A leading human rights lawyer who reviewed evidence that resulted in an international arrest warrant being issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza has insisted “no one is above the law”. Last week, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu, former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, although Israel said Mr Deif had died in an air strike in July. British human rights lawyer Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws sat on the ICC’s panel of experts that reviewed the evidence before the warrants were issued. The independent crossbench peer has told Parliament that the decision was “not about equivalence” between Hamas and the Israeli leadership or about “disproportionality” regarding Israel’s response to the October 7 2023 attacks. She said it was “very specifically about the failure to provide humanitarian aid, water and so on, and the creation of starvation and malnutrition”. Speaking on a debate about the rule of law in the House of Lords, Lady Kennedy insisted that “no one should enjoy impunity” and that wealth, power and status “should in no way influence the issuing of warrants”. Her comments came after shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson of Tredegar argued that there is a UK law that would give Mr Netanyahu immunity from arrest in the UK. He said the International Criminal Court Act of 2001 guaranteed immunity for the head of a government of a state that was not party to the Rome Statute under which the ICC was established. After the arrest warrants were issued on November 21, the UK Government said it respects the independence of the ICC and that the UK will “always comply with its legal obligations”. Ministers have said it would be for the courts to decide whether to enforce an international arrest warrant should Prime Minister Netanyahu enter the UK. Lady Kennedy told peers: “To have the confidence of the public, whether the public in this country or internationally, courts have to be seen to be just and fair and the law has to be applied in a way that is impartial. “No one should enjoy impunity, no one above the law – and wealth, power, status and privilege should in no way influence, for example, the issuing of warrants... “We cannot have impunity for certain people. There are no children of a lesser god, and a very high percentage of children have died and we have to make sure that there is a just process – and that is what the International Criminal Court is there to provide.” She added: “The external evidence review panel was something I was invited to be on for the International Criminal Court in relation to the warrants that were issued against Hamas and against Prime Minister Netanyahu and former defence minister Gallant. “It’s not unusual for an independent panel to be invited to review evidence to see whether it reaches the thresholds and to make sure that there’s external eyes being applied... “And we received the evidence – it’s what I’ve spent my life doing: reviewing evidence to see if it reaches the threshold which is required at different stages in a case. “And I have to say, this was not about equivalence; it was quite different. “The warrants for the Hamas leader were very different to those that were brought together for the Israeli warrants. “And they were individuals who had held real responsibility and they were not allegations about disproportionality of the conduct of the war, it was very specifically about the failure to provide humanitarian aid, water and so on, and the creation of starvation and malnutrition.”
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OTTAWA - A Liberal MP says his committee colleagues are wasting time by launching a third inquiry into the former employment minister instead of focusing on important legislation for Indigenous Peoples. Jaime Battiste, who is Mi’kmaq, said there has been an “attack” on fellow Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, who left his position as employment minister on Wednesday after allegations of shifting claims of Indigenous identity and questions around his past business dealings. Boissonnault has been the subject of two ethics committee probes, and Battiste said a third one by the Indigenous and northern affairs committee is “a waste of time, and it seems to be the Conservatives’ way of ensuring that nothing gets done in the House of Commons.” The Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Québécois all supported pushing ahead with the third study, even after Boissonnault left cabinet. Though Liberal MPs did not object to the motion Thursday, Battiste said the committee’s time would be better spent studying legislation on important issues such as First Nations policing, a modern treaty commissioner and clean water for First Nations. “It’s very much my fear and frustration that politics is now becoming more important at the Indigenous and northern affairs committee than actually Indigenous Peoples that we’re there every day to try to make life better for,” he said. NDP MP Lori Idlout, who is a member of the committee, said Canadians deserve answers and she doesn’t expect the probe to cut into the committee’s other work. “It’s not a waste of time to have