World

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for the arrest of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The country’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif have also been issued warrants. All three have received the charges for alleged war crimes relating to ongoing war in Gaza. This marks the first time that any leaders of a democratic and Western-aligned state have been charged by the ICC. In their official statement regarding Gallant and Netanyahu the ICC wrote that the judges “found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each has committed the war crime of using starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”. They also wrote that they had found reasonable grounds to believe Deif was also responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, Israel has previously claimed to have killed Deif in an airstrike back in July, and the pre-trial chamber said it would “continue to gather information” to confirm this. The court was established 22 years ago when 124 countries signed the Rome statute and Netanyahu and Gallant now risk arrest if they

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that an experimental ballistic missile had been fired at a military site in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. In a televised address, Putin framed the attack as a response to Ukraine's recent strikes on Russian targets using Western-supplied missiles, escalating tensions in the nearly three-year-long war. “We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities,” Putin said. The missile, named Oreshnik ("the hazel"), reportedly targeted the Yuzhmash military facility and was described as nuclear-capable. Putin warned Western nations, particularly the U.S. and U.K., that Russia reserves the right to retaliate against countries providing Ukraine with weaponry. U.S. and U.K. officials believe the missile fired was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), capable of reaching Europe but not the U.S. Ukraine initially claimed the missile was intercontinental but later revised the statement, citing its flight characteristics as indicative of an ICBM. "Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, criticising the att

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the U.S. for their decision to provide landmines in the ongoing conflict with Russia. The approved landmines came from the U.S. in an attempt to slow down Russian troops, who have been advancing into Ukraine's east in recent months. It was part of a broader defence package offered by Washington, which Zelensky said would “really strengthen our troops on the front”. The U.S. has already been providing anti-tank mines to Ukraine, but the new package will see anti-personnel land mines join the conflict. These explosives are often concealed on the ground and designed to detonate when people step over or near them and can be rapidly deployed. The Defence Secretary for the U.S., Lloyd Austin, said they made the decision to provide landmines due to Russia’s changing battlefield tactics, seeing troops sent in first rather than “mechanised forces”. However, the move has been widely condemned by human rights organisations and charities, largely due to the possible impact on civilians. Human Rights Watch director Mary Wareham labelled the decision as a “shocking and devastating development”, while the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said they condem

Hong Kong’s High Court has sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to up to a decade in prison, after the city’s largest national security trial. The activists were arrested in 2021 under a national security law passed by Beijing, and were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion. “Today’s harsh sentences against dozens of prominent democracy activists reflect just how fast Hong Kong’s civil liberties and judicial independence have nosedived in the past four years since the Chinese government imposed the draconian National Security Law,” said Human Rights Watch’s Associate China Director Maya Wang. The group was arrested for participating in an unofficial primary election in July 2020, organised by legal scholar Benny Tai. They have been detained since 2021. Sentences range from just over four years to 10 years. While 47 activists were originally arrested, two were previously acquitted. "I am absolutely not optimistic about the sentence, but I see hope, because even though the day of freedom is still far away, we finally see the end,” said Owen Chow, an activist sentenced to nearly eight years in prison. The group includes foreign citizens, such as Australian Gordon Ng. "The Australian Government is grave