Interesting Global News

The warrants – issued late Thursday – mark the first time a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice. Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are accused of "starvation as a method of warfare" by restricting humanitarian aid and targeting civilians during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif is accused of war crimes, including orchestrating the October attack on Israel and "sexual and gender-based violence" against hostages. Israel said it killed Deif in July, but Hamas has not confirmed his death.

The ICC's 124 member states must arrest suspects on their territory, though the court has no power to enforce this.

The ICC decision has sparked starkly different reactions across the globe. US President Joe Biden condemned the move, calling it "outrageous." He said: "There is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security."

France offered a measured response, acknowledging the court’s independence but declining to comment on potential enforcement. "True to its long-standing commitment to supporting international justice, it reiterates its attachment to the independent work of the court," the foreign ministry said. But Christophe Lemoine, a ministry spokesman declined to say whether France would arrest Netanyahu if he came to the country, saying it was "legally complex".

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell defended the court’s authority, stating: "It is a decision of a court of justice... and has to be respected." Austria rejected the warrants as "absurd", while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a staunch ally of Netanyahu, described them as "outrageously impudent" and invited the Israeli leader to visit Hungary. [...] Netanyahu on Friday thanked Orban for showing "moral clarity" and "standing by the side of justice and truth".

Hamas, meanwhile, welcomed the move as a step towards justice. Senior official Basem Naim said it was "an important step" but warned that it must be "backed practically by all countries" to have real impact.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit reiterated Berlin’s support for the ICC, calling it a product of "German history". However, he acknowledged that Germany’s unique relationship with Israel demands careful consideration of the warrant’s implications. "At the same time, it is a consequence of German history that we share unique relations with and a great responsibility towards Israel," Hebestreit said in a statement. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said they were examining exactly what the warrant means for "implementation in Germany".

Meanwhile South Africa praised the ICC’s actions as "a significant step towards justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestine." The country is also pursuing a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, which it claims violates the UN Genocide Convention.

Of the 56 warrants issued since the creation of the ICC in 2002, only 21 have been executed.

Ambassador Antoine Michon faced Haiti's foreign minister on Thursday over what officials called "unfriendly and inappropriate" comments made by Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil.

Macron was caught on camera criticising the Caribbean country's decision to oust the prime minister earlier this month. "Frankly, it's the Haitians who have destroyed Haiti by letting in drug trafficking," he said while speaking to a bystander about Haiti's political and humanitarian crisis. "They are completely dumb, they should never have fired him," he added, describing the former prime minister as "great".

The comments referred to Garry Conille, who was removed on 10 November after five months in office amid worsening gang warfare. He was replaced by entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.

Haiti's transitional presidential council expressed "indignation at what it considers unfriendly and inappropriate remarks which ought to be rectified" [...] During the meeting, the French ambassador acknowledged the remarks were "unfortunate", the Haitian Foreign Ministry said.

France has a complex relationship with Haiti, which gained independence in 1804 after a successful slave revolt. The country later paid France a "debt" for lost property – including slaves – that activists estimate at over $100 billion. Many believe this debt has contributed to Haiti's persistent economic and political struggles, with calls for reparations continuing today.

The nation's leadership has been wracked by infighting and three members of the transitional presidential council – tasked with restoring security and paving the way for elections – have been accused of corruption. They remain in their posts.

France has pledged 4 million euros to a UN fund financing a deeply under-resourced security mission mandated to help restore security in Haiti, as well as funding for French and Creole classes for its troops.

The US vetoed a UN resolution on Wednesday demanding an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The other 14 members of the UN Security Council voted in favor of the resolution. The resolution, the most recent of many Gaza ceasefire resolutions to reach the Security Council, called for “an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” However, the US stated its opposition to the “unconditional ceasefire” which “failed to release the hostages.”

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A young Australian woman was the latest confirmed death, and her friend was fighting for her life, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Two Danish citizens and an American had also died, officials said, after what media said was a night out in Vang Vieng where they drank possibly tainted alcohol. The group of about a dozen tourists became ill after going out on November 12, according to British and Australian media.