MP Boissonnault answer for why his identity kept changing. Pretending to be Indigenous is a serious matter and we need to have him be transparent to all Canadians.” Boissonnault came under intense scrutiny after the National Post reported that a company he previously co-owned described itself as wholly Indigenous-owned in order to apply for government contracts set aside for Indigenous businesses. He has been described as Indigenous multiple times in communications from the Liberal party, and in 2018 referred to himself as “non-status adopted Cree” — a statement he has repeated on other occasions. He also said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.” He has since clarified that his adoptive mother and brother are Métis, and he apologized for his shifting claims last Friday. The House ethics committee has separately investigated Boissonnault’s past business dealings after media reports alleged he remained involved in the company he co-founded after he was re-elected in 2021 and joined the federal cabinet. Opposition MPs passed a motion in the House of Commons on Tuesday — a day before Boissonnault left cabinet — for the employment minister to appear as a witness to discuss his claims to Indigenous identity. But because Boissonnault is no longer in cabinet, the Liberal chair of the committee ruled Thursday that newly minted Employment Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor is technically the person the motion called to testify. “I figured this might happen,” said Conservative MP and committee member Jamie Schmale. “If there are games to be played here and we have Minister Petitpas Taylor attend, I don’t think that goes to the spirit of the House order. I don’t think it would be very responsible to go against that ... It’s Randy Boissonault that the House determined it needs and is ordered to appear along with several other witnesses. That’s who we expect to be in that seat.” A new motion from the Conservatives calls directly for Boissonnault to appear at the committee. One of the key concerns raised about Boissonnault in recent weeks is related to the government’s Indigenous business procurement strategy. A directory provides the federal government with names of businesses it could consider using to meet its Indigenous procurement target, which states a minimum five per cent of the total value of government contracts should be held by Indigenous-owned businesses. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu told a House of Commons committee on Tuesday that the company Boissonnault founded was not listed on that directory. Battiste suggested the committee will now be in a position of determining who is eligible for Indigenous programming and determining who is Indigenous, and as a First Nations person he does not agree with that. “I have a lot of concern because no First Nations, Métis or Inuit in this country are asking committees — who are filled with non-Indigenous Peoples — to determine our identity, who we are.” Schmale and Bloc MP Sebastian Lemire, who is also a member of the committee, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version stated that MPs on the Indigenous and Northern affairs committee passed a motion to have the employment minister appear as a witness at the committee.
New Orange County Supervisor Sworn in Early to Replace Andrew Do
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Maverick McNealy finally became a winner on the final tournament of his fifth year on the PGA Tour, hitting 6-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the 18th hole at Sea Island for a 2-under 68 and a one-shot victory in the RSM Classic. He picked the right time to end nine holes without a birdie, even as so many others were making them to create a four-way tie for the lead. The victory came in his 134th start as a pro, and it sends him to Maui to start the year at The Sentry and to the Masters in April for the first time. Daniel Berger missed a 20-foot birdie attempt on the 18th that preceded McNealy's winner. He tied for second with Nico Echavarria and Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton, both of whom missed par putts from inside 8 feet on the final hole that created the four-way tie. Berger got a small consolation prize, moving inside the top 125 to keep a full PGA Tour card for 2025 when the fields will be smaller and only the top 100 will keep cards. Henrik Norlander, who was No. 126 in the FedEx Cup last year, had a 63-68 weekend and joined Berger as the two players who moved into the top 125. For Joel Dahmen, it was a matter of staying there. He was at No. 124 coming into the final tournament, had to make a 5-foot par putt just to make the cut on the number and then delivered a tee-to-green clinic — along with holing a 113-yard sand wedge for eagle early in his round — for a closing 64. It was enough to stay at No. 124 with nine points to spare. “Two of the biggest pressure moments of my career I showed up, and I can take that going forward,” Dahmen said. Clanton was a shot away from joining Nick Dunlap as amateur winners on the PGA Tour this year. Clanton, who has taken over as the top-ranked amateur in the world, now has two runner-up finishes and four top 10s in