Not the time to apologize for the Balfour blunder, Burundi鈥檚 departure from the ICC might have a ripple effect, It is time to cut off aid to Burundi, The Mueller investigation sends a 鈥榮our signal鈥� to the world, Why I鈥檒l no longer watch 鈥楬ouse of Cards鈥�
The Jordan Times / Amman, Jordan
Not the time to apologize for the Balfour blunder
鈥淸The] Balfour Declaration ... reached its first centennial anniversary this week,鈥� writes Hasan Abu Nimah. 鈥淭he Israelis, along with many of their Western supporters, are celebrating the British foreign minister鈥檚 鈥榩romise鈥� of a Jewish national home in Palestine as a document that amounts to the birth certificate of the state of Israel.... The Palestinians remember it as an illegal ominous 鈥榩romise鈥� by a colonial power to the Jewish people to establish for themselves a national home in a land that belonged neither to them nor to those who offered them the land.... There are voices calling for a British apology. I find it difficult to comprehend.... Apologies make sense when the committed wrong is corrected, not while [still] in progress.鈥�
The Hindu / Chennai, India
Burundi鈥檚 departure from the ICC might have a ripple effect
鈥淏urundi鈥檚 decision to quit the International Criminal Court is likely to resonate in other African states whose leaders have long complained that they are targeted for investigation by the UN institution...,鈥� states an editorial. 鈥淏urundi is the first member-country to leave the ICC.... [T]he evidence collected by fact-
finding missions [revealed] ... incidents [under President Pierre Nkurunziza] of sexual abuse, torture, forced disappearances, and ... executions of over 500 people.... Burundi鈥檚 example may well be emulated by other countries.... Mr. Nkurunziza鈥檚 regime may not be able to evade the international court; the UN Security Council is empowered, under the Rome Statute, to refer complaints against non-member nations.鈥�
Deutsche Welle / Bonn, Germany
Why it is time to cut off aid to Burundi after its ICC opt-out
鈥淲hy did Burundi decide to call it quits? It boils down to one word: impunity,鈥� writes Fred Muvunyi. 鈥淎frica has two very different sides. It has leaders who have understood that their power comes from the citizens. This group is mostly based in western and southern Africa.... But the continent also has rebel leaders. These people have ascended to power by the barrel of a gun.... What pains me as an African is that the international community is aiding and abetting all these crimes by pouring out aid money to countries like Burundi.... Despite the harsh criticism by some African leaders: the [International Criminal Court] is not targeting Africa, it鈥檚 fighting for justice in Africa....鈥�
The Globe and Mail / Toronto
The Mueller investigation sends a 鈥榮our signal鈥� to the world
鈥淚f you thought that things were already going badly for the Trump administration ... the initial indictments by special counsel Robert Mueller might prove to be the thin edge of the wedge against an increasingly beleaguered Donald Trump...,鈥� write Derek Burney and Fen Osler Hampson. 鈥淭he scope and nature of the charges brought against former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and his colleague, Rick Gates, cover a blistering array of offences.... More ominously, perhaps, a third adviser during the campaign, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty separately to making false statements to the FBI.... Most troubling is the sour signal it sends to the world about governance in America.... Far from being 鈥榚xceptional,鈥� as some would still like to think, the U.S. is descending shabbily into dysfunction and embarrassment.鈥�
The Guardian / London
Why I鈥檒l no longer be watching 鈥楬ouse of Cards鈥�
鈥淣ews that the political TV drama House of Cards has been axed has come in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against Kevin Spacey 鈥� which raises the question of whether you can make a distinction between the artist and the art,鈥� writes Dreda Say Mitchell. 鈥淚鈥檝e been a big fan of the show ... and one of the great attractions has been the complex protagonist, Frank Underwood, played by Spacey.... As an examination of the dark side of power ... in the pursuit of political gain, it has had few equals. However, with Hollywood ... and ... Spacey himself, consumed by allegations, that subject matter takes on a grim resonance.... I鈥檒l be giving any future episodes a miss. But I will still want to know how things turn out for Frank.鈥�
