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Courtney Brooks

Also by Courtney Brooks

September 21, 2012
Middle East Conflict Comes To New York Subway

In what appears to be a tit-for-tat battle being waged on billboards, New York City commuters get exposed to controversial anti-Palestine ads that refer to Palestinians as "savages."
September 10, 2012
Syria Envoy Brahimi's 'Mission Impossible'

As new UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi prepared to make his first trip to Syria this week, violence spiraled further out of control, the refugee crisis intensified, and the Security Council remained sharply divided over how to deal with the conflict.
August 26, 2012
To Recognize Or Not To Recognize Abkhazia? That Is Vanuatu's Question

Very few people have heard of Vanuatu. But despite its obscurity, the tiny Pacific island nation has found itself in the middle of a behind-the-scenes struggle between Russia and the West. At issue is the diplomatic recognition of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia.
July 28, 2012
Arms Trade Treaty Negotiations Fail

Month-long UN negotiations to establish the first international treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade have ended without a deal.
July 26, 2012
Draft Arms Trade Treaty Faces Criticism

Nearly 80 countries have condemned as too weak a second draft Arms Trade Treaty circulated among UN member states 24 hours before the negotiations are to conclude.
July 20, 2012
Why It Matters Whether Syria Is Designated A Civil War

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has declared that Syria is embroiled in a "non-international armed conflict" -- meaning civil war. The United Nations, however, has yet to confirm the designation.
July 18, 2012
Bout's Arms Dealing Network 'Revamped'

The legacy of imprisoned Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout lives on through a network of his former top associates, with shadowy branches reaching from its base in the African island nation of Mauritius, and stretching to Iran, Russia, and the United States, according to a report released by an international NGO on July 17.
July 14, 2012
UN Takes Heat For Contracting Out Security

The United Nations' use of private military and security companies came under criticism this week following the release of a report highlighting the use of dubious contractors. With the money spent on such companies having increased 73 percent from 2009 to 2010, the practice appears to be on the rise.
July 02, 2012
Global Arms-Trade Treaty Talks Delayed

The majority of UN member states back a strong treaty to regulate the $60 billion world trade in weapons, but there are sharp divisions among some countries over how tough it should be.
April 28, 2012
Kazakh President's Brother Claims Family Cheated Him Out Of Luxury Apartment

The brother of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has filed papers in a New York City court alleging that his ex-wife and her son conspired to steal his $20 million apartment in the city's swanky Plaza Hotel.
April 26, 2012
Film Highlights Perils Faced By Iraqis Who Helped U.S.

Kirk Johnson worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Iraq before finding his true calling: helping Iraqis who worked alongside Americans as advisers and translators during the war and were then targeted by insurgents and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups for their efforts. A new documentary about his work just had its world premiere in New York.
April 09, 2012
New York Discovers Complexities Of Kazakhstan's Ancient Nomadic Culture

An New York exhibition of ancient objects from eastern Kazakhstan is opening eyes to the complexity of the country's traditional nomadic lifestyle.
April 06, 2012
Russia Furious Over Bout Sentence

Russia has condemned the United States' sentencing of notorious Russian arms trader Viktor Bout as "baseless and biased."
April 02, 2012
UN Seeks Road Map To National Happiness

A UN conference has kicked off in New York with the goal of writing a road map to social happiness. World leaders, economists, and religious leaders who believe that countries should be as concerned about improving their happiness as they are about improving national productivity are exchanging ideas about what the "pursuit of happiness" really means.
March 06, 2012
'Impossible Music Sessions' Put Spotlight On Censorship

A few years ago a New York musician pondered how to bring censored musicians to the stage after he was unable to see one of his favorite bands due to restrictions they faced at home. The answer, he determined, was "The Impossible Music Sessions," an initiative that puts the spotlight on embattled artists around the globe, from Guinea to Iran.
February 28, 2012
Kyrgyz Artists Highlight Migrants' Big-Apple Illusions

A Kyrgyz couple has created an art installation that sheds light on the disorienting situation faced by many Central Asian immigrants in New York.
February 22, 2012
'Ugly Babies' Exhibit Depicts Life Under Oppression In China

A new exhibition of photos by a Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia, smuggled out of the country and put on display in New York provides a rare window into life under oppression.
February 18, 2012
One Russian Teenager's Disillusionment

"Putin's Kiss," a critical documentary about the Russian pro-government youth organization Nashi, is told through the story of teenage leader Masha Drokova.
January 25, 2012
UN: Russia Slammed For Syria Arms Sales

British, French, and American representatives to the UN have slammed Russia for supplying arms to Syria.
January 23, 2012
Rights Group Says Dictators Cracking Down, In Fear Of 'Arab Spring' Redux

The U.S.-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) says fears that pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world might spread to Central Asia fueled a crackdown on dissent in that region last year.

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