The world at a glance . . . International

Moscow

Russia-U.S. arms talks: Russia said this week it was committed to forging a new arms control treaty with the U.S. to replace the Cold War–era Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires next year. The START I agreement, signed in 1991, committed each side to reducing its nuclear arsenal to 6,000 warheads. After talks between U.S. and Russian officials in Moscow this week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said he believed that Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and incoming President Barack Obama could agree to additional cuts by the end of 2009. U.S. officials were more cautious. “There are substantial differences on our points to the final package,” said John Rood, undersecretary of state for arms control.

Beijing

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Web restricted again: China has resumed blocking many of the websites to which it had allowed access during the Olympics. Voice of America and the BBC both said this week that their Chinese websites have been blocked since early December, and several Hong Kong newspapers said their sites were being censored. At a regular press briefing this week, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman refused to confirm that the government was blocking the sites. But he said that China has a right to censor any site that violates Chinese law, for example by asserting that Taiwan is an independent country.

Jakarta

Southeast Asian common market? The Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week took a step toward becoming a European-style union with the adoption of a legally binding charter. The 10 ASEAN members—Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—committed themselves to democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Those tenets may be a stretch for some members. Myanmar’s military junta is under international sanctions due to its brutal crackdown on democracy activists last year. ASEAN’s Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan described democracy in the region as a “yo-yo,” with some nations advancing as others retreat. The nations plan to create a single market within seven years and eventually adopt a common currency.

Jerusalem

U.N. envoy refused entry: Israel this week barred a U.N. human-rights investigator from the Palestinian territories, saying he was hostile to Israel. Richard Falk, a Princeton law professor who is a U.N. special envoy to the Palestinian territories, was detained upon arrival at an Israeli airport and put on the first flight back to Geneva. Falk has compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to Nazi atrocities and called Israel’s blockade of Gaza a crime against humanity. He has also supported further examination of conspiracy theories surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks, saying 9/11 should not be treated as a “closed book.”

Niamey, Niger

U.N. envoy disappears: Rebels in Niger this week claimed to have kidnapped U.N. envoy Robert Fowler and his aide, Louis Guay—and then recanted. Fowler’s car was found abandoned, the motor still running, on the outskirts of Niger’s capital. The Front des Forces de Redressement said on the group’s website that it had taken Fowler as a warning to “diplomats who collaborate with an ethnocidal regime.” But the next day a posting on the same site denied ever taking hostages, adding, “We hope that Mr. Fowler will be quickly returned.” Fowler, Canada’s longest-serving ambassador to the U.N., was on a mission to mediate between the Niger government and rebel Tuaregs, who claim the government has failed to distribute profits from the uranium mines on their land.

Harare, Zimbabwe

Who shot air marshal? Zimbabwe said this week that Air Marshal Perrance Shiri, the top commander of its air force, had been shot in the arm in an assassination attempt. After keeping the shooting secret for several days, the government now describes it as part of a “buildup of terror attacks targeting high-profile persons, government officials, government establishments, and public transportation systems.” The government blamed the attack on political opponents and accused neighboring Botswana of training and arming opposition figures. Anonymous contributors to the website Zimbabwejournalists.com said it was more likely that the shooting had resulted from a power struggle within the ruling party of President Robert Mugabe.