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☆ Kamala Harris’ visit to the Philippines sends China a message of US intent
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

According to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, the Philippines occupies nine features in the Spratly chain while China occupies seven. In 2016, a tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a maritime dispute, concluding China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea. “Philippine President Marcos appears open to the idea of pursuing pragmatic cooperation in the South China Sea, while not surrendering its long-standing position when it comes to the territorial issues in the South China Sea,” Banlaoi said. During her trip to the Philippines, Harris is expected to make a number of other announcements including tighter US cooperation with Manila on clean energy, cybersecurity, communication and agriculture. The deals show US intent in the Pacific region, but one South China Sea expert said Harris’ trip to the military base risks aggravating Beijing to the potential detriment of the Philippines.

☆ U.S. Vice President Harris to affirm defense commitment to Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MANILA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will reaffirm American commitments to the defence of the Philippines when she meets with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Monday, a senior U.S. administration official said. "The vice president will underscore our commitment to stand up for the international rules and norms because we recognise the impact that that has on Philippine lives and livelihoods," the U.S. official said. "The vice president will tell President Marcos that we are pleased to see our security ties in such strong position," the U.S. official said. Washington and the Philippines have moved ahead with an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that dates back to the Obama administration and that languished under Duterte. Last week, Philippine military chief Bartolome Bacarro said the United States had proposed including five more bases in the EDCA, including one in Palawan.

☆ Trump encourages GOP to 'fight' special counsel decision as Republicans attack DOJ
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he has been "going through this for six years," referring to various investigations into his actions, including both impeachments and special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. A Trump campaign spokesman added that, "This is a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice." Trump noted that the announcement of a special counsel comes just days after he announced a 2024 White House bid, which Garland said was a factor in his decision to seek an independent prosecutor. Asa Hutchinson, who has sometimes rebuked Trump, said in a statement that Garland's decision was "not good news for our country." Garland named John L. Smith, known as Jack Smith, a prosecutor at The Hague and a former federal prosecutor, to begin serving as special counsel “immediately."

Garland's decision to appoint a special counsel was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Given that Garland was appointed by President Joe Biden, naming a special counsel would give Garland more distance from the investigation into Trump, who could be Biden’s rival if the president decides to run for re-election. Trump was previously under investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller, who issued his report in 2019 focusing on Russian interference in the 2020 election and Trump’s efforts to interfere with the Justice Department investigation. Garland said he was confident in the DOJ's ability to investigate Trump, but, "I also believe that appointing a special counsel at this time is the right thing to do. Garland added that he will ensure Smith “receives the resources to conduct this work quickly and completely.”

WASHINGTON — Jack Smith, the newly named special counsel in the Trump investigations, most recently served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, where he investigated war crimes committed during the Kosovo War. Before The Hague, Smith served as the vice president of litigation for the Hospital Corporation of America, the nation’s largest nongovernmental health care provider. Smith began his prosecutorial career in 1994 as an assistant district attorney with the New York County District Attorney’s Office. From 2008 to 2010, Smith worked at the International Criminal Court where he oversaw war crimes investigations. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that Smith would be returning to the U.S. from his position at The Hague, and would begin his role as special counsel immediately.

☆ Jack Smith Named Special Counsel to Lead DOJ Probes of Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a former federal and international war-crimes prosecutor as special counsel on Friday to oversee Justice Department investigations into former President Donald Trump. Jack Smith, who once led the Justice Department unit that investigates public corruption and since 2018 was the chief prosecutor at The Hague investigating war crimes in Kosovo, will be the third special counsel in five years to examine issues involving Mr. Trump.

☆ Donald Trump’s Fate in Justice Department Probes Headed for Special Counsel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Aruna Viswanatha | Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Attorney General Merrick Garland is naming a special counsel to take over investigations involving Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( C. Ryan Barber | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland will appoint a special counsel to oversee criminal cases involving Trump. Garland appointed Jack Smith, a veteran federal prosecutor who has served since 2018 as chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague. Smith's term as special counsel begins immediately. As special counsel, Smith will preside also preside over key aspects of the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. His term as special counsel begins immediately.

☆ Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing DOJ's Trump cases, is a former war crimes investigator who prosecuted election crimes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | C. Ryan Barber | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Since 2018, Smith had served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague where he investigated war crimes in Kosovo. Since 2018, Smith had served as the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague where he investigated war crimes in Kosovo. Smith's prosecutorial career began nearly three decades ago when he started as an assistant district attorney with the New York County District Attorney's Office in 1994. Smith served with the International Criminal Court from 2008 to 2010 and it was there where he supervised all war crimes investigations conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor. Smith served as the vice president of litigation for the Hospital Corporation of America — the nation's biggest non-governmental healthcare provider — from 2017 to 2018.