Vang Vieng has been a fixture on the Southeast Asia backpacker trail since Laos' secretive communist rulers opened the country to tourism decades ago. The town was once notorious for backpackers behaving badly at jungle parties and has since re-branded as an eco-tourism destination. On their travel advice websites for Laos, UK and Australian authorities warn their citizens to beware of methanol poisoning while consuming alcohol in Laos.

Methanol can be added to liquor to increase its potency, but can cause blindness, liver damage and death. In neighbouring Thailand, at least six people died and more than 20 were hospitalised after drinking methanol-laced bootleg alcohol in August.

Gunfire erupted on Thursday evening in the capital Juba, sparking concerns about the stability of the world's youngest country that is already plagued by power struggles, ethnic infighting and a deep economic malaise. The shooting around the home of Koor, who was fired by Kiir in early October and placed under house arrest, caused panic among local residents before it was contained after about an hour.

Following the meeting, South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF) spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said the incident took place after a "misunderstanding" between security forces attempting to relocate the ex-head of the National Security Services.

He said four people, two civilians and two soldiers, had been killed during the confrontation.

The meeting convened by Kiir included the heads of defence, police, national security and military intelligence. A source in the presidency press unit said Koor was also present. The Sudans Post newspaper quoted a security official as saying the meeting had "resolved all outstanding tensions" and that the spy chief and his family "have been assured of their safety".

Koor became head of the feared National Security Services (NSS) after South Sudan's independence in 2011 but was sacked in October leading to widespread speculation he had been planning to overthrow Kiir. After his dismissal from the NSS, Koor was appointed governor of Warrap State, Kiir's home state, but this was abruptly revoked by the president before he took the oath of office.

Koang said there had been a "misunderstanding" between two security services forces present at Koor's residence when a third unit arrived for the relocation. "That was the start of the armed confrontation that you heard," he said.

Koor's sacking came just two weeks after Kiir again postponed by two years, to December 2026, the first elections in the nation's history. The delay has exasperated the international community, which has been pressing the country's leaders to complete a transitional process, including unifying rival armed forces and drawing up a constitution.

The NSS was at the centre of controversy in July when parliament approved amendments to legislation allowing the agency to continue to arrest -- without a warrant -- anyone accused of offences against the state, raising alarm among rights groups and South Sudan's international partners.

The country has struggled to recover from a brutal civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and his now deputy Riek Machar from 2013 to 2018 that killed about 400,000 people and drove millions from their homes. It remains one of the poorest and most corrupt countries on the planet and continues to be plagued by chronic instability and climate disasters.

Inorganic chloramines have been used for decades to remove pathogens from public water supplies. Though chlorine remains the most widely used disinfectant in the US and globally, chloramines have increasingly replaced it in many systems to reduce certain byproducts linked to bladder and colon cancer, low birth weight, and miscarriage.

Today, more than 113 million Americans rely on chloraminated drinking water, with the compound also in use across Canada, Asia, and Europe. "However, chloramines themselves decompose into products that are poorly characterized," said Julian Fairey, lead author of the study published in the journal Science, during a press briefing. One such product, identified more than 40 years ago but left chemically unresolved, was simply dubbed the "unidentified product."

Using a combination of traditional chemistry methods and modern tools like high-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, they identified the compound as "chloronitramide anion."

The compound was detected in all 40 chloraminated drinking water samples tested, with concentrations reaching up to 100 micrograms per liter -- exceeding typical regulatory limits for disinfection byproducts, which range between 60 and 80 micrograms per liter. Although toxicological studies have yet to be conducted, the researchers sounded a warning.

Water utilities could consider reverting to chlorine, Fairey suggested, though this would require secondary disinfectants to neutralize the known toxic byproducts chlorine produces.

From https://phys.org/news/2024-11-previously-unknown-compound.html

The researchers have now identified chloronitramide anion, chemically expressed as Cl–N–NO2−, as an end product of inorganic chloramine decomposition. While its toxicity is not presently known, its prevalence and similarity to other toxic compounds is concerning and warrants further study to assess its public health risk. Simply identifying the compound has been a challenge and breakthrough.

