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☆ East Europe NATO allies say Wagner troops in Belarus spell trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It requires a very, very tough answer of NATO," Polish President Andrzej Duda added. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday under a deal negotiated by President Alexander Lukashenko that ended the mercenaries' mutiny in Russia on Saturday. "We have sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally, every inch of NATO territory," Stoltenberg said. Poland's Duda said he hoped the threat posed by Wagner forces would be on the agenda at a summit of all 31 NATO members in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 11-12. Reporting by Bart Meijer and Anthony Deutsch; editing by Jonathan Oatis and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Wagner, Gitanas Nauseda, Stoltenberg, Andrzej Duda, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Alexander De Croo, Mark Rutte, Klaus Iohannis, Jonas Gahr, Read, NATO's Stoltenberg, Poland's Duda, Bart Meijer, Anthony Deutsch, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: HAGUE, NATO, Albania's, Edi Rama, Dutch, Thomson Locations: Russian, Belarus, The Hague, Russia, Belgian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Moscow, Minsk, Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania

Companies Llc Naftogaz Digital Technologies FollowJune 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz said on Friday it had taken legal action in the United States against Russia to recover $5 billion awarded in the Hague as compensation for damages and lost property in Crimea. It said it had filed a motion in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and that it had the right to do so as the U.S. is among countries hosting Russian assets. Naftogaz said in April that an arbitration court in The Hague had ordered Russia to pay $5 billion in compensation for unlawfully expropriating the Ukrainian company's assets in Crimea. "Since Russia has not voluntarily paid the funds to Naftogaz as provided for by the award, we intend to leverage all available mechanisms to recover these funds," Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said. Chernyshov said the company was working on this in the United States and other target jurisdictions.

Persons: Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, Chernyshov, Anna Pruchnicka, Tom Hogue, Timothy Organizations: Technologies, United States, Court, District of Columbia, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, United States, Russia, Hague, Crimea, U.S, Ukraine, Western, Chornomornaftogaz, The Hague

KYIV, June 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz said on Friday it had taken legal action in the United States against Russia to recover $5 billion awarded in the Hague as compensation for damages and lost property in Crimea. It said it had filed a motion in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and that it had the right to do so as the U.S. is among countries hosting Russian assets. Naftogaz said in April that an arbitration court in The Hague had ordered Russia to pay $5 billion in compensation for unlawfully expropriating the Ukrainian company's assets in Crimea. "Since Russia has not voluntarily paid the funds to Naftogaz as provided for by the award, we intend to leverage all available mechanisms to recover these funds," Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said. Chernyshov said the company was working on this in the United States and other target jurisdictions.

Persons: Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernyshov, Chernyshov, Dmitry Peskov, Anna Pruchnicka, Tom Hogue, Timothy Organizations: United States, Court, District of Columbia, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, United States, Russia, Hague, Crimea, U.S, Ukraine, Western, Chornomornaftogaz, The Hague

☆ South Korea ordered to pay Elliott about $109 mln total over 2015 Samsung merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - The South Korean government has been ordered to pay hedge fund Elliott about $108.5 million, Elliott and the Ministry of Justice said on Tuesday, in an dispute settlement case stemming from the 2015 merger of two Samsung (005930.KS) affiliates. Elliott was a minority stakeholder in Samsung C&T and opposed the deal, deeming the terms of the merger unduly unfavourable to the company. The NPS, which approved the merger, held a larger stake in Samsung C&T and was viewed as a casting vote. The arbitration tribunal ordered the South Korean government to pay Elliott about $53.6 million in damages, plus delayed interest, as well as $28.9 million in legal fees, the justice ministry said, without elaborating. Elliott welcomed the decision in a statement, and urged South Korea to "pay the ultimate award rather than pursue baseless legal proceedings to challenge the Tribunal's decision".