☆ U.S. Justice Dept. names war crimes expert as special counsel for Trump probes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Trump called the special counsel appointment a "rigged deal." Biden did not respond to shouted questions from reporters about the special counsel during his only public appearance of the day. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein 1 2 3This marks the second time in five years that the Justice Department has appointed a special counsel to probe Trump's conduct. Smith is the Justice Department's third special counsel to be appointed since 2017 to handle a politically sensitive case. In 2019, Barr appointed John Durham as special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI's probe into Trump's 2016 campaign.

☆ MH17 verdict: 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian convicted of murders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Dutch court on Thursday convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist in absentia of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine. None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020 and if they are convicted, it’s unlikely they will serve any sentence anytime soon. “The truth on the table — that is the most important thing,” said Anton Kotte, who lost his son, daughter-in-law and his 6-year-old grandson when MH17 was shot down. The most senior defendant convicted is Igor Girkin, a 51-year-old former colonel in Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Oleg Pulatovis the only one of the suspects who was acquited represented by defense lawyers at the trial.

☆ 3 men were just given life sentences over the downing of passenger jet MH17 and the murder of 298 people, but they may never be caught
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Dutch court sentenced three men to life in prison over the downing of passenger jet MH17 in 2014. The plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made missile, and nearly 300 people were killed. Two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist were convicted, but they're fugitives. Given that the convicted are currently fugitives, the three men may never be apprehended and serve their time in prison, the report said. The missile was provided by Russia's military to pro-Moscow separatist forces, the Dutch court confirmed.

☆ Dutch court convicts 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian of murder in 2014 Malaysian jet downing over Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

President of the court Steenhuis (2ndL) talks prior to verdict in the trial of four men prosecuted for their involvement in the MH17 downing case, in Badhoevedorp on November 17, 2022. A Dutch court on Thursday convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist in absentia of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Outside the court, planes could be heard taking off and landing nearby on a cold, gray day. Oleg Pulatovis the only one of the suspects who was acquited represented by defense lawyers at the trial. They accused prosecutors of "tunnel vision" in basing their case on the findings of an international investigation into the downing while ignoring other possible causes.

☆ Judges to rule in murder trial for 2014 downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MH17 was a passenger flight shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew. At the time, the area was the scene of fighting between pro-Russian separatist and Ukrainian forces, the precursor of this year's conflict. Moscow denies any involvement or responsibility for MH17's downing and in 2014 it also denied any presence in Ukraine. They were charged with shooting down an airplane and with murder in a trial held under Dutch law. Judges will begin reading the verdict at 1:30 p.m. local time (1230 GMT) at the high-security court next to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

☆ NATO's Stoltenberg warns against underestimating of Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the newly recaptured southern city of Kherson in what marked Russian President Vladimir Putin's third major setback since the start of the war in February. "We should not make the mistake of underestimating Russia. Echoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments over the weekend, Stoltenberg said it was up to Ukraine to decide when and how it wanted to negotiate with Russia to end the war. So it is for Ukraine to decide what kind of terms are acceptable for them," he said. "What happens around the table is fundamentally linked to the situation on the battlefield," Stoltenberg said.

"Whatever (the Ukrainians) do, it will be carefully planned, kept secret and will likely be extremely well executed," Ingram added. Some residents in Kherson, meanwhile, are concerned about the risk of Russian shelling of the city once its forces regroup further east. "This Kherson fire support base becomes the anchor to support further manoeuvre by the left flank as it fights its way ... towards Mariupol, Berdyansk, and Melitopol." White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday that the United States would continue to support Ukraine militarily "to put Ukraine in the best possible position on the battlefield" and would not seek to tell it what to do. They still control large parts of Ukraine ... What we should do is strengthen Ukraine's hand," Stoltenberg added.

☆ Nigerian widows end their case in the Netherlands against Shell
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Widows Esther Kiobel and Victoria Bera are seen at a court after a hearing for a damages suit brought against energy company Royal Dutch Shell by four widows of activists executed by Nigerian government in 1995, in The Hague, Netherlands May 01, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de WouwAMSTERDAM, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A group of four widows who had sought to hold Shell (SHEL.L) liable for damages in the Netherlands after their anti-oil activist husbands were executed by the Nigerian government in 1995 have cancelled further legal proceedings, their lawyer said on Monday. "Obviously this is not without disappointment and frustration," said lawyer Channa Samkalden in statement announcing that the widows have cancelled an appeal launched after the Hague District Court rejected their case earlier this year. In March, the Hague court ruled there was not enough evidence to support the widows' assertion that Shell had bribed witnesses to give false testimony in the trial that led to the men's executions. "We have always denied the allegations made against Shell in this case," Shell said in a statement Monday.

For the most part, Mastodon looks like Twitter, with hashtags, political back-and-forth and tech banter jostling for space with cat pictures. People swap posts and links with others on their own server - or Mastodon "instance" - and also, almost as easily, with users on other servers across the growing network. But the jump in Mastodon users in a matter of days has still been startling. loadingBefore Musk completed the Twitter acquisition on Oct. 27, Mastodon's growth averaged 60-80 new users an hour, according to the widely-cited Mastodon Users account. Rochko started Mastodon in 2017, when rumours were spreading that PayPal founder and Musk ally Peter Thiel wanted to buy Twitter.

