The measure places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

In January, the US House of Representatives voted to sanction the ICC after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes allegations in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander.

At the time, the ICC said it “regrets any attempts to undermine the court’s independence, integrity and impartiality”.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2p19l24g2o

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AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced Monday that he is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders, over actions taken during the Israel-Hamas war. A panel of three judges will now decide whether to issue the warrants and allow a case to proceed. Such decisions typically take two months.

THE FACTS: Social media users are misrepresenting the warrants’ status, including that of Netanyahu, by claiming that they have already been approved by the ICC.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-icc-arrest-warrant-issue-netanyahu-557759491756

The post A warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest was requested. But no decision was made about whether to issue it first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

ARGENTINA has suspended sales of corn for export until February 28, the agriculture ministry said, announcing the surprise move as part of the government’s effort to ensure ample domestic food supplies.

According to Reuters, the move by the world’s No. 3 corn supplier was a sign of tightening global food supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This decision is based on the need to ensure the supply of grain for the sectors that use it as a raw material for the production of animal protein such as pork, chicken, eggs, milk and cattle, where corn represents a significant component of production costs,” the statement said.

Argentina’s government is struggling to control food price inflation and help low-income families contending with an economy shrinking during the pandemic. Buyers can still book corn from Argentina, but only for a shipping date of March 1 or later.

Russia, in December 2020 announced a grain export quota and wheat tax as President Vladimir Putin criticized rising food prices.

And major agricultural exporter Brazil has imported staples including soybeans. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures notched a 6-1/2-year high after Argentina’s announcement.

The South American grains powerhouse is also a big international soybean and wheat supplier as well as the world’s top exporter of soymeal livestock feed.
https://tribuneonlineng.com/argentina-suspends-corn-exportation-to-ensure-domestic-food-supplies/

“To date, 34.23 million tonnes of corn from the 2019/20 season has been authorized for export, out of an exportable total of 38.50 million tonnes,” the statement said.

“The objective of the measure is that the remaining 4.27 million tonnes remain available for domestic consumption, in order to ensure the supply during the summer months when the supply of cereal tends to be scarce,” it added.

COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded More Infections, Deaths, Recoveries Last Week

Last week, the country’s COVID-19 infections witnessed yet another significant increase. Nigeria recorded 5,571 fresh COVID-19 infections which is now the highest weekly cases the country has ever recorded, Tribune Online analysis shows.

A close ally of President Donald Trump and the United States Attorney General, William Barr, has resigned his appointment after holding a meeting with the president…
https://tribuneonlineng.com/argentina-suspends-corn-exportation-to-ensure-domestic-food-supplies/

COVID-19 Vaccine To Arrive Nigeria End Of January — PTF

NATIONAL coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, has said the nation is expected to receive its first batch of the COVID-19  vaccines by the end of this month.

Aliyu made the disclosure as a guest on ARISE News, on Sunday. Upon receipt of the vaccines, Aliyu said vaccination of the public, especially those that are vulnerable, the elderly…

Pollution, Deforestation: How Ignorance, Unclear Environmental Policies Influence Booming Fish Smoking Industry

Rays of the afternoon sun pelted her head as she fanned the embers beneath the half-cut iron drum with the smoke permeating the air. “This smoke is unbearable, Iya Maria,” said one of the three neighbours conversing under a makeshift shed about five meters away. Their voices rose and fell intermittently…

International Criminal Court Begins Probe Into Shooting Of #EndSARS Protesters In Nigeria

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has disclosed that it’s conducting a preliminary investigation into the recent #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Wednesday.

Source: https://tribuneonlineng.com/argentina-suspends-corn-exportation-to-ensure-domestic-food-supplies/

The post Argentina Suspends Corn Exportation To Ensure Domestic Food Supplies first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

ALESTINIANS PRAY yesterday next to the bodies of Hamas terrorists killed by Israeli tank fire, during their funeral at a mosque in Gaza City.. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

With around 140 Palestinians killed by the IDF during the ongoing Gaza border crisis, and almost every incident of death being initially probed, The Jerusalem Post has learned that the volume of reviews is drawing out the process of reaching legal decisions.

How soon the IDF makes decisions about the probes is crucial as it could impact ongoing war-crimes probes of Israel by the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council.

Although the IDF has two teams performing initial probes of incidents in which Palestinians were killed and some controversial incidents where Palestinians were injured – one led by Brig.-Gen. Moti Baruch and another led by Brig.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Nuriel – the sheer number of incidents has delayed its ability to reach decisions.

In addition, the Post has learned that the IDF’s probes need to alter their paradigm for investigating and the methods they use to review incidents in light of the unique mixture of civilians and Hamas operatives. For example, the IDF has experience with balancing military goals and potential civilians casualties regarding aerial attacks, but has not found any country facing a similar paradigm of a long border of conflict that mixes combatants and civilians.

The crisis started with mostly civilian-run protests on March 30 – with Hamas operatives mixed in – but over time became more dominated by Hamas and other terrorist groups using increasingly violent methods, sometimes including gunfire or plastic explosives.

While protests, attempts to infiltrate Israel’s border fence, and fire kites have slowed some in recent weeks, no one has declared the crisis over and the IDF still views the situation as ongoing – a third factor in the delay in deciding whether to criminally investigate incidents.

Late Thursday afternoon, Haaretz reported that the two teams probing the incidents are close to turning over a large number of recommendations to military advocate-general Maj.-Gen. Sharon Afek, who has the final word on whether to criminally investigate an incident.

Haaretz reported that the two teams will recommend to Afek not to criminally investigate any of the incidents as the Palestinians killed had either been shot by accident, had died due to other operational errors, or had been shot justifiably.