the seven PGA Tour starts the last five months. He had the look of a winner, especially with McNealy stuck in neutral, when he poured in birdie putts on the 14th and 16th holes to tie for the lead. But he tugged his approach to the 18th into bunker, blasted out nicely to 7 feet and stooped over in disbelief when he missed his par putt and had to settle for a 66 . “It’s going to be a tough one to definitely take, for sure, after bogeying the last,” Clanton said. “But I think it’s proven to me that out here I can win, so I’ll be training for that.” Echavarria, who won in Japan a month ago, had not made a bogey all day until going long on the 18th, chipping to 9 feet and catching the lip with his par putt. Michael Thorbjornsen was poised to move into the top 125 until he pulled his approach into the water on the par-5 15th hole and made bogey, closing with three pars for a 69. He tied for eighth and finished at No. 129. Thorbjornsen still has a full card next year from being No. 1 in PGA Tour University, but his status won't be as high. McNealy, son of Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy, had been doing some of his best work outside the ropes, particularly effecting a change in FedEx Cup points distribution to make it more equitable. Missing was a victory, and this one came down to the wire. He went out in 33 and led by two going to the back nine, and then it became a grind. He holed a 15-foot par putt from the fringe on the 11th to stay in the lead, and saved par after going bunker-to-bunker on the 13th. But he dropped a shot with an errant drive on the 14th, and when Echavarria birdied the 15th ahead of him, McNealy was out of the lead for the first time all day. He answered at just the right time, a 6-iron that covered the flag and settled just over 5 feet away. The victory gets him into three $20 million events over the first two months of the year, along with his first trip to the Masters. AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golfKash Patel is vying with one of Donald Trump's other insiders for the CIA deputy director post. Patel became a Trump ally when he coordinated with former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) to fight back against special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 election. Patel pressed to have all of the information around the Russia probe declassified, thinking it would expose wrongdoing in the intelligence community, CNN reported in 2020 . Patel is fighting with Cliff Sims, Trump's former deputy director of National Intelligence for Strategy and Communications, over the post, Politico reported Tuesday . The report characterized the position as "one of the most sought-after national security posts." ALSO READ: 'Not normal times': Ex-intel officials brace for retribution following J.D. Vance vow Patel was teased as a possible pick to head the FBI, but it never happened. One of his more controversial positions involves jailing journalists, something he proposed to Steve Bannon last year. Trump insiders told Politico that both men are "angering others who feel they're using their roles on the transition to undermine any would-be contenders." The post "wields enormous influence inside the U.S. intelligence community," reported Politico. "The frustration toward Sims ... and Patel, the firebrand former House Intelligence Committee staffer and Pentagon official, stems from the fact that both are helping the transition interview candidates for the CIA role," the report said, citing those in the transition. “The issue that a lot of us have is that these people are involved in staffing national security jobs, and at the same time, they’re also promoting themselves for the same roles,” said one of the individuals who spoke to Politico. Patel is known for "fighting dirty," so there's a concern that he's leaking damaging stories about Sims. After leaving the White House , Trump was furious with Sims when he published a tell-all memoir in 2019. At this point, however, many former officials have published memoirs about their political lives and their work with Trump. At the time, White House officials described Trump as “very p---ed off ” and “really hopping mad” after reading excerpts of the tell-all book. The current deputy, David S. Cohen, helped craft Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act, which dealt with money laundering. He then went on to work as the assistant secretary for Terrorist Financing at the Treasury Department, the under-secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Neither Sims nor Patel has any experience working on domestic or global terrorism. Trump's previous appointees during his first administration had experience working in the CIA. Transition spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, refused to comment about the two men, saying only that “remaining decisions will continue to be announced" when made. Read the full report here.Tens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents in Barcelona
