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ICC Rejects Israel Appeal Bid Over Arrest Warrants

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the ceremony of the Iron Swords War Memorial Day on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Israel, 16 October 2025 to commemorate the victims of the October 7 attacks. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the ceremony of the Iron Swords War Memorial Day on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Israel, 16 October 2025 to commemorate the victims of the October 7 attacks. (EPA)
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ICC Rejects Israel Appeal Bid Over Arrest Warrants

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the ceremony of the Iron Swords War Memorial Day on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Israel, 16 October 2025 to commemorate the victims of the October 7 attacks. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the ceremony of the Iron Swords War Memorial Day on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Israel, 16 October 2025 to commemorate the victims of the October 7 attacks. (EPA)

The International Criminal Court Friday rejected Israel's bid to appeal against arrest warrants for its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war.

In a ruling that made headlines around the world, the ICC in November found "reasonable grounds" to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore "criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The ICC also issued arrest warrants for three top leaders from the Palestinian movement Hamas but dropped these after their deaths.

The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant sparked outrage in Israel and also in the United States, which has since slapped sanctions on top ICC officials.

Netanyahu described it as an "anti-Semitic decision" and the then US president Joe Biden slammed it as "outrageous".

Israel had asked the court in May to dismiss the warrants while it weighed a separate challenge over whether the ICC had jurisdiction in the case.

The court rejected this on July 16, saying there was "no legal basis" for quashing the warrants while the jurisdiction challenge was pending.

A week later, Israel asked for leave to appeal that ruling, but judges ruled on Friday that "the issue, as framed by Israel, is not an appealable issue."

"The Chamber therefore rejects the request," said the ICC in a complex, 13-page ruling.

ICC judges are still weighing a wider Israeli challenge over jurisdiction.

When the court originally issued the arrest warrants in November, it simultaneously rejected an Israeli appeal against its jurisdiction.

However, in April, the ICC's Appeals Chamber ruled the Pre-Trial Chamber was wrong to dismiss the challenge and ordered it to look again in detail at Israel's arguments.

It is not clear when it will hand down a ruling on that issue.

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World

Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
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Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war with Israel and the United States continues.

"If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force," said the Guards on their website Sepah News.

 

World

Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
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Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)

Pakistan said on Sunday its forces had attacked military facilities in southern Afghanistan, as well as "terrorist hideouts", in the latest strikes between the two sides.

Security sources said troops "effectively destroyed technical support infrastructure and equipment storage facility in Kandahar", which is home to the Taliban administration's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Another strike targeted a tunnel in Kandahar purportedly used by the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban militant group or TTP, which Islamabad blames for a wave of strikes, they added.

Local residents in Kandahar told AFP they saw jet planes flying over the city and heard explosions during the night.

"Military planes flew over the mountain where there is a military facility, and an explosion followed," one said, adding flames could be seen.

An air strike was also heard in Spin Boldak, southeast of Kandahar, residents said, while authorities in the eastern border province of Khost said there were clashes on Saturday night.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP that the strikes caused some damage to a drug rehabilitation center and an empty container in Kandahar.

"The places they are talking about are far away from these two places," he added.

Pakistan said on Saturday it had thwarted "drone attacks" launched by Afghanistan which were intercepted on Friday night.

At least three locations were targeted, including the Pakistani military headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, authorities said.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's office said the Afghan Taliban had "crossed a red line" by targeting civilians and promised a response.

Islamabad launched a military operation against Afghanistan last month, targeting what it said were Islamist extremists following attacks in Pakistan.

The Taliban government has denied any involvement or the use of Afghan territory for militancy, while Pakistan insists it does not target civilians.

There have been repeated clashes at the border in recent weeks, hampering trade and forcing nearby residents to leave their homes.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said on Friday that at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of the clashes since February 26.

World

American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
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American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

The American flag was raised Saturday over the US Embassy in Venezuela for the first time since 2019, a move that highlighted the recent shift in relations between the two countries since then President Nicolás Maduro was captured by American troops in January.

Though the flag is now waving, the building is undergoing renovations and it remains unclear when it will fully reopen.

The move comes after several statements from US President Donald Trump in support of Maduro’s successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who has tried to keep negotiations open with the American government.

The flag was raised "exactly seven years after it was taken down,” the US Embassy team said in a statement published on its social media channels.

The American flag being raised drew immediate attention from local residents.

“It’s a good thing, really, what a joy,” said Caracas resident Luz Verónica López. “Other countries must come back too because that’s what we need; progress, to move forward with good relations with the rest of the world, as it should be.”

Alessandro Di Benedetto, another Caracas resident, noted the positive atmosphere among those witnessing the moment.

“I found several people here surprised and happy because today they raised the US flag at the embassy,” he said. “This is positive; this is another step.”

Despite the initiative, large chunks of Venezuelan society and the political establishment remain critics of Trump, his decision to forcefully remove Maduro from office and jail him in New York with his wife, and growing US influence in the South American country's oil industry.