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CNN —President Joe Biden has decided to allow the US to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, two US officials and a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The decision comes after months of internal debate and marks a historic shift, as it would be the first time the US has agreed to share evidence with the court as part of a criminal probe into a country that is not a member of the ICC. “It could be deeply consequential,” one of the sources said, adding that the US government now has “a clear green light” to share information and evidence with the ICC. Over the course of the war, Biden administration officials have obtained evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, through intelligence gathering mechanisms among other channels, officials told CNN. The Pentagon was the most concerned about cooperating with the court, officials said, and worried that doing so might set a precedent for the ICC to investigate alleged war crimes carried out by Americans in Iraq.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden “, ”, Biden, Defense Lloyd Austin, CNN’s Wolf Organizations: CNN, ICC, National Security, Joint, Eurojust, United Nations Human Rights, Criminal Court, The New York Times, Pentagon, Defense, Defense Department, Ukraine’s, Department of Justice Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, United States, Iraq

CNN —The Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, has voted in favor of a new law banning nearly all medical help for transgender people including gender reassignment surgery, in a raft of new anti-LGBTQ laws in Russia. These recent legal developments in Russia expand the constraints on the LGBTQ community and reflect a tightening of regulations and control over transgender rights in the country. Russia’s first transgender politician, Yulia Alyoshina, has warned of the severe consequences of the proposed transgender bill. The latest restrictions seem to be closely intertwined with the ongoing dissent on the political and human rights activity in Russia. The Russian state labeled OVD-Info a foreign agent in 2021 under a law that critics say suppresses dissent.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russia’s, Yulia Alyoshina, “, ” Alyoshina, Alyoshina Organizations: CNN, Russian State Duma, Federation Council, Putin, State Duma, Civic Initiative, Federal Security Service, FSB, Armed Forces Locations: Russia, Ukraine, State, Russian, Oryol

☆ Allies React Cautiously to Prospect of U.S. Cluster Weapons for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Thomas Gibbons-Neff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The United States appears to be on the verge of providing Ukraine with cluster munitions, a senior Biden administration official said. What are cluster munitions? “There’s just not a responsible way to use cluster munitions,” said Brian Castner, the weapons expert on Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Team. The New York Times has documented Russia’s extensive use of cluster munitions in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022. The Convention on Cluster Munitions also limits the ability of nations that have signed on to cooperate militarily with countries that employ them.

Persons: Laura Cooper, “ There’s, ”, Brian Castner, Castner, “, Ukraine —, Jerry Redfern, Mary Wareham, Cooper, Biden, Gabriela Rosa Hernández, David Guttenfelder, Oleksandr Kubrakov, ” Eric Schmitt, John Ismay, Gaya Gupta Organizations: Biden, Washington, U.S, Pentagon, National Public Radio, United Nations, Amnesty, Cluster Munitions, Getty, The New York Times, The Times, Human Rights Watch, NATO, Ukraine, Munitions, Arms Control, Ukraine’s, Brigade, ., Munich Security Locations: States, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Eurasia, Tibnin, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Balkans, Laos, U.S, United, United States, LightRocket, Russian, Kramatorsk, Ukrainian

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police base as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. Khartoum and El Geneina have been worst affected by the war, although last week tensions and clashes escalated in other parts of Darfur and in Kordofan, in the south. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, U.N, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood, Mark Porter Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Sudan's warring factions widen conflict across the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, June 23 (Reuters) - Sudan's two-month long war is extending across the country with the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) clashing in several areas on Friday. Air strikes and anti-aircraft missile fire hit overnight in the Omdurman and Khartoum, two of the three cities that make up Sudan's wider capital. The West Darfur city of El Geneina has been worst hit by repeated militia attacks. In recent days, fighting had also picked up between the army and RSF in Nyala, capital of South Darfur and one of Sudan's largest cities. A new front in the fighting is also threatening to open in South Kordofan, where the rebel SPLM-N controls some areas.

Persons: Al, El Geneina, Khalid Abdelaziz, Grant McCool Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, United, MSF, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Omdurman, Khartoum, Darfur, Kordofan, Al Fashir, North Darfur, El Obeid, North Kordofan, West Darfur, El, United States, Nyala, South Darfur, South Kordofan, Chad, Egypt, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo

☆ UN rights chief seeks to establish presence in China and India
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I also believe that it is important for us to establish a presence for the first time in China and India." The U.S. said it is monitoring a rise in rights abuses in India by officials. New Delhi has said it values human rights. While human rights comprise one of the four United Nations "pillars", alongside peace and security, the rule of law and development, it gets just 4% of the general budget. Turk also called on the United States to act urgently on racial discrimination and to ratify six human rights treaties, including one on child rights.

Persons: Volker Turk, Michelle Bachelet, Turk, Emma Farge, Rachel More, Robert Birsel, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Human Rights, Human, Nations, Thomson Locations: United States, GENEVA, India, China, Syria, Iran, Israel, Russia, Geneva, Muslims, U.S, Delhi

☆ U.S., Saudi Arabia call for extended ceasefire in Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A week-long ceasefire brokered in Saudi and U.S.-led talks in Jeddah is due to run until Monday evening. "While imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people," Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said in a joint statement. There was no statement on the possible renewal of the ceasefire from the army. In recent days there has also been fighting in El Fashir, capital of North Darfur State. One El Fashir hospital had recorded three deaths and 26 injuries on Saturday, including children, according to the Darfur Bar Association, an activist group.

