TV News LIES

Leading lawyers and legal experts have called on the governing bureau of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to uphold the findings of a judicial panel that cleared the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, of wrongdoing following a sexual misconduct complaint.

The 21-member bureau of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties (ASP) is set to convene again on Monday for the third time to discuss its response to the report by three senior judges and the next course of action in the long-running saga, which has sidelined Khan since he took indefinite leave in May 2025.

Speaking to Middle East Eye ahead of Monday’s meeting, Khan’s lead counsel, Sareta Ashraph, said the process followed by United Nations investigators and judges had been “gender-competent” after a number of civil society groups called on the bureau to reject the panel’s findings.

Other legal experts voiced confidence in the competence and experience of the three-judge panel in their handling of the highly sensitive and complex case.

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Israeli forces blocked two senior Catholic leaders from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied East Jerusalem to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch, and Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, were stopped en route to the church.

The leaders had attempted to enter privately without any ceremonial procession or public gathering, but were refused access.

The church bodies said this was the first time in centuries that the heads of the Catholic Church had been prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the Holy Sepulchre.

“This incident is a grave precedent, and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” they said.

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Drones are no longer just shaping the war in Ukraine – they are defining it. What began as an improvised response to a lack of manpower has evolved into a technological arms race, shaping not only how battles are fought but where they reach.

Ukrainian forces, driven by innovation and necessity, have managed not only to hold the front line but to strike far beyond it – targeting military infrastructure, ammunition depots, drone production sites and even oil refineries deep inside Russian-held territory.

At the center of this transformation are specialized units like Typhoon, a special-purpose unmanned systems unit of Ukraine’s National Guard, established in 2024. Operating across key directions such as Kharkiv and Pokrovsk, the unit focuses exclusively on drone warfare and electronic systems, from reconnaissance and strike UAVs to electronic warfare and interception.

Built largely by volunteers and veterans of special forces units, Typhoon combines technical expertise with battlefield experience, constantly adapting to a rapidly evolving war.

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A bill "aimed at combating renewed forms of antisemitism", which is due to be debated on by parliament next month, has sparked a heated controversy in France in recent weeks.

Many organisations and parts of the political left suspect the proposed legislation of exploiting the fight against antisemitism to censor and criminalise criticism of the Israeli government.

The bill was introduced in November 2024 by Caroline Yadan, an MP representing French citizens living abroad in a constituency including Israel and Palestine, who left President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance parliamentary group last summer to protest against his recognition of the State of Palestine.

Yadan, who is also vice-president of the France-Israel friendship group in the National Assembly, has also criticised the French president for calling in 2024 for a halt to arms deliveries to Israel.

Officially, the proposed law aims to address the “resurgence” of antisemitic acts in France since 7 October 2023 and the development of “an obsessive hatred toward the state of Israel”.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have reached an important agreement on defense cooperation during his surprise visit to the kingdom.

In a Telegram post, Zelensky said the document was signed ahead of his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He added that the agreement lays the foundation for further contracts, technological cooperation, and investment, while strengthening Ukraine’s international role as a security donor.

Zelensky highlighted that Ukraine is ready to share its expertise and defense systems with Saudi Arabia and cooperate to strengthen the protection of lives. 

“For the fifth year now, Ukrainians have been fighting against the same terrorist attacks with ballistic missiles and drones that the Iranian regime is currently carrying out in the Middle East and the Gulf region. And Saudi Arabia has what Ukraine is interested in. This cooperation can be mutually beneficial,” he said.

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A British judge has ordered the UK home secretary to “get on with” explaining her opposition to Hamas's appeal to be removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations.

Hamas, currently proscribed in the UK, is appealing against this designation before the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC), an independent tribunal.

Last April, Mousa Abu Marzouk, the head of Hamas’s foreign relations office, instructed British lawyers to appeal against the UK’s 2021 decision by former Home Secretary Priti Patel to designate the movement as a terrorist organisation.

Four months later, in August 2025, Hamas lodged a second appeal to POAC after former UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper rejected the group’s request to be taken off the list of banned groups.

During Thursday’s proceedings, Justice Jonathan Swift, the chair of POAC, told government lawyers to respond to Hamas's appeal and to “clearly explain any reasons for delay” by 20 May.

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