Even if the two teams send recommendations soon to Afek, the Post has learned that the IDF legal division will likely need to request the gathering of additional evidence, which will draw out the probes further and only Afek makes final decisions.

Moreover, the Post has learned that in many cases, the IDF has been in touch with Palestinians’ lawyers to get information and is waiting for responses or has received initial responses and is in an extended process of dialogue.

The IDF’s open-fire rules during the crisis have been highly controversial and on Wednesday the UN Human Rights Council appointed an official commission, headed by Syracuse professor and war crimes expert David Michael Crane, to probe alleged war-crimes allegations against Israel.

In April, the International Criminal Court issued a warning to both Israel and Hamas that its ongoing war-crimes probe of both sides dating back to the 2014 Gaza war could also include any new crimes committed during the current border conflict.

Even if the IDF puts forth the above reasons justifying its needing more time to make final decisions about criminal investigations and – down the road – whether to indict soldiers or not, there are concerns that the longer the probes run the more global legal problems may build up.

Despite these concerns, the Post has learned the IDF will likely not push to speed up the process.

Regarding the 2014 Gaza war, though the IDF made several announcements about criminal probes in the weeks and months after the war ended, there are still, to this day, no final decisions regarding whether to criminally probe the three largest incidents of Palestinian deaths.

The Post has learned that final decisions regarding those incidents are due in the coming months or by the end of 2018.

It appears that the IDF and top Israeli legal officials have not reached a final decision about whether to put out large public reports about their probes, as they did for the 2014 Gaza war, preferring to wait until the current border crisis has ended and they can view its full scale.

Moreover, many of the government officials and soldiers that the legal officials need information from are still serving on the border as long as the crisis continues – causing a delay in how quickly they can provide documentation.

The 2014 Gaza war led to over 30 criminal investigations out of around 500 initial probes. If none of the current crisis incidents lead to criminal probes, the IDF would likely come under even greater scrutiny by the ICC and the UNHRC.

On the other hand, the IDF is hopeful that a High Court of Justice ruling declaring its open fires rules legal may shield it from outside legal scrutiny.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Is-the-IDF-ready-for-its-next-legal-war-563568

The post Is the IDF ready for its next legal war? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

These are not the words of some crazed warlord from the middle ages. These are the words of a present-day Libyan warlord conducting one of the dirtiest wars in recent history. And when he is not busy killing civilians, this warlord is trotting the globe meeting with top diplomats, ministers, and presidents from the US, Italy, France, and the UK. He is K.B. Haftar. Or Field Marshal Haftar as he prefers to be called.

Haftar, has arguably done more to sow chaos and instability in Libya than anyone else. The self-appointed Field Marshal and his Libyan National Army have blockaded government buildings to prevent votes of elected representatives. He ordered the arrest of elected officials. He pledged support to one faction, then switched sides. Then reversed course again. He has refused to allow even a vote on a UN-sponsored political agreement, and laid siege to neighborhoods and cities. Some of Libya’s most fanatical and deadly religious groups consider him as their supreme and only leader.

And his armies have engaged in clearly documented war crimes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) called for the arrest of Haftar’s chief subordinate, Mahmoud al-Werfalli. According to their request, the ICC, “found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr al-Werfalli committed murder as a war crime for allegedly directly participating in seven incidents in which 33 individuals were killed.”

And now there’s striking and compelling evidence that Haftar ordered his forces to commit those war crimes, and others, including summary executions, taking no prisoners, torture, war crimes, and denial of humanitarian aid to civilians.

Haftar is an American problem not just because the continued vacuum in Libya will exacerbate and prolong a humanitarian and refugee crisis in Africa and Europe which will further ensnare American interests. Khalifa Haftar is an American problem because he’s an American citizen.

But he’s an American problem we can actually do something about, and we should.

First, it should make US policy public in Libya that the United States does not and will not support Haftar and his LNA militia. That’s more than good policy; it’s illegal under both United States and international law to give material aide to war criminals.

Second, the Trump administration should, considering the new evidence implicating Haftar, call on the ICC to issue an order for his arrest too. Further, the administration can and should offer intelligence that may aid in the arrest of Haftar and al-Werfalli.

Finally, and most importantly, Attorney General Sessions should convene a federal grand jury to indict Haftar for war crimes.

There’s precedent for such a move. In 2006, the George W. Bush Justice Department indicted Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., the American citizen son of the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, for war crimes he committed in Liberia. Those crimes included torture and extra-judicial killing. The younger Taylor was convicted and is now serving a 99-year sentence in US federal prison. An indictment and domestic arrest warrant would make it clear that Americans do not support war criminals or war crimes – not just even, but especially – when they are committed by Americans.

An indictment would also further isolate Haftar from political and military allies in the region. Haftar met with French president Emanuel Marcon in July in an attempted peace negotiation, giving him prestige and standing on an international stage – a maneuver which would have been far more awkward had Haftar been a wanted fugitive in the United States.

Just two weeks ago President Trump, at the United Nations, said, “America stands with every person living under a brutal regime.” And, “All people deserve a government that cares for their safety, their interests, and their well-being, including their prosperity.”

There is no more brutal regime than an unaccountable war criminal. That this one in Libya happens to be an American means Trump, who called himself the “law and order” candidate, can do something about it. Bringing order to Libya may seem too ambitious. But Trump can bring a little law to this American in Libya, and he should.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Libya Observer

Source: https://www.libyaobserver.ly/opinions/khalifa-haftar-libyan-warlord-and-american-problem

The post Khalifa Haftar is a Libyan warlord and an American problem first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.