In a statement on Saturday, the RSF accused the army of violating the ceasefire and destroying the country's mint in an air strike. Those who remain in Khartoum are struggling with failures of services such as electricity, water and phone networks. On Saturday, Sudanese police said they were expanding deployment and also called in able retired officers to help. Services have collapsed and chaos has spread in Khartoum," said 52-year-old Ahmed Salih, a resident of the city. The RSF has denied reports that its soldiers are engaged in sexual assaults or looting.

☆ One of the world's most expensive cities just raised the minimum wage by 32 cents an hour — and it's getting absolutely slammed for it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Financial hub Hong Kong is one of the world's most expensive cities. On Monday, the city raised its minimum wage by 32 cents to about $5.1 per hour. A wage hike of 2.5 Hong Kong dollars, or roughly 32 cents, means that Hong Kong's minimum wage is now 40 Hong Kong dollars per hour — a 7% increase from 37.50 Hong Kong dollars previously, per the announcement. In 2022, Hong Kong was the most expensive city to live in, according to consulting firm Mercer's cost of living list of over 200 cities. The society added the minimum wage should be at least 53.40 Hong Kong dollars — 30% over the current level.

☆ Sudan’s Conflict Ignites Fears of Civil War in Darfur
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Elian Peltier | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a cease-fire faltered in Sudan’s capital, two weeks of fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group have reignited violence in Darfur, a region scarred by two decades of genocidal conflict that left as many as 300,000 people dead. But attention has now focused on the Darfur region, where a security vacuum has emerged that diplomats and other observers fear may lead to civil war. Armed groups in Darfur have looted health care facilities and burned households, while marketplaces have gone up in flames. Civilians there have begun arming themselves against marauding militias and against the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese Army. “The tensions and the fighting we’re facing, they could lead to a civil war,” said Ahmed Gouja, a human rights monitor based in Nyala, Darfur’s largest city.

☆ Kyiv compares Russia to Islamic State after beheading video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV, April 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine compared Russia on Wednesday to Islamic State and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate after a video emerged online showing apparent Russian soldiers filming themselves beheading a Ukrainian captive with a knife. "There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video message. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Twitter: "A horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war is circulating online. Ukraine's domestic security agency said it had started an investigation into a suspected war crime over the video. As well as the purported execution, another video shows mutilated bodies of apparent Ukrainian prisoners of war, it said.

☆ Kremlin says detained U.S. reporter 'violated' Russian law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 11 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich had "violated Russian law" and been caught "red-handed", after the U.S. State Department officially designated him as having been "wrongfully detained" by Russia. Russia's federal security service (FSB) arrested Gershkovich last month on espionage charges widely decried as bogus by the White House, other Western countries, the Wall Street Journal, dozens of media organisations and human rights groups. Asked about the U.S. move on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Russia's position that Gershkovich broke the law. He said Gershkovich had "been caught red-handed and violated the laws of the Russian Federation", before adding: "This is what he's suspected of, but of course, the court will make a decision". Russia has presented no evidence to support the case against Gershkovich, which is proceeding in secret because Russia says the case materials are confidential.

[1/5] Palestinians relatives of Sabreen Abu Jazar, who died when a boat carrying migrants sank offshore Greece, mourn in her family home in Gaza Strip March 3, 2023. After leaving Gaza in February, via Egypt, Sabreen flew to Turkey where she met her husband, who had migrated to Belgium years ago. "I celebrated her as a bride, now she's returned to me in a coffin," said her mother-in-law Buthayna Abu Jazar. In an effort to promote security along its Gaza border, Israel offers some 20,000 permits to allow Gazans to work in Israel. In Gaza, Hamas says a permanent solution for unemployment is beyond its ability alone.

☆ Russian politician fined for "noodle ears" stunt during Putin speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - A Russian local politician was fined nearly $2,000 on Thursday for "discrediting the armed forces" by dangling spaghetti from his ears while listening to a speech by President Vladimir Putin, a human rights monitoring group said. Mikhail Abdalkin was convicted for a stunt, which he filmed and posted on social media, based on a Russian saying that someone who has been strung along or deceived has had noodles hung on their ears. The implication was that he did not believe the content of the state of the nation speech that Putin delivered on Feb. 21, just before the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine. The monitoring group OVD-Info quoted Abdalkin, a Communist from the Samara region, as saying it had been an ironic gesture to express his dissatisfaction with "the president's silence about internal political problems". ($1 = 76.8455 roubles)Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

It has also denied that its military commanders are aware of sexual violence by soldiers. When Reuters asked for the identities of both soldiers, prosecutors provided only the name of the younger man. Russia has also accused Ukrainian forces of war crimes, including the execution of 10 prisoners of war. A U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has said that most of the dozens of sexual violence accusations pointed at the Russian military. So far, Ukrainian prosecutors have convicted 26 Russians of war crimes - some prisoners of war, some in absentia - of which one was for rape.

