The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for the Israeli regime’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, over war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I, composed of three judges, announced the sentence in a statement on Thursday, six months after the court’s Prosecutor, Karim Khan, requested it. Earlier, the ICC panel dismissed Israel’s appeals, contesting its jurisdiction.

The International Criminal Court has announced an external investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct against its chief prosecutor.

Karim Khan said he would engage in the process and continue in his role while the investigation was ongoing. He denies the allegations.

The chief prosecutor had requested an investigation by the court’s watchdog, but on Monday the ICC’s governing body said it would pursue an “external investigation”.

The announcement followed media reports about a document outlining accusations against Mr Khan, understood to include unwanted sexual touching and “abuse”.

In a statement, Mr Khan said he “had previously called for an investigation in relation to this matter”.

“I welcome the opportunity to engage in this process,” he said, adding he would continue “all other functions as prosecutor” while the investigation is ongoing.

Any issues relevant to the investigation into allegations against him would be handled by deputy prosecutors not reporting to him, “so as to ensure that the rights of all persons are fully respected,” he said.

ICC prosecutor denies sexual misconduct allegations

According to the Guardian newspaper, a female lawyer who claims to have been subjected to unwanted sexual advances by Mr Khan had raised concerns about the competence of the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), the ICC’s watchdog.

The paper also reported that Khan responded to a formal sexual misconduct complaint against him by trying to persuade the alleged victim that she should deny the claims, despite having been advised to avoid one-to-one contact.

Mr Khan denied asking the woman to withdraw any allegations, the Guardian reported.

Paivi Kaukoranta, the president of the body charged with overseeing the court, last month said the IOM had been in contact with the alleged victim, but said it was not in a position to proceed with an investigation at that stage.

In a statement on Monday, she defended the IOM’s ability to carry out the investigation but said that “given the particular circumstances,” she did not object to “exceptionally resorting to an external investigation”.

“An external investigation is therefore being pursued in order to ensure a fully independent, impartial and fair process,” she said.

It comes amid intense scrutiny of the ICC and Mr Khan after the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants linked to the conflict in Gaza.

In May, Mr Khan said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahiya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh bore criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity from the day of Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October onwards.

Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh have all since been killed by Israel.

In an earlier statement, Mr Khan did not explicitly blame Israel, but did juxtapose the sexual misconduct allegations and efforts to undermine his position when he described this as “a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threat”.

But the sexual misconduct allegations are understood to pre-date his request for arrest warrants linked to the conflict in Gaza.

A panel of three ICC judges is currently considering the arrest warrants requested by Mr Khan.

Source: BBC

More than 30 countries have expressed a desire to join BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of the group on Wednesday.

Putin said the group would discuss its expansion at the meeting, while keeping in mind the need to maintain efficiency.

Earlier on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived summit, his first visit to the country for more than two years that has drawn scorn from Ukraine.

The gathering is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since launching its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine in 2022 and Putin wants to use it to demonstrate that attempts to isolate him on the world stage have failed.

Around 20 world leaders, including China, India, Turkey and Iran, are in the central city of Kazan, where they will address topics such as developing a BRICS-led international payment system and the conflict in the Middle East.

Moscow sees the platform as an alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7 – a position supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin hailed Moscow’s close ties and “strategic partnerships” with its partners.

Xi, meanwhile, praised China’s “profound” ties with Russia in what he called a “chaotic” world.

Russia and China’s relations have “injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries”, Xi said.

Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global “stability.”

“Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the stabilising factors in the global arena. We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order,” he told Xi.

Source: AFP

Referring to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, Macron warned Israel’s prime minister not to forget that “his country was created by a UN decision”, a few days after the Israeli ambassador to France was summoned, and Israel repeatedly fired on UN peacekeepers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not forget his country was created as a result of a resolution adopted by the United Nations, French President Emmanuel Macron told cabinet on Tuesday, urging Israel to abide by UN decisions.

