International
Ukraine asks UN court to end Russia invasion
Ukraine will square off with Russia at the UN’s top court on Monday, with Kyiv asking judges in The Hague to order Moscow to immediately halt its invasion.
Kyiv lodged an urgent case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on February 27, saying that Russia had illegally justified its war by falsely alleging genocide in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
Ukraine alleges that it is Russia that is planning “acts of genocide” in the offensive launched by President Vladimir Putin on February 24.
Kyiv has asked the court to take provisional measures ordering Russia to “immediately suspend the military operations”, pending a full judgment that could take years.
“Ukraine emphatically denies that acts of genocide have been committed”, Kyiv’s application to the court said.
“Russia thus expressly bases its ‘special military operation’ — in fact a full-scale, brutal invasion of Ukraine — on an absurd lie.”
In an unusual step, ICJ President Joan Donoghue issued an “urgent communication” to Russia on March 1 asking it to “act in such a way” that any order should take effect quickly.
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The two-day hearing at the ICJ’s Peace Palace headquarters will begin with Ukraine speaking on Monday at 0900 GMT. Russia is slated to reply on Tuesday.
It was not clear how Moscow would formally contest Ukraine’s application and the Russian embassy in The Hague did not respond to a request for comment.
In another blow to Moscow’s case, its legal team will be weakened by the resignation of one of its long-time French lawyers, Alain Pellet.
“Lawyers can defend more or less questionable causes,” Pellet said in an open letter.
“But it has become impossible to represent in forums dedicated to the application of the law a country that so cynically despises it,” he said.
The ICJ was set up after World War II to rule on disputes between UN member states, based mainly on treaties and conventions.
Its rulings are binding but it has no real means to enforce them.
– ‘Offensive and ironic’ –
Experts said Ukraine’s effort to drag Russia to the world court over the invasion could have symbolic value, though it was unclear if Moscow would heed any order.
“It remains to be seen what will happen at the provisional measures stage but my bet is that the court will find that it has prima facie jurisdiction,” Cecily Rose, assistant public law professor at Leiden University, told AFP.
“Not that Russia is likely to comply but still — rhetorically and symbolically there is some power to this,” added international public law professor Marko Milanovic, writing in the European Journal of International Law.
This case hinges on the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide, to which both Ukraine and Russia are parties.
The ICJ was already dealing with a dispute between the two countries dating back to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Moscow rebels in Donetsk and Lugansk.
But now, Kyiv says that Russia “has falsely claimed that acts of genocide have occurred in the Lugansk and Donetsk” regions and has invaded on that basis.
“Russia’s lie is all the more offensive, and ironic, because it appears that it is Russia planning acts of genocide in Ukraine,” Kyiv’s application said.
The case is separate to a Ukraine war crimes investigation launched by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a different tribunal also based in The Hague.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan on Wednesday announced he was going ahead with an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine since Moscow’s invasion.
AFP
International
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial dies
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial dies
A man who set himself on fire outside the Manhattan court where former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial is being held has died.
Maxwell Azzarello, 37, doused himself in a liquid before throwing conspiracy-theory pamphlets into the air.
It happened as the jury selection for Mr Trump’s trial was completed.
He was taken to hospital on Friday in critical condition, where he later died, CBS News – the BBC’s US partner – confirmed.
Mr Trump was in the building to attend jury selection, where he has had a security detail, but the former president left during the incident.
New York City police said early on Saturday that Mr Azzarello was declared dead by hospital staff, NBC reported.
Court security had not been breached in Friday’s incident, emergency officials said. The case, which had just completed alternate jury selection, resumed later in the afternoon. Opening statements are expected to begin on Monday.
Investigators said they had received a 911 emergency call at around 13:30 local time (18:30 BMT) telling them that a man had lit himself on fire.
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They identified him as Maxwell Azzarello, 37, who had arrived in New York from his home in Florida sometime in the past week. He had no criminal record in New York, and his family in Florida were unaware that he had travelled to the city.
New York Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said Mr Azzarello was seen “shuffling around” in the park before reaching into a bag for the flammable liquid and pamphlets.
The pamphlets were “propaganda-based”, said Chief Maddrey, adding that they were regarding a “conspiracy theory”.
There was a massive police presence outside the courthouse because of the trial, and officers quickly ran into the park shouting for a fire extinguisher. Mr Azzarello was carried away on a stretcher, his body badly burned. The police said he was taken to a hospital burn centre in critical condition.