Persons: Elliott, Moon Hyung, Park, hye, Joyce Lee, Sandra Maler Organizations: South, Ministry of Justice, Samsung, Elliott Investment, South Korean, Cheil Industries, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, The Hague, U.S, South, South Korea

☆ Garland’s Distance From Hunter Biden Inquiry Fails to Quell Critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was 4,000 miles away from Delaware on Tuesday when federal prosecutors announced a deal for Hunter Biden on tax and gun charges that would most likely ensure he does not serve a prison sentence. It reflected the distance Mr. Garland has sought from the investigation into his boss’s son. Mr. Garland’s aides say his trip to Europe had been weeks in the making, and his absence from the country was happenstance, not calculation. The investigation into Hunter Biden predates Mr. Garland’s appointment. Mr. Garland did not dismiss Mr. Weiss, a Republican, to ensure the appearance of impartiality — a strategy aimed at protecting the department, and to some degree himself, from accusations of political favoritism.

Persons: Merrick B, Garland, Hunter Biden, Mr, Garland’s, Donald J, Trump, President Biden, Biden’s, David C, Weiss, Biden Organizations: Justice Department, Mr, Trump, Republican Locations: Delaware, Europe, Stockholm, The

☆ Covid vaccine maker Novavax sees a pathway to survival – but it won’t be easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Jakub Porzycki | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesNovavax has a clear message for Wall Street: The cash-strapped Covid vaccine maker sees a pathway to survival. The 36-year-old company will continue to rely on its protein-based Covid vaccine – its only commercially available product – for most of its revenue this year. Once the U.S. government's supply of free Covid vaccines runs out, all three companies will sell updated shots directly to health-care providers. A health worker prepares a dose of the Novavax vaccine as the Dutch Health Service Organization starts with the Novavax vaccination program on March 21, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands. But Taylor emphasized that the plan will help Novavax refocus on its top priority: delivering an updated vaccine in the coming months.

Persons: Jakub Porzycki, Novavax, Covid, Cowen, Brendan Smith, John Jacobs, Smith, that's, Silvia Taylor, Taylor, Jefferies, Roger Song, Patrick Van Katwijk, Mayank Mamtani, let's, Mamtani, Let's, Song, Ding Genhou Organizations: NurPhoto, Getty, Pfizer, Moderna, CNBC, Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization, FDA, Dutch Health Service Organization, Riley Securities, U.S, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Reuters, Visual China Locations: Krakow, Poland, Maryland, U.S, The Hague, Netherlands, Moderna, Geneva, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

☆ Vegas hits the jackpot, beats Florida to win Stanley Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Jun 13, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate the win over the Florida Panthers in game five of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. "We got a Stanley Cup in Las Vegas ... it's unbelievable." The Vegas victory made good on Golden Knights owner Bill Foley's bold prediction that the expansion team would win a Stanley Cup within their first six seasons. "What has happened here has been simply incredible," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said before presenting the Stanley Cup to Stone. Teams holding a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final have won 36 of 37 times.

Persons: Lucas Peltier, Mark Stone, Nicolas Hague, Alec Martinez, Reilly Smith, Michael Amadio, Ivan Barbashev, Nicolas Roy, Adin Hill, Jonathan Marchessault, Conn Smythe, Bill Foley's, Gary Bettman, Vegas, Stone, Aaron Ekblad, Martinez, Smith, Amadio's, Barbashev, Florida's Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Roy, Frank Pingue, Steve Keating, Peter Rutherford Organizations: The Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, Mobile, USA, Vegas Golden Knights, National Hockey, Golden Knights, Stanley, Eastern Conference, Panthers, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, NBA, South, NHL, Las Vegas, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Hague, Vegas, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, USA, Vegas, Las Vegas, Florida, South Florida, it's, Toronto

☆ Russia calls Ukraine's MH17 accusations at World Court 'fiction'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

THE HAGUE, June 14 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Russia on Wednesday dismissed Ukraine's account of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in World Court hearings earlier this week as "fiction". Ukraine repeated the Dutch court findings in its case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but Russia's lawyer Michael Swainston dismissed it as "fiction". "This did not happen, no BUK Telar came from Russia," he told the court on the final day of hearings. In its final submissions on Monday, Ukraine asked the ICJ to find Moscow guilty of breaching its treaty obligations and order it to pay reparations. It has asked the court to throw out Ukraine's claim which stems from 2017 and was filed well before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Persons: Michael Swainston, Stephanie van den Berg, William Maclean Organizations: HAGUE, Russia, Wednesday, Malaysian Airlines Flight, International Court of Justice, ICJ, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Tatars, Crimea