Tensions have increased between Netanyahu and Macron with the French leader last week insisting that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to stop the conflicts.

France has also repeatedly denounced Israeli fire against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, who include a French contingent.

“Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” Macron told the weekly French cabinet meeting, referring to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

“Therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN,” he added, as Israel wages a ground offensive against the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the UN peacekeepers are deployed.

His comments from the closed door meeting at the Elysee Palace were quoted by a participant who spoke to AFP and asked not to be named.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 states that only the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL should be deployed in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu on Sunday called on the UN to move the 10,000 strong peacekeeping force, who include 700 French troops, deployed in south Lebanon out of “harm’s way”, saying Hezbollah was using them as “human shields”.

Source: AFP

US President Joe Biden on Friday advised Israel against striking Iran’s oil facilities, saying he was trying to rally the world to avoid the escalating prospect of all-out war in the Middle East.

Making a surprise first appearance in the White House briefing room, Biden added that Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu “should remember” US support for Israel when deciding on next steps.

“If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden told reporters, when asked about his comments a day earlier that Washington was discussing the possibility of such strikes with its ally.

Biden added that the Israelis “have not concluded how they’re what they’re going to do” in retaliation for a huge ballistic missile attack by Iran on Israel on Tuesday.

The price of oil had jumped after Biden’s remarks on Thursday.

Any long-term rise could be hugely damaging for Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican former president Donald Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue.

Biden’s appearance at the famed briefing room podium was not announced in advance, taking reporters by surprise. He has never spoken there before in the nearly four years of his presidency.

It also comes at a tense time as he prepares to leave office with the situation boiling over in the Middle East and political criticism at home over his handling of a recent hurricane that struck the US southeast.

Biden said he was doing his best to avoid a full-scale conflagration in the Middle East, where Israel is bombing Lebanon in a bid to wipe out the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

“The main thing we can do is try to rally the rest of the world and our allies into participating… to tamp this down,” he told reporters.

“But when you have (Iranian) proxies as irrational as Hezbollah and the Huthis (of Yemen) and it’s a hard thing to determine.”

‘Wait to see’

Biden however had tough words for Netanyahu, with whom he has had rocky relations as he seeks to manage Israel’s response following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

The Israeli premier has repeatedly ignored Biden’s calls for restraint on Lebanon, and on Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

Biden deflected a question on whether he believed Netanyahu was hanging back on signing a Middle East peace deal in a bid to influence the US presidential election.

“No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None, none, none. And I think Bibi should remember that,” Biden said.

“And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that.”

Biden said he had still not spoken to Netanyahu since the Iranian attack, which involved some 200 missiles, but added that their teams were in “constant contact.”

“They’re not going to make a decision immediately, and so we’re going to wait to see when they want to talk,” the US leader added.

Iran launched around 200 rockets in a direct missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, prompting Netanyahu to warn that Tehran would pay a hefty price.

Iran said it was in retaliation for the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been launching rockets at Israel since shortly after the October 7, 2023 attacks, saying it is doing so in support of Gaza.

Source: AFP

The US Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and the widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became more clear and officials warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild.

A North Carolina County that includes the mountain city of Asheville, reported 30 people killed due to the storm, pushing the overall death toll to at least 84 people across several states.

The storm upended life throughout the Southeast. Deaths also were reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.

He implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.

“Many people are cut off because the roads are impassable,” Cooper said. Supplies were being airlifted to the region around Asheville, a city known for its arts, culture and scenery.

One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.

Hurricane Helene roared ashore late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph (225 kph) winds. A weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers and strained dams.

There have been hundreds of water rescues, including in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were plucked by helicopter from a hospital rooftop Friday.

Several million were still without power Sunday afternoon. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster asked for patience as crews dealt with widespread snapped power poles.

“We want people to remain calm. Help is on the way, It is just going to take time,” McMaster told reporters outside the airport in Aiken County.