Witness Julie Berman told reporters: “It was hot, and it didn’t make a lot sense. The whole thing happened so fast… it took me like 20 seconds to figure out what was going on.”
NYPD investigators were later seen collecting pamphlets that Mr Azzarello had scattered before self-immolating. They have deemed the area safe.
Investigators are still interviewing witnesses and said he didn’t appear to say anything before setting fire to himself.
Three NYPD officers and one court officer had minor injuries after helping to extinguish the blaze.
Officials said they will now reassess security outside the court.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial dies
International
BREAKING : Israel launches deadly attacks on Iran
BREAKING : Israel launches deadly attacks on Iran
Israel has attacked Iran, three people familiar with the matter said, as Iranian state media reported early on Friday that its forces had destroyed drones, days after Iran launched a retaliatory drone strike on Israel.
One source told Reuters the U.S. was not involved but was notified by Israel before the attack.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported three explosions were heard near an army base in the central city of Isfahan. An Iranian official told Reuters there was no missile attack and the explosions were the result of the activation of Iran’s air defense systems.
Iranian state TV said that shortly after midnight “three drones were observed in the sky over Isfahan. The air defense system became active and destroyed these drones in the sky.”
The broadcaster later said the situation in Isfahan was normal and no ground explosions had occurred.
The Israeli military had no comment on the reports.
Israel had said it would retaliate, opens new tab against Iran’s weekend attack, which involved hundreds of drones, opens new tab and missiles, in response to a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria. Most of the Iranian drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory.
Analysts and observers have raised concerns about the risks of the Israel-Gaza war spreading into the rest of the region.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had warned Israel before Friday’s strike that Tehran would deliver a “severe response” to any attack on its territory.
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Iran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests” as the U.N. secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril.”
Asian shares and bond yields sank on Friday while safe-haven currencies, gold and crude oil jumped. Brent crude futures rose 2% to $88.86 a barrel, the dollar gained broadly, gold rose 1% and S&P 500 futures dropped 1%.
Iran’s state television said nuclear facilities where Iran has been conducting work – which Tehran says is peaceful but which the West believes is aimed at building a weapon – were unharmed.
The Natanz nuclear site, the centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, is in Isfahan province.
Airports in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan were closed until 0700 GMT, subject to extension, and flights have been cleared from the western half of Iran, slight tracking website FlightRadar24 reported.
Some flights destined for Tehran from Turkish Airlines and Emirates were returning to their origin, FlightRadar24 said on X. An Iran Air flight from Rome to Tehran was diverting to Ankara, Turkey, it showed.
FlightRadar24 showed Emirates, flydubai, Turkish Air, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Belavia were among the carriers continuing to use the part of Iran’s airspace that remained open on Friday morning.
Israel’s assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military offensive has killed over 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local health ministry.
Iran-backed groups have declared support for Palestinians, launching attacks from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
BREAKING : Israel launches deadly attacks on Iran
(REUTERS)
International
Updated: Tragedy hits Kenya, Defence chief, nine others die in military helicopter crash
Updated: Tragedy hits Kenya, Defence chief, nine others die in helicopter crash
A military helicopter on Thursday crashed in Kenya, claiming the life of the country’s Defence chief, Francis Ogolla, and nine officers on board.
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, confirmed the unfortunate accident in a televised address.
He said the helicopter crashed shortly after take-off Thursday afternoon local time, killing Ogolla and nine other members of the military.
Two people survived the crash, he added.
“I am deeply saddened to announce the passing on of General Francis Omondi Ogolla, the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces,” he said.
A team of investigators was immediately dispatched to the site of the crash in Elgeyo Marakwet County to determine the cause of the accident, Ruto said.
Ogolla left Nairobi on Thursday to visit troops in the North Rift region of the country for inspection of ongoing school renovations, the president said.
Ruto has convened an urgent meeting of the country’s National Security Council in Nairobi, according to presidential spokesperson, Hussein Mohamed.
“For me, as the Commander in Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, it is a tragic moment for the Kenya Defence Forces fraternity and it is a most unfortunate day for the nation at large,” Ruto said.
“Our motherland has lost one of her most valiant generals. We have also lost gallant officers, servicemen, and women,” he added.
Ruto said Kenya would observe three days of mourning beginning from Friday.
Ogolla is the first Kenyan military chief to die in active service.
The general joined the Kenya Defence Forces in 1984, becoming 2nd Lieutenant in 1985 before he was posted to the Kenya Air Force, according to the Ministry of Defence website.
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