Internet cables connecting Finland to Germany and Lithuania and Sweden were cut

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"The latest upsurge in violence in Haiti's capital is a harbinger of worse to come," UN rights chief Volker Turk warned in a statement. "The gang violence must be promptly halted. Haiti must not be allowed to descend further into chaos."

Violence has intensified dramatically in Port-au-Prince since November 11, as a coalition of gangs pushes for full control of the Haitian capital.

"At least 150 people have been killed, 92 injured and about 20,000 forced to flee their homes over the past week," Turk's statement said. In addition, "Port-au-Prince's estimated four million people are practically being held hostage as gangs now control all the main roads in and out of the capital".

Turk said that at least 55 percent of the deaths from simultaneous and apparently coordinated attacks in the capital resulted from exchanges of fire between gang members and police. He also highlighted reports of a rise in mob lynchings.

This was happening "at a time when the health system is already on the brink of collapse", he said, adding that "threats and attacks on humanitarian workers are also deeply worrying". "Gang violence must not prevail over the institutions of the State," he said, demanding "concrete steps ... to protect the population and to restore effective rule of law".

The West African country, plagued by jihadist and separatist violence, has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Maiga, who was appointed by the military after the second coup, had been seen as isolated in his position as prime minister, with little room for manoeuvre. His dismissal creates further uncertainty in an already troubled context.

Maiga on Saturday publicly condemned the lack of clarity regarding the end of the transition to civilian rule. He said the confusion could pose "serious challenges and the risk of going backwards".

Maiga, 66, previously served as a minister on several occasions and ran three times as a presidential candidate. He was the civilian face of the junta's strategic pivot away from former colonial ruler France and toward closer political and military ties with Russia.

At the United Nations in September 2021, Maiga denounced what he called the "abandonment in mid-air" regarding the announced withdrawal of the French anti-jihadist force deployed in the country. He said the withdrawal forced Mali to explore new avenues with other partners, at a time when the presence of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner loomed.

After his criticism of the junta on Saturday, Maiga's position became increasingly untenable. An influential group supporting the military rulers, the Collective for the Defence of the Military (CDM), had called for him to step down within 72 hours. Limited demonstrations took place on Tuesday in support of the military and calling for the prime minister's resignation. Maiga's comments gave rise to speculation as to whether he was positioning himself for a possible future presidential election.

Development banks sent $2.3 billion to industrial animal agriculture in 2023.

Recent data analysis conducted by a human rights advocacy organization found that nearly a dozen international finance institutions directed over $3 billion to animal agriculture in 2023. The majority of those funds — upwards of $2.27 billion — came from development banks and went towards projects that support factory farming, a practice that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as well as biodiversity loss.

The researchers behind the analysis are calling on the development banks — which include the International Finance Corporation, or IFC, part of the World Bank — to scrutinize the climate and environmental impacts of the projects they fund, especially in light of the World Bank’s climate pledges. (...)

Before it started, 56-year-old Kim Yun-suk fell asleep to the hum of insects and woke to the chirping of birds. Now, she is kept awake every night by what sounds like the soundtrack of a low-budget horror movie at top volume. "The peaceful sounds of nature... have now been drowned out," Kim told AFP. "All we hear is this noise."

The campaign is the latest manifestation of steadily-declining ties between the two Koreas this year, which have also seen Pyongyang test ever more powerful missiles and bombard the South with trash-carrying balloons.

Since July, North Korea has been broadcasting the noises for huge chunks of almost every day from loudspeakers along the border. The northern point of Ganghwa -- an island in the Han river estuary on the Yellow Sea -- is only about two kilometres (a mile) from the North. When AFP visited, the nighttime broadcast included what sounded like the screams of people dying on the battlefield, the crack of gunfire, bombs exploding, along with chilling music that started at 11:00 pm.

Experts said the new broadcasts almost meet the criteria for a torture campaign. "Almost every regime has used noise torture and sleep deprivation," Rory Cox, a historian at University of St Andrews, told AFP. "It is very common and leaves no physical scarring, therefore making it deniable."

Exposure to noise levels above 60 decibels at night increases the risk of sleep disorders, experts said, but AFP tracked levels of up to 80 decibels late at night on Ganghwa during a recent trip.

