the 30 million infected people received antiretroviral treatment. [Washington Post]