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A team that previously boycotted at least one match against the San Jose State women's volleyball program will again be faced with the decision whether to play the school , this time in the Mountain West Conference semifinals with a shot at the NCAA Tournament on the line. Five schools forfeited matches in the regular season against San Jose State, which carried a No. 2 seed into the conference tournament in Las Vegas. Among those schools: No. 3 Utah State and No. 6 Boise State, who will face off Wednesday with the winner scheduled to play the Spartans in the semifinals on Friday. Wyoming, Nevada and Southern Utah — which is not a Mountain West member — also canceled regular-season matches, all without explicitly saying why they were forfeiting. Nevada players cited fairness in women’s sports as a reason to boycott their match, while political figures from Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Nevada suggested the cancellations center around protecting women’s sports. In a lawsuit filed against the NCAA , plaintiffs cited unspecified reports asserting there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team, even naming her. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans women’s volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity and through school officials has declined an interview request. A judge on Monday rejected a request made by nine current conference players to block the San Jose State player from competing in the tournament on grounds that she is transgender. That ruling was upheld Tuesday by an appeals court. “The team looks forward to starting Mountain West Conference tournament competition on Friday,” San Jose State said in a statement issued after the appeals court decision. “The university maintains an unwavering commitment to the participation, safety and privacy of all students at San Jose State and ensuring they are able to compete in an inclusive, fair and respectful environment.” Boise State did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. “Utah State is reviewing the court’s order," Doug Hoffman, Aggies associate athletic director for communications, said in an email. "Right now, our women’s volleyball program is focused on the game this Wednesday, and we’ll be cheering them on.” San Jose State, which had a first-round bye, would be sent directly to the conference title game if Utah State or Boise State were to forfeit again. If the Spartans make the title game, it's likely the opponent would not forfeit. They would face top-seeded Colorado State, No. 4 Fresno State or No. 5 San Diego State — all teams that played the Spartans this season. The conference champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Lucy Walker Talks Storytelling Through Documentaries: ‘It’s Difficult, You’re Asking People to Share Their Secrets’Two Queens residents allegedly responsible for dealing $2 million in stolen retail goods were busted in a crackdown that Gov. Kathy Hochul and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Tuesday. The bust occurred just days before the biggest shopping day of the holiday season, Black Friday — something that officials drove home during the presser at the Queens DA’s office on Nov. 26. Standing before a large table overflowing with stolen perfume, t-shirts, makeup, and even portions of 3D printed guns, Hochul and Katz stressed that the arrests would help safeguard retailers from theft and protect buyers from potential gouging. Hochul herself didn’t mince words about criminal elements benefiting from businesses’ financial losses. “We’ve had enough with criminals preying on our citizens. We are sick and tired of our citizens feeling they’re vulnerable, whether it’s random crimes on the streets or whether it’s the sophisticated organized crime rates — we are coming after you,” Hochul said. “I saw enough videos of people behind the counter being assaulted in brazen attacks, sometimes in broad daylight, and they’re so vulnerable, especially if they are the only person in the store or in a gas station when it happens.” Prosecutors said husband-and-wife duo Yvelisse Guzman Batista and Cristopher Guzman allegedly operated the sophisticated operation. The two suspects, both residents of Kew Gardens Hills, allegedly worked alongside accomplices Johanny Almonte Reyes and Rosa Rodriguez Santana in directing a horde of shoplifting crews, also known as boosters, to steal large quantities of merchandise from storefronts. Batista and Guzman then allegedly sold the hot merchandise from their home, online, and out of a brick-and-mortar store in the Dominican Republic, prosecutors noted. The duo, authorities said, even allegedly resorted to bribing truck drivers to divert products bound for retailers such as Sephora and Ulta Beauty from manufacturer warehouses directly to locations under their control. Police cracked down on the illegal business through an operation Katz dubbed “Fashionably Fencing.” Undercover operatives made controlled purchases of merchandise from the suspects after contacting them via social media. According to the D.A’s office, the undercover gained access to the Guzmans’ basement, which was set up as a retail store with shelves of stolen merchandise. Upon their arrests, law enforcement agents found more than $1 million in products in Batista’s and Guzman’s possession. They were charged with fostering the sale