"I find myself taking headache medicine almost all the time," An Mi-hee, 37, told AFP, adding that prolonged sleep deprivation due to the noise has also led to anxiety, eye pain, facial tremors and drowsiness. "Our kids can't sleep either, so they've developed mouth sores and are dozing off at school." Distraught and desperate, An travelled to Seoul and got on her knees to beg lawmakers at the National Assembly to find a solution, breaking down in tears as she described the island's suffering.

Choi Hyoung-chan, a 60-year-old resident, said the South Korean government had failed to protect vulnerable civilians on the frontier. "They should come here and try to live with these sounds for just ten days," he told AFP, referring to officials in Seoul. "I doubt they could even endure a single day."

The census is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, and will provide sorely needed up-to-date demographic data for the country which has an estimated population of around 44 million. It will be the first census to cover all 18 governorates since 1987, when dictator Saddam Hussein was in power, following repeated delays caused by years of war and political tensions between factions.

A count conducted in 1997 excluded the three northern provinces that make up the autonomous Kurdistan region. The upcoming census has reignited tensions between Baghdad and Kurdistan over disputed territories in the north.

The census includes religion but does not differentiate between sects, such as Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and, unlike previous counts, it excludes ethnicity.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the census was important for "development and planning steps in all sectors that contribute to the advancement and progress of Iraq", where electricity is scarce and infrastructure largely in disrepair.

During the census a two-day curfew will operate, with families having to stay at home so 120,000 researchers can collect data directly from households.

Demographics are likely to have shifted with the exile of hundreds of thousands of Christians, and also of tens of thousands of Yazidi families who were displaced from Sinjar by atrocities committed by IS extremists.

To organise the count, authorities partnered with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in an effort to generate "accurate demographic information, facilitating effective policymaking and promoting inclusive growth".

Previous censuses were cancelled mainly because of tensions over disputed territories between the Kurdish, Arab, and Turkoman communities in the northern governorates of Kirkuk and Nineveh.

In the census, Baghdad has agreed to register only the descendants of families who were present in the disputed territories during the 1957 count, in order to prevent subsequent waves of migration from disrupting the demographic balance. Newcomers will be counted in their province of origin.

Decades of sporadic conflict between the military and ethnic rebel groups have left the Southeast Asian country littered with deadly landmines and munitions. But the military's ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi's government in 2021 has turbocharged conflict in the country and *birthed dozens of newer "People's Defence Forces" now battling to topple the military.

Anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of war killed or wounded 1,003 people in Myanmar in 2023, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said on Wednesday. There were 933 landmine casualties in Syria, 651 in Afghanistan and 580 in Ukraine, the ICBL said in its latest Landmine Monitor report.

Myanmar is not a signatory to the United Nations convention that prohibits the use, stockpiling or development of anti-personnel mines.

ICBL said it had seen evidence of junta troops forcing civilians to walk in front of its units to "clear" mine-affected areas.

All sides in the fighting were using landmines "indiscriminately," the United Nations Children's Fund said in April. Rebel groups have told AFP they also lay mines in some areas under their control.

The ICBL said at least 5,757 people had been casualties of landmines and explosive remnants of war across the world in 2023. Of those, 1,983 were killed and 3,663 wounded. Civilians made up 84 percent of all recorded casualties, it said.

Organisers urged protesters not to bring farm machinery into central London, though some tractors drove past Downing Street covered with signs saying “the final straw” and “no farmers, no food.”

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Kizza Besigye's wife says he is being held in a military jail and demands the government free him.

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Amnesty International condemned Monday the increasing harm inflicted on children in Ukraine due to Russian airstrikes, describing the situation as a grave violation of international law.

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The European Union on Monday expanded its sanctions against Iran in response to the country’s military support for Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The EU Council announced a series of restrictive measures aimed at curbing Iran’s supply of drones and missiles to Russia.

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Police and demonstrators have scuffled again in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. Officers moved before dawn to break up a camp protesting the results of last month’s parliamentary election and demanding a new vote.

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Brazil's federal police have arrested five officers accused of plotting a coup that included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections and kill then-President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

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Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed numerous children every single day in the past week, UNICEF said.

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