☆ Clooney Foundation sues Venezuela over alleged human rights abuses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Nicolás Misculin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUENOS AIRES, June 14 (Reuters) - The Clooney Foundation for Justice has accused Venezuelan security forces of crimes against humanity against government opponents since 2014 in a lawsuit filed in Argentina on Wednesday. "We are talking about arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions," said Ignacio Jovtis, a lawyer for the Clooney Foundation. The Clooney Foundation for Justice was founded by actor George Clooney and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney. The International Criminal Court in The Hague is investigating alleged Venezuelan human rights violations. The Argentine justice system has previously agreed to investigate alleged crimes against humanity carried out in Spain and Myanmar in the past, which prompted the Clooney Foundation to file the complaint in Buenos Aires.

Persons: Nicolas Maduro, Ignacio Jovtis, George Clooney, Amal Clooney, Jovtis, Clooney, Nicolas Misculin, Steven Grattan, Howard Goller Organizations: Clooney Foundation, Justice, Wednesday, Foundation, Criminal, United Nations, Thomson Locations: BUENOS AIRES, Venezuelan, Argentina, Venezuela, The Hague, Argentine, Spain, Myanmar, Buenos Aires

☆ Exclusive: Coalition aims to begin Ukrainian F-16 pilot training by summer - Dutch minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Previously, the Netherlands had said it aimed to start training Ukrainian pilots "as soon as possible", but had stopped short of specifying when such training could get under way. And we'll see if that's realistic" for the start of the training programme, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told Reuters in an interview. A final decision has not yet been taken on a request from Kyiv to supply dozens of F-16s, Ollongren said. Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the training would begin with two groups of 12 Ukrainian pilots, already experienced flying Soviet-era MiGs. Ukrainian pilots would have to learn how to operate the F-16's so-called 'hands-on throttle and stick'.

Persons: Kajsa Ollongren, Ollongren, it's, Volodymyr, Zelenskiy, Colonel Laurens, Jan Vijge, that's, Anthony Deutsch, Phillip Stewart Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Dutch Defense, U.S, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, U.S, Russia, Denmark, Ukraine, Kyiv, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Britain, Soviet, Ukrainian, Dutch, Afghanistan, The Hague, Washington

☆ Who Is Jack Smith, the Special Counsel Who Indicted Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jack Smith, appointed in November to investigate former President Donald J. Trump, is a hard-driving, flinty former prosecutor chosen for his experience in bringing high-stakes cases against politicians in the United States and abroad. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland tasked him with overseeing two investigations into Mr. Trump: one into his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, including the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and the other into Mr. Trump’s retention of classified materials at his residence in Florida. “The right choice to complete these matters in an evenhanded and urgent manner,” Mr. Garland said in announcing the appointment of Mr. Smith, who had been serving as the top prosecutor investigating war crimes in Kosovo at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans have accused the Justice Department of pursuing a politically motivated investigation intended to destroy Mr. Trump’s chances of retaking the White House, including by leaking details of the case. But department officials have said Mr. Smith, 54, is intent on conducting a fair investigation in secrecy — and Mr. Smith has refused to even acknowledge the questions of reporters who have approached him outside his office in northeast Washington.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald J, Trump, General Merrick B, Garland, Trump’s, “, Mr, Smith Organizations: Capitol, Criminal, Mr, Justice Department Locations: United States, Florida, Kosovo, The Hague, Washington