Life has become solitary confinement.” Some women went into hiding, fearing retribution after the Taliban seized power. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women were among the most profoundly affected. A Wrenching Change Afifa, 47, wishes more Afghan men would fight for women’s rights KABUL, Afghanistan — Walk around the capital, Kabul, and it often feels as if women have been airbrushed out of the city. When the Taliban seized power, girls’ schools remained open in a kind of limbo — neither officially sanctioned nor forbidden — for months. Zubaida, 20, teaches high school girls in secret “Regimes come and go all the time in Afghanistan.

☆ Ukraine is getting more THeMIS robots, ground vehicles that Russian troops have been offered $16,000 to capture
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine will receive 14 more THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles, manufacturer Milrem Robotics said Tuesday. A Russian think tank previously offered a bounty for the capture of one of these vehicles. "Automating these tasks with unmanned vehicles alleviates that danger and allows more soldiers to stay in a safe area or be tasked for more important activities." Evacuation robot (unmanned ground vehicle) THeMIS seen on a dusty road during the field tests in Kyiv, Ukraine. At the time, a spokesperson for Milrem Robotics told Insider: "We take the bounty as a compliment."

CNN —Ahead of England’s World Cup clash with the United States on Friday, world soccer’s governing body FIFA said that Crusader costumes worn by England fans are “offensive.”Some England fans attend sports events dressed as the English patron Saint George, equipped with helmets, crosses and plastic swords. FIFA told CNN: “Crusader costumes in the Arab or Middle East context can be offensive to Muslims. Video Ad Feedback Hear from US journalist who was detained for wearing a rainbow shirt in Qatar 03:36 - Source: CNNThe rainbow flag is a symbol for LGBTQ rights, and in Qatar homosexuality is illegal. It’s not allowed.”“One security guard told me that my shirt was ‘political’ and not allowed,” Wahl wrote on Substack. The Welsh Football Association (FAW) said FIFA told the federation on Thursday that rainbow-colored flags and hats would be permitted at World Cup stadiums in Qatar.

☆ U.N. rights council votes to probe Iran's ongoing crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSGENEVA/DUBAI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. Rights Council voted on Thursday to appoint an independent investigation into Iran's deadly repression of protests, passing the motion to cheers of activists amid an intensifying crackdown in Kurdish areas over recent days. Tehran's representative at the Geneva meeting Khadijeh Karimi earlier accused Western states of using the council to target Iran, a move she called "appalling and disgraceful". CRACKDOWNThe crackdown has been particularly intense in Kurdish areas, located in western Iran, with the U.N. rights monitor this week noting reports of 40 deaths there over the past week. Iranian authorities have arrested a number of soccer players for expressing their support for protests. Asked on Thursday about the unrest at home Iran national team striker Mehdi Taremi said they were in Qatar to play soccer.

However, the patterns suggest that sexual violence “maybe even more frequent” in territories that were occupied for longer periods, he added, without providing evidence. Widespread or systematic sexual violence could amount to crimes against humanity, which are generally seen as more serious, legal specialists said. Moscow, which has said it is conducting a “special military operation" in Ukraine, has denied committing war crimes or targeting civilians. Evidence that sexual violence was planned could indicate it was part of a systematic attack or that some level of command was aware, said Kim Thuy Seelinger, an advisor to the ICC on sexual violence in conflict and a research associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office said it has opened dozens of criminal cases involving sexual violence by members of the Russian armed forces against women, children and men.

☆ Ukraine says will look into video allegedly showing its soldiers shooting Russians
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“HRMMU is aware of the video and is looking into it,” it said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We have received credible allegations of summary executions of persons hors de combat, and several cases of torture and ill-treatment, reportedly committed by members of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Bogner said. Ukrainian forces often wear bits of yellow, blue or green to identify themselves on the battlefields. At least two other armed men wearing glimpses of yellow also appear to be watching the apparent surrender. Ukrainian forces claimed to have regained control of the front-line village earlier this month.

☆ UN reviewing video of captured Russian soldiers who appear to have been killed at close range, NYT reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The UN is reviewing reports that Ukrainians may have executed 10 Russian prisoners of war. Videos reviewed by The New York Times appear to show Russian soldiers were killed at close range. On Ukrainian channels, the videos were shared as examples of the country's successful defense against Russian invaders, according to The Times. (The French phrase "hors de combat" means "out of combat" and refers to people incapable of performing their combat duties.) Representatives of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Myanmar releasing 4 foreign prisoners in amnesty, including American
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Britain’s embassy in Yangon said Bowman, a former British ambassador to Myanmar, had not yet been released from prison. “Sean’s heart was with the people of Myanmar to help lift them out of poverty and help Myanmar reach its economic potential. Bowman, 56, was arrested with her husband, a Myanmar national, in Yangon in August. Kyaw Htay Oo, a naturalized American, returned to Myanmar, the country of his birth, in 2017, according to media reports. Myanmar did not release many details of the other prisoners who were being freed, but almost all would have been held on charges related to the protests.

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