of stolen goods, the first time this newly adopted crime has been charged in New York. “This investigation and these arrests are about holding the defendants accountable and are also a great opportunity to warn people to be extremely careful when it comes to their purchases especially approaching the holiday season,” Katz said. “This marks the first time in New York anyone has been charged for the crime of fostering the sale of stolen goods, a new measure passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Hochul to stop the sale of stolen goods through both online platforms and brick-and-mortar locations.” Katz lauded recent laws that Hochul signed that helped police recover $40 million in stolen goods and led to the creation of dedicated Retail Theft Teams within the New York State Police, whose undercover units participated in the investigation leading to this indictment. “Retail theft not only financially impacts a business, but also presents peril to business owners, retail workers and patrons,” New York State Police Superintendent Steven James said. “State Police remains fully engaged on this issue and will not tolerate the actions of individuals responsible for stealing tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise, victimizing both retailers and the public.” Katz dubbed the takedown operation “Fashionably Fencing,” which also saw undercover operatives make controlled purchases of merchandise from the Guzmans after contacting them via social media. Photo by Dean Moses Katz dubbed the takedown operation “Fashionably Fencing,” which also saw undercover operatives make controlled purchases of merchandise from the Guzmans after contacting them via social media. Photo by Dean Moses
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The deadliest place for women is at home and 140 women and girls on average were killed by an intimate partner or family member per day last year, two U.N. agencies reported Monday. Globally, an intimate partner or family member was responsible for the deaths of approximately 51,100 women and girls during 2023, an increase from an estimated 48,800 victims in 2022, UN Women and the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime said. The report released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women said the increase was largely the result of more data being available from countries and not more killings. But the two agencies stressed that “Women and girls everywhere continue to be affected by this extreme form of gender-based violence and no region is excluded.” And they said, “the home is the most dangerous place for women and girls.” UN Women’s Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda told a news conference launching the report that women have been killed by their loved ones for a long time and the trend is continuing because underlying issues haven’t been addressed — especially gender stereotyping and social norms. “This is killing which is associated with power over women,” she said, and it continues because of the continuing impunity for violent attacks against women. Gumbonzvanda, a Zimbabwean and longtime advocate for women’s rights, said there is “a lot of perpetrator anonymity” when it comes to the killing of women by partners or family members because “it means the family members have to bring justice against another family member.” UN Women is campaigning for those with economic and political power and for leaders in various traditions not to use their power to perpetuate violence. “Power should be used to facilitate options for prevention,” she said. According to the report, the highest number of intimate partner and family killings was in Africa – with an estimated 21,700 victims in 2023. Africa also had the highest number of victims relative to the size of its population — 2.9 victims per 100,000 people, it said. There were also high rates last year in the Americas with 1.6 female victims per 100,000 and in Oceania with 1.5 per 100,000, it said. Rates were significantly lower in Asia at 0.8 victims per 100,000 and Europe at 0.6 per 100,000. According to the report, the intentional killing of women in the private sphere in Europe and the Americas is largely by intimate partners. By contrast, the vast majority of male homicides take place outside homes and families, it said. “Even though men and boys account for the vast majority of homicide victims, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by lethal violence in the private sphere,” the report said. “An estimated 80% of all homicide victims in 2023 were men while 20% were women, but lethal violence within the family takes a much higher toll on women than men, with almost 60% of all women who were intentionally killed in 2023 being victims of intimate partner/family member homicide,” it said. The report said that despite efforts to prevent the killing of women and girls by countries, their killings “remain at alarmingly high levels.” “They are often the culmination of repeated episodes of gender-based violence, which means they are preventable through timely and effective interventions,” the two agencies said.
UNH hockey: Souza, Devlin reflect on historic Matthews Arena before Wildcats' final visit