☆ Who is Special Counsel Jack Smith in the Trump documents case?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - Jack Smith, the U.S. special counsel who has pursued criminal charges against former President Donald Trump over retention of classified government records, has earned a reputation for winning tough cases against war criminals, mobsters and crooked cops. This case is unlike any other that Smith has brought because of who is being charged. One of the two investigations that Smith took over involved Trump's handling of classified documents he retained after leaving the White House in January 2021. Trump's own attorney Evan Corcoran emerged as a key witness in the documents investigation. In 2008, Smith left to supervise war crime prosecutions at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald Trump, General Merrick Garland, Smith, Attorney Bragg, Mark Lesko, Greenberg Traurig, Trump, Joe Biden's, Evan Corcoran, Corcoran, Mike Pence, Robert Morgenthau, Morgenthau, Todd Harrison, McDermott Will, Emery, Harrison, Charles Schwarz, Abner Louima, Ronell Wilson, Salih Mustafa, Sarah N, Lynch, Andy Sullivan, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Trump, Manhattan, Attorney, Attorney's, White, Harvard Law School, New, New York City, York City, Criminal, Justice Department, Kosovo Liberation Army, Thomson Locations: New York, Washington, Brooklyn, York, The Hague, Kosovo, Serbia

THE HAGUE, June 7 (Reuters) - Judges at a U.N. war crimes court ruled that elderly Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga is unfit to stand trial but said slimmed-down legal proceedings in his case can continue, in a decision published on Wednesday. "The trial chamber finds Mr. Kabuga is no longer capable of meaningful participation in his trial," a decision published on the Hague court's website said. "It is simple: when a person is deemed unfit for trial, then the court case should end and that person should go home," he said. Kabuga has denied the charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors say Kabuga promoted hate speech through his broadcaster, Radio Television Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM), and armed ethnic Hutu militias.

Persons: Felicien Kabuga, Kabuga, Emmanuel Altit, Eric Emeraux, Felicien, Benoit Tessier, Prosecutors, Stephanie van den Berg, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Jason Neely, Andrew Heavens Organizations: HAGUE, Hague, Office, Reuters, REUTERS, Radio Television Libre, United Nations, Thomson Locations: France, Paris, Hague, United, Rwanda

☆ Rwanda: UN court rules Félicien Kabuga mentally unfit to stand trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Zahid Mahmood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —A UN war crimes court has ruled that 88-year-old Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga is no longer capable of “meaningful participation” in his trial. Kabuga’s trial began last September before the IRMCT for what prosecutors say was his “substantial” contributions to the genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group in Rwanda. Prosecutors say Kabuga’s radio station RTLM broadcast genocidal propaganda and accuse him of arming the ‘Interahamwe’ militia, widely considered to be the main culprits behind the killings. IRMCT prosecutors say he did not wield a machete or pick up a microphone to broadcast hate but his conduct since 1992 pointed to a consistent anti-Tutsi agenda. “The charges against Kabuga reflect his status as a wealthy and well-connected insider,” prosecutor Rashid S. Rashid said in his opening statement last September.

Persons: Félicien Kabuga, ”, Kabuga, Rashid S, Rashid Organizations: London CNN, UN, Radio Television Libre des, Prosecutors Locations: Hague, Rwanda, Paris

The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said on Tuesday it was investigating the blast at the Nova Kakhovka dam, situated in Russian-occupied territory, as a war crime and possible act of environmental destruction, or "ecocide". Kyiv said this was a war crime, while Moscow said the targets were legitimate. WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL LAW SAY? The Geneva Conventions and additional protocols shaped by international courts say that parties involved in a military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives”, and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden. IS ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE MILITARY OR CIVILIAN?

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, general's, Marko Milanovic, Michael Schmitt, Milanovic, Katharine Fortin, Stephanie van den Berg, Anthony Deutsch, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, HAGUE, Russia, Criminal, European, of International, University of Reading, ICC, Lieber Institute for Law & Warfare, United States Military Academy West, Utrecht University, Thomson Locations: Nova, Kherson region, Ukraine, Geneva, Ukrainian, Dnipro, Russia, Moscow, Rome

☆ Top Dutch court says Rwandan genocide suspect cannot be extradited
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

THE HAGUE, June 6 (Reuters) - The Dutch supreme court on Tuesday ruled that a man facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide should not be extradited to Rwanda because it cannot be guaranteed his trial will be fair. In its judgment the Supreme Court confirmed a lower court ruling of November last year that said extradition to Rwanda risked "a flagrant infringement of the right to a fair trial" for Pierre-Claver Karangwa because he is an opposition politician. The Dutch authorities, who have extradited at least three Rwandan genocide suspects to stand trial in Kigali since 2016, had appealed that decision but that appeal was denied by the Supreme Court. Karangwa has already had his Dutch nationality revoked over the genocide accusations. He is now in a legal limbo where he is officially not wanted in the Netherlands but cannot be extradited.