☆ Activists glue themselves to Goya paintings in Spanish climate protest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion stick themselves to Goya's paintings "Las maja naked" and "La maja ropa" to alert about the climate emergency in Madrid, Spain November 5, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. Climate activists glued themselves to the frames of two world-famous paintings by Spanish master Francisco de Goya in Madrid's Prado museum on Saturday, the latest in a string of protests targeting artworks across Europe. A man and a woman attached themselves to Goya's "La Maja Vestida" (The Clothed Maja) and his "La Maja Desnuda" (The Naked Maja), and painted "+1.5 C" on the wall between the two works, video footage showed. Groups of climate activists have mounted a series of similar protest in recent weeks in the build-up to next week's COP27 climate change conference in Egypt. "We condemn the use of the museum as a place to make a political protest of any kind," the gallery added.

☆ Climate activists who targeted 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' sentenced to prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Two Belgian climate change activists who last week targeted the famous Johannes Vermeer painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" have been sentenced to two months in prison by the Dutch court, of which one month was suspended. The two men went to trial through a fast-track judgment on charges of destruction and open violence against the painting. All three are part of the climate group Just Stop Oil Belgium, which is not affiliated with Just Stop Oil in Britain. Just Stop Oil Belgium said the verdict was "ironic". "Isn't it ironic that climate activists who nonviolently oppose the mass slaughter of life on Earth are being condemned?

☆ Climate protesters campaign by throwing food at art, but does that work?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

From cake smeared over the “Mona Lisa" to soup splashed over “Sunflowers,” recent climate protests at art galleries have grabbed international headlines but also raise questions about the effectiveness of these high-profile guerrilla tactics. But he said that war in Ukraine, the cost of living and energy crises had added urgency to the protests. While politicians have taken note of the protests, they have tended to criticize the way they have been carried out. Attacking defenseless works of art is not the right way,” Gunay Uslu, the Dutch culture and media minister tweeted Thursday. “What we’ve seen from Extinction Rebellion and other climate activist groups is that they’re very prepared to go to prison,” he said.

☆ 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' targeted with glue and liquid by climate activists
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Climate activists targeted Johannes Vermeer’s masterpiece “Girl with a Pearl Earring” with glue and liquid on Thursday but one of the world’s most iconic paintings was not damaged in the latest of such publicity-seeking stunts. A video posted on Twitter showed one man pouring a can of red substance over another protester who appeared to attempt to glue his head to the glass-protected painting. The second man stuck his hand to the panel holding the centuries-old painting. “Art is defenseless, and the Mauritshuis firmly rejects attempts to damage it for any purpose whatsoever,” the museum said. It refused further comment since it argued it would only give the protesters further publicity.

☆ German authorities looking into reports of illegal Chinese police in Frankfurt
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Authorities in Germany are investigating whether China maintains an illegal extraterritorial police station in Frankfurt, a spokesperson said, a week before Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads on an already contested visit to the economic giant. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Confirming an earlier report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, the spokesperson said they so far had no indications such facilities existed in Frankfurt. Dutch authorities on Wednesday said they were investigating Chinese offices that were operating illegally in the Netherlands, carrying out tasks like renewing driving licences. That followed allegations, denied by the Chinese embassy in The Hague, that the office had also harassed a Chinese dissident living in the Netherlands.

☆ Activist glues his head to 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' painting in The Hague
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Tosterling Charlotte Campenhout | Charlotte Campenhout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A climate activist glued his head to glass covering the world-famous "Girl with a Pearl Earring" painting at a museum in The Hague on Thursday, though the artwork was not damaged, gallery staff said. A second activist glued their hand to the wall next to the 1665 work by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer, and an unidentified liquid was thrown, the Mauritshuis museum said. An unverified video on social media showed two men near the painting, both wearing "Just Stop Oil" T-shirts. Earlier this month, Just Stop Oil activists threw soup over Vincent van Gogh’s painting "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery. A statement from Just Stop Oil said its activists were responsible and had thrown soup.

☆ Family questions death of domestic violence victim whose case made it to Supreme Court following yearslong custody battle
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

Narkis Golan outside the Supreme Court after the unanimous decision in her domestic violence case. But domestic violence victims, advocates and experts say that today, abusers and judges weaponize the clauses to punish women who flee domestic abusers to protect themselves and their children. Though there are no definitive statistics, research estimates that domestic violence could be a factor in up to 70% of Hague Convention child abduction cases. Both Fidler and Weiner criticized the ruling, alleging it did not take into account the realities of domestic violence. Golan also hoped, once her custody battle was over, to establish an organization to help protect kids and their mothers from domestic violence, Morin said.

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