Africa and The Middle East

A New York district court has rejected Bush administration foreign policy arguments and allowed lawsuits against multinational companies that allegedly aided the South African government during the apartheid era to proceed. Business groups are closely watching the lawsuits, which if successful could lead to new cases against firms doing business in such places as China for knowingly aiding or abetting oppressive regimes, sources said. In a decision filed on April 8, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of...

President Obama is expected to submit a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed by the Bush administration in its last days in office, to Congress for a vote within days, after negotiating new concessions from UAE that are aimed at strengthening controls barring the UAE from making the fuel necessary for a nuclear bomb, according to informed sources. The provisions negotiated under Obama likely involve such measures as requiring the UAE to complete an additional...