Persons: Pierre, Claver, Karangwa, Stephanie van den, Christina Fincher Organizations: HAGUE, Dutch, Supreme, Thomson Locations: Rwanda, Kigali, Mugina, Netherlands

☆ Russia, Ukraine face off at World Court over MH17 airliner downing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

THE HAGUE, June 6 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia face off at the top United Nations court on Tuesday over Moscow's alleged backing of pro-Russian separatists blamed for the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014. It will be the first time lawyers for Ukraine and Russia meet at the ICJ, also know as the World Court, since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukraine will first present its case and Russia will then have an opportunity to respond. It also found that Russia had "overall control" over forces in the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine since mid-May 2014. A finding by the World Court that Russia equipped and funded rebels in eastern Ukraine responsible for the MH17 disaster would be a defeat for Moscow, which repeatedly denied sending troops or military equipment to eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Persons: Moscow's, MH17, Vladimir Putin, Stephanie van den Berg, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: HAGUE, United Nations, Malaysian Airlines Flight, International Court, Russian, ICJ, Russian Embassy, Donetsk People's, Court, Moscow, International Criminal Court, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur, Russian, Ukrainian, The Hague, Donetsk People's Republic, Kyiv

☆ Russia destroyed Ukraine's 'last warship' in Black Sea missile attack, defense ministry said
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Ukrainian Navy's "last warship" was destroyed, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said. The Yuriy Olefirenko was hit with "high-precision weapons" in the port of Odesa, Russia claimed. Russia said the Yuriy Olefirenko was hit on Monday with missiles, which Konashenkov called "high-precision weapons," per Reuters. Russia has rarely targeted the port after signing the UN-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative last year. Whichever side holds the piece of land can control ship traffic between the ports of Kherson and Mykolaiv and the Black Sea, per Forbes.

Persons: Yuriy Olefirenko, —, Igor Konashenkov, Konashenkov, Frederik Mertens, Mertens Organizations: Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian Navy, Service, Ukrainian, Russian Defence Ministry, UN, Forbes, Navy, Hague, Strategic Studies, Newsweek Locations: Odesa, Russia, Telegraph, Ukraine, Soviet, Kherson —, Dnipro, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Ukrainian

☆ Putin is terrified of being assassinated and is refusing to travel abroad after a drone attack near his luxury home: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The report said Putin was so scared of being assassinated that he was refusing to travel abroad. Dmitry Medvedev, a Kremlin official and former Russian president, said a drone attack on the Kremlin in May was a Ukrainian attempt to assassinate Putin, which Ukraine denied. Ingram's comments echo those of a former Kremlin security official, Gleb Karakulov, who fled Russia in April in opposition to the war in Ukraine. Ingram said Putin's isolation meant he was only being presented with distorted information by a group of close aides, warping his decision-making. Ingram said Putin would like to portray himself as an "international statesman" who asserts himself on the global stage.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, Verstka, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Medvedev, Philip Ingram, Ingram, MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV, Gleb Karakulov, RFERL, wouldn't Organizations: Service, International Criminal Court, Moscow Times, Kremlin, British Military, SPUTNIK, Getty, ICC, Reuters Locations: Moscow, Russian, Ukraine, Hague, Novo, Ukrainian, Russia, Saint Petersburg, London, COVID, India, South Africa, China