The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.

Jessica Drye Turner in Texas had begged for someone to rescue her family members stranded on their rooftop in Asheville amid rising flood waters. “They are watching 18-wheelers and cars floating by,” Turner wrote in an urgent Facebook post on Friday.

But in a follow-up message Saturday, Turner said help had not arrived in time to save her parents, both in their 70s, and her 6-year-old nephew. The roof collapsed and the three drowned.

“I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through,” she wrote.

Western North Carolina was isolated by landslides and flooding.

The state was sending water supplies and other items toward Buncombe County and Asheville, but mudslides blocking Interstate 40 and other highways prevented supplies from making it. The county’s own water supplies were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said.

Law enforcement was making plans to send officers to places that still had water, food or gas because of reports of arguments and threats of violence, the sheriff said.

“If you will bear with us and be patient one more day — I hate to say that but I know how desperate water is in our community — but we are pushing as hard as we can to get them up the mountain,” Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the federal disaster agency was actively engaged across six states in meeting the requests of governors and state-level responders. She noted the Appalachian regions across North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia presented particular concerns. Criswell toured south Georgia on Sunday and planned to be in North Carolina on Monday.

“It’s still very much an active search and rescue mission” in western North Carolina, Criswell said. “And we know that there’s many communities that are cut off just because of the geography” of the mountains, where damage to roads and bridges have cut off certain areas.

President Joe Biden on Saturday pledged federal government help for Helene’s “overwhelming” devastation. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals.

In Florida’s Big Bend, some lost nearly everything they own. With sanctuaries still darkened as of Sunday morning, some churches canceled regular services while others like Faith Baptist Church in Perry opted to worship outside.

Standing water and tree debris still covers the grounds of Faith Baptist Church. The church called on parishioners to come “pray for our community” in a message posted to the congregation’s Facebook page.

“We have power. We don’t have electricity,” Immaculate Conception Catholic Church parishioner Marie Ruttinger said. “Our God has power. That’s for sure.”

In Atlanta, 11.12 inches (28.24 centimeters) of rain fell orver 48 hours, the most the city has seen over two days since record keeping began in 1878.

Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it looked “like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air.

In eastern Georgia near the border with South Carolina, officials notified Augusta residents Sunday morning that water service would be shut off for 24 to 48 hours in the city and surrounding Richmond County.

A news release said trash and debris from the storm “blocked our ability to pump water.” Officials were distributing bottled water.

With at least 25 killed in South Carolina, Helene was the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since Hurricane Hugo made landfall north of Charleston in 1989, killing 35 people.

Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage.

Climate change has exacerbated conditions that allow such storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying in warming waters and turning into powerful cyclones sometimes within hours.

Source: AP

Biden chose his hometown of Wilmington for the summit of the four-nation group — the last of his presidency after he dropped out of the 2024 election against Donald Trump and handed the Democratic reins to Kamala Harris.

He will hold one-on-one meetings at his beloved Wilmington home, starting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday night and continuing Saturday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Biden will then host an “intimate” dinner and full four-way summit on Saturday at his former high school in the city.

“This will be President Biden’s first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as president — a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad Leaders,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Vice President Harris will not be attending, the White House said.

The Quad grouping dates back to 2007, but Biden has strongly pushed it as part of an emphasis on international alliances after the isolationist Trump years.

China was expected to feature heavily in their discussions amid tensions with Beijing, particularly a series of recent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.

“It will certainly be high on the agenda,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, adding that the four leaders had a “common understanding about the challenges that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is posing.”

The White House, however, faced criticism for giving only limited access to the press throughout the weekend, with reporters questioning whether it was at the request of the notoriously media-shy Modi.

The Hindu nationalist was coaxed to take two questions during a state visit to the White House in 2023, but had not held an open press conference at home in his previous nine years in power.

The White House insisted Biden would not shy away from addressing rights issues with Modi, who has faced accusations of growing authoritarianism.

