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ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar leader

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The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) says it has requested an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya Muslims.

Karim Khan said there were reasonable grounds to believe Min Aung Hlaing bore criminal responsibility for the persecution and deportation of Rohingyas to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2017 to escape a campaign of what the UN has described as genocide launched by the Burmese military.

But Myanmar’s government has denied this, saying it was only carrying out a campaign against Rohingya militants.

Attacks on the Rohingya first began in 2017, after Rohingya militants launched deadly attacks on more than 30 police posts in Myanmar.

They said troops responded to this by burning their villages, and attacking and killing civilians.

At least 6,700 Rohingya, including at least 730 children under the age of five, were killed in the month after the violence broke out, according to medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Amnesty International says the Myanmar military also raped and abused Rohingya women and girls.

The shocking violence against the Rohingya prompted an international outcry, and demands for accountability – something which proved difficult, with the-then Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi refusing to prosecute her generals.

Myanmar is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court, so initially bringing a case against the military there seemed impossible.

However, ICC prosecutors later argued that as some of the alleged crimes, mainly deportation, also occurred in Bangladesh – which is a signatory – there were grounds for an indictment.

Now, after five years of investigation, the chief prosecutor says he has enough evidence to request an international arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing.

A panel of three ICC judges must now rule on the prosecutor’s request.

There is also an ongoing genocide case against the military at the International Court of Justice.

Human rights organisations welcomed news of Min Aung Hlaing’s arrest warrant, with one calling it a “day of celebration”.

“The ICC prosecutor’s request for this arrest warrant is a strong warning to Myanmar’s abusive military leaders that they’re not beyond the reach of the law,” said Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch.

“This is a rare day of celebration for the Rohingya,” Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation in the UK, told Reuters news agency. “Today we have finally taken another step towards justice and accountability.”

Myanmar is currently in the midst of a civil war, with Min Aung Hlaing’s army having suffered significant losses.

Min Aung Hlaing first came to power in 2021, after he led a coup against the elected government of Aung Sang Suu Kyi.

He has become an international pariah since launching his disastrous coup, and rarely travels – and it’s unlikely he will ever end up in court at The Hague.

But for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas stuck in miserable camps in Bangladesh, this case may at least show that they have not been forgotten.

(BBC News)

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Over 80,000 evacuated amid serious flooding in SW China

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Continuous heavy rainfall and upstream inflows have triggered severe flooding in two counties of Guizhou Province in southwest China, prompting mass evacuations.

As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, 48,900 residents were temporarily evacuated in Rongjiang County and 32,000 in Congjiang County. The flood control emergency response has been escalated to Level I, the highest, in both counties.

Rongjiang, a county known for Cun Chao — a rural football league covering over 100 village teams and drawing numerous fans across the country, saw heavy rainstorms from 8 p.m. Monday, with a venue at the Duliu River exceeding the warning level by 6.68 meters as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The football field at the Cun Chao stadium was submerged under three meters of water.

Long Tian, a resident near the stadium, recalled that when he woke up at 8 a.m. Tuesday, the water downstairs was already thigh-deep.

“The water rose very quickly, so I stayed on the third floor waiting for rescue. By the afternoon, I had been transferred to safety,” Long said.

Rescue teams, including firefighters and volunteers, deployed boats and other equipment for the rescue work in the two counties.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the provincial emergency department had allocated disaster relief items, including 30,000 bottles of drinking water and 10,000 bowls of instant noodles, to the two counties via high-speed rail and road transport.

Also in Guizhou, rain-triggered landslides caused the collapse of part of a bridge on an expressway in the county of Sandu. No casualties have been reported so far.

(Xinhua)

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Israel agrees to ceasefire proposal

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The Israeli government has said it agreed to the ceasefire proposal after “achieving the objectives” of its attacks on Iran.
According to the statement, Israel has removed Iran’s “dual immediate existential threat” from nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

It also says Israel has “inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets”.

The statement goes on to say that Israeli forces, in the last day, have “severely struck government targets in the heart of Tehran, eliminating hundreds of Basij operatives” – a militia the Iranian government often uses to suppress protests – and “eliminating another senior nuclear scientist”.

“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement adds.

Earlier, Iran state TV news channel IRINN says a ceasefire has been “imposed” on Israel following the “successful” Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar.

State TV said in a statement that Trump “begged” for a ceasefire following Iran’s attack. The statement was read aloud by the presenter.

The statement also hailed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army and praised the “resistance” of Iranians.

The statement also called Iran’s attack on the US base in Qatar as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “successful” response to the US attacking three Iranian nuclear sites, while Qatar said all missiles were intercepted.

(Excerpts : BBC News)

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Trump says Iran – Israel have agreed to a ceasefire

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US President Donald Trump has announced a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran on social media.

Trump says the ceasefire will begin “in approximately six hours from now” after each country has “wound down” their military operations.

Trump’s announcement contains a periodic unravelling of hostilities but says that “upon the 24th hour” the war will officially end.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, has posted on X saying there is “no agreement of any ceasefire or cessation of military operations.”

“”As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around…However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,: he has added.

“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” he has further said.

Meanwhile, Reuters have reported citing a senior White House official as saying that President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran through talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday while his team, including Vice President JD Vance, held talks with Tehran.

The official, providing details of the ceasefire on condition of anonymity, has said Israel agreed to it so long as Iran does not launch fresh attacks.

(Agencies)

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