☆ U.N. judges expand conviction of Milosevic aides in final Yugoslav tribunal case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Former head of Serbia's state security service Jovica Stanisic appears in court at the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in The Hague, Netherlands May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/PoolTHE HAGUE, May 31 (Reuters) - U.N. judges on Wednesday expanded the convictions of two former Serbian spymasters who worked for Yugoslav ex-president Slobodan Milosevic and sentenced them to 15 years in the final case before the tribunal in The Hague dating from the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The former head of Serbia's state security service, Jovica Stanisic, and his subordinate Franko "Frenki" Simatovic could be held responsible for crimes in several Bosnian municipalities and one Croatian one due to their role in financing and training Serb militias during the break-up of Yugoslavia, appeals judges said. The Appeal chamber found Stanisic and Simatovic "shared the intent to further the common criminal plan to forcibly and permanently remove the majority of non-Serbs from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia", presiding judge Judge Graciela Gatti Santana said, reading a summary of the verdict expanding their convictions. Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Toby Chopra and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stanisic, de, Serbian spymasters, Slobodan Milosevic, Jovica Stanisic, Franko, Frenki, Graciela Gatti Santana, Stephanie van den Berg, Toby Chopra, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: UN, REUTERS, HAGUE, Yugoslav, Thomson Locations: The Hague, Netherlands, Serbian, Bosnian, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia

☆ Malaysia investigating possible looting of World War II British shipwrecks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Police, the Malaysian Marine Department and the National Heritage Department would investigate to see if the shells are from World War II, according to the report. Authorities are investigating whether shells found on the ship are from World War II, Malaysian state media said. Murky lawSalvaging of sunken World War II wrecks around the Pacific is not a new problem. In 2017, Dutch, British and US authorities reported that naval vessels sunk in the World War II Battle of the Java Sea had been salvaged without permission. Steel from World War II shipwrecks can have special value because it is was produced before the first nuclear explosions on Earth.

☆ Lindsey Graham is now a wanted man in Russia, and he said he will wear the arrest warrant like a 'badge of honor'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia issued an arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham after an edited video of him was posted online. Graham said that he would wear the arrest like a "Badge of Honor." Graham said in a statement on Monday that he would "wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin's corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office released an edited video from Graham's visit to Kyiv on Friday, where two clips of Graham were stitched together. The sequence of statements in the edited video, which made it appear that Graham was jubilant about Russians dying, angered Russian officials.

☆ Kremlin says Russia will take part in BRICS summit at 'proper level'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia would take part at the "proper level" in a planned summit in South Africa of the BRICS nations, responding to a question on whether President Vladimir Putin would attend the gathering. South Africa, a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), would theoretically be required to arrest Putin under a warrant issued by the court for his arrest for alleged war crimes. However it has invited Putin to the Aug. 22-24 summit of the BRICS grouping of emerging economies, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. And Russia will take part in this summit at the proper level," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing. The ICC issued an arrest warrant in March for Putin, accusing him of the war crime of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.

CNN —Dutch police arrested over 1,500 people after Extinction Rebellion protesters blocked a motorway in The Hague on Saturday. Hundreds of police were deployed to “maintain public order” during the climate protest, Dutch police said in a press release Saturday. Oscar Brak/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesActivists are arrested after blocking the A12 motorway in The Hague. Michel Porro/Getty ImagesVideos of the protest posted in social media showed protesters dressed in swimsuits and raincoats, prepared for the water cannons. Forty people were arrested for other criminal offenses including obstructing, blocking, vandalism, and insulting, according to the press release.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims Bakhmut; Kyiv says situation critical
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But meanwhile, to the north and south, they have made their most rapid gains for six months in the surrounding area, seizing swathes of territory from Russian troops. "Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap," Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, told troops at the Bakhmut front this week. The battle for Bakhmut has revealed a deepening split between Wagner, a mercenary force that has recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons, and the regular Russian military. For two weeks, Prigozhin has been issuing daily video and audio messages denouncing Russia's military leadership, often in expletive-laden rants. Moscow has long claimed that capturing Bakhmut would be a stepping stone towards advancing deeper into the Donbas region it claims to have annexed from Ukraine.

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