International
The US considers the request for an ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu shameful
The United States called it “intolerable” and “shameful” on Monday that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested that an arrest warrant be issued by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, along with the leaders of Hamas for war crimes.
“The ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is scandalous,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
The president stressed that regardless of what the prosecutor says “there is no possible comparison between Israel and Hamas” and promised that the United States will always support the Jewish State in the face of “threats to its security.”
The ICC Attorney General, Karim Khan, on Monday requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and his political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The United States has not ratified the Rome Statute with which the ICC was constituted and has traditionally opposed several investigations by this body.
“We reject the equivalence that the prosecutor makes between Israel and Hamas. It’s embarrassing,” said U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in another statement.
The head of American diplomacy claimed that “Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization” that on October 7 “carried out the worst massacre since the Holocaust and that still holds dozens of people hostage.”
Likewise, Blinken opined that the ICC “has no jurisdiction over this matter” and denounced that there are “deeply worrying procedural issues” in the investigation.
According to the Secretary of State, the Israeli Government “was willing to cooperate” despite the fact that Israel is not part of the court and even a visit by the ICC Attorney General to the Jewish State was planned next week.
However, Blinken continued, a team of the prosecutor canceled by surprise a trip to Israel scheduled for Monday to prepare for the prosecutor’s visit at the same time that Khan appeared on television to announce the charges.
“These and other circumstances cast doubt on the legitimacy and credibility of this investigation,” he said.
In addition, for the head of US diplomacy, the decision of the ICC prosecutor “could endanger” the negotiations of an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the kidnapped.
The Israeli authorities, as well as the leaders of the Palestinian Islamist group, were outraged on Monday by Karim Khan’s request.
International
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
At least 10 newborns have died following a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Jhansi, India, which was attributed to a faulty oxygen machine, authorities reported on Saturday, adding that 39 babies were rescued.
“Unfortunately, 10 infants have died,” said Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, regarding the fire that occurred on Friday night.
The fire started at 10:30 PM (17:00 GMT) at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The rescued babies, all only a few days old, were moved to another area of the hospital for treatment.
Dr. Narendra Senga, the director of a medical faculty attached to the hospital, also confirmed the death toll of 10 infants.
International
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Seven British citizens were arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking in an operation that led to the seizure of 1.2 tons of the drug, which is made from cannabis resin, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported on Saturday.
“National Police agents, in collaboration with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, have dismantled an organization allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs in trucks in Marbella and Elche,” the ministry stated in a press release.
“Agents seized 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested seven British citizens,” the report specified.
The drugs were found in Marbella and Fuengirola, in southern Spain, as well as in Elche, in the southeastern region.
Part of the hashish was hidden in “large plastic barrels filled with fine mortar sand.”
In addition, the police seized over €63,000 in cash, five passenger vehicles, and a heavy-duty truck.
All of the detainees have been placed in pretrial detention.
Spain serves as the gateway for most of the hashish sold in Europe, due to its proximity to North Africa, the main production area.
In 2022, Spain seized 324.7 tons of hashish, according to the latest available official annual data.
International
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
Fourteen members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested in Spain following an investigation that began with the kidnapping and murder of an associate, the Spanish National Police announced on Sunday.
“The dismantled criminal network, based in Catalonia, is allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area of the region,” explained the National Police in a statement. The victim had traveled from Italy to meet with some of the leaders of the gang.
The criminal organization was “mainly composed of Mexican individuals” and was “linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.”
The victim, a 46-year-old man, was allegedly working for the organization and had traveled to Barcelona from Italy to meet with leaders of the criminal network. The kidnapping took place between late May and June, and the victim’s family in Kosovo alerted the police after receiving a ransom demand of €240,000 (approximately $253,000). The family paid part of the ransom, $32,000 in cryptocurrency.
The victim’s body, whose nationality was not disclosed, was found in August in a forest, showing signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition.
The arrested individuals are allegedly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. They received packages from Mexico containing methamphetamine soaked into pieces of clothing, which were sent to Catalonia. Once in Spain, they extracted the drug in a laboratory they operated.
The Sinaloa cartel is named after the northwestern Mexican state where it was founded and remains one of the most important criminal organizations in the world, despite the incarceration of two of its historic leaders, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, in the United States.
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