“There’s not a conversation that he has with foreign leaders where he doesn’t talk about the importance of respecting human and civil rights, and that includes with Prime Minister Modi,” Kirby said.

India is due to host the next Quad summit in 2025.

Biden is famously proud of his home in Wilmington, around 110 miles (176 kilometers) from Washington, where he frequently spends weekends away from the confines of the White House.

It hit the headlines when classified documents were found in its garage, next to his Corvette sports car, in 2022. Biden was not charged.

Source: AFP

The Israeli military has reportedly been recruiting African asylum-seekers to support its war efforts in Gaza, offering promises of permanent residency in return. But refugee advocacy groups say they have reason to doubt that asylum seekers are receiving what was promised.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that the government has been recruiting African asylum-seekers for the war in Gaza in return for being given permanent residency in Israel.

Military sources, speaking to Israel’s “Haaretz” news outlet, confirmed that the recruitment was being organised “with legal guidance from defense establishment advisers” but the manner in which the recruits will be used has not been made public.

Approximately 30,000 asylum-seekers, most from Sudan and Eritrea, resided in Israel as of 2020 but fewer than 1% of asylum claims are approved, according to Shira Abbo, director of public policy at Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, Israel’s leading refugee advocacy organisation.

The UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention states that a refugee is someone who a host state or international body recognises as not being able to return to a home country due to a “well-founded fear of being persecuted”. In contrast, an asylum seeker is someone still awaiting that recognition.

“For many, their requests are not denied but pending for five, 10 years or more, leaving them in legal limbo,” Abbo said. 

The war that erupted between Israel and Hamas after the attacks of October 7, in which three asylum seekers were among more than 1,100 killed, set off a wave of volunteerism among those living and working in Israel. Many asylum seekers, desperate to solidify their legal status, offered to enlist in civilian command centres and agricultural work. It was then, according to Haaretz, that military officials saw an opportunity to leverage this desire.

‘A life-or-death war for Israel’

One asylum seeker, identified only as “A” by Haaretz, shared his experience. Having arrived in Israel at the age of 16, he sought to integrate into society by joining the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). At the start of the war, someone claiming to be a police officer instructed him over the phone to report immediately to a security facility.

“They told me they were looking for special people to join the army. They told me this was a life-or-death war for Israel,” he told Haaretz.

After several meetings with officials, A was informed that, if he enlisted, he would undergo two weeks of training alongside other asylum seekers and receive documents from the state of Israel. 

However, he ultimately decided that military life was not for him and withdrew from the programme before training commenced.   

Unfulfilled promises?

The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants has expressed concern over the lack of transparency, stating that while rumours of the benefits of military service have been circulating, the organisation has not been able to confirm any cases in which what has been promised has been delivered.

The recruitment practice has also been met with criticism for creating a quid pro quo when asylum should be decided on the basis of merit.

“Asylum status is granted due to persecution, not as part of a deal,” said Julia Grignon, professor of international humanitarian law and research director at the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM). “Enlisting in the military should never be a condition for obtaining refugee status.”

Some have argued that Israel is exploiting vulnerable people who fled their homelands in search of safety.

“The little information we have is alarming,” Abbo said. “Rights should come before obligations. It’s dangerous to recruit individuals without rights and expect them to risk their lives based on vague promises.”

The Israeli defense establishment maintains that its actions comply with the law. 

The reports come amid a shortage of Israeli soldiers as the country’s war against Hamas nears the one-year mark. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in June that ultra-Orthodox Jews, historically exempt from conscription, would now be required to serve.

‘An Israeli-style Wagner Group’: The ultra-Orthodox military unit in Washington’s crosshairs

As the conflict continues, questions remain about whether these individuals will ever see the promises made to them fulfilled and what recourse, if any, they might have if the promises are not. Grignon admitted their options are likely limited.

“A UN body may call out Israel’s violation of international law, but that’s about it,” she said.

Source: France 24