What's been going on. . . .

. . . in the world

Well, an awful lot obviously, but here are the stories I've been following closely.

Ireland

It's been all fun, games and abortion debate here in the Emerald Isle. Two weeks ago, the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament) held a hearing on the proposed abortion legislation which will clarify the existing legislation surrounding medical terminations in cases when the life of the mother is at risk.

I cannot stress this point enough: Abortion will only be legalised in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. It will remain illegal in cases of rape, incest or when a pesky woman decides she has autonomy over her own health care. 

The majority of debate in Ireland at the minute is surrounding the issue of suicide. The Supreme Court ruled that abortion be permitted in cases of where the risk to the mother's life is suicide. Many people don't like this. Many people however (yours truly included) are not really qualified in such matters however and it was good to hear the opinions of those who are. 

The Journal.ie had great live blogging of the hearings and this piece "13 things we learned from Oireachtas abortion hearings this week," is well worth a read.

Kenya

Elections in Kenya are set for March 4th. Although a new constitution, election commission and a reformed judiciary have been introduced since the outbreak of political violence that marred the country in 2007-2008, sporadic outbreaks of minor political violence have fuelled fears of the potential for wider conflict. The International Crisis Group have warned the potential for local violence is especially high, due to candidates campaigning along ethnic lines and exacerbating tensions within and between communities. The ongoing ICC case against four individuals relating to the 2007 election, has raised the stakes for this years election even higher. 

allAfrica.com has a good commentary on the upcoming election, heavily based on a report by the ICG, here.

Sudan

The wonderfully effective police state in Sudan continues its crackdown on independent civil society. Human Rights Watch detailed the crackdown here.

In good news however, South Kordofan activist Jalila Khamis was yesterday released after being imprisoned for ten months on trumped up charges. Although charged with treason, which carries a death sentence, she was found guilty of lesser charges and the judge ruled her time served. This piece from back in October is a good summary of the ridiculous charges brought against Jalila and of the terrible price often paid by civil society activists in Sudan.

Europe

It snowed, as it does every year, and everyone lost their shit, as they do every year (London, I'm looking at you). To be fair, particularly heavy snow which grounds flights, closes schools and businesses etc. is a nightmare. But it does make for some awfully pretty pictures 

. . . in my world

It's January so, inevitably, I'm detoxing- in my own, special half-assed way; caffeine is still in, most carbs are gone. Foregoing my beloved spaghetti and meatballs has made me quite cranky (crankier I hear you yell; yeah alright, well done), plus my GHD broke so I'm full of curly headed rage at the minute. It's a terribly attractive sight.

In case you missed it, just before Christmas I wrote a piece for A Safe World for Women on the frequency of suspended sentences for sexual and domestic violence convictions in Ireland. You can read it here.

Last week I had the pleasure of hearing Mary Robinson speak at NUI Galway, which I blogged about here.

Resolutions and all that? Read more, blog more, exercise more. For Christmas I got these two books, both of which I loved.

 


And I'm currently alternating between this. . .

 


. . .and this

 

It's good to have varied interests after all.

Also, like any good political junkie, my Borgen obsession has been reignited by BBC4. I have a girl crush on Brigitte and an actual crush on Kasper. See below.





It's my birthday in a couple of weeks. Last year, I celebrated by spending a few days in Marseilles and Aix-En-Province with two of my best friends. We drank a lot of wine, walked miles from bakery to bakery to try as many different macaroons as possible and generally had a fantastic time!

This year will probably involve slightly less macaroons but just as much wine I'm sure.

New pieces coming up on human rights vs development, renewed violence in Northern Ireland and the ICC's involvement in the DRC; don't miss out:)