WORLD BRIEFING: January 27, 2024
The International Court of Justice, in a historic ruling in The Hague, has ordered Israel to take emergency steps to prevent genocide in Gaza and to allow urgent humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territory. The ruling stopped short of ordering a full ceasefire in Gaza, but it is considered a major victory for South Africa in its bid to establish that there is a plausible case that Israel may be committing genocidal acts in Gaza. The court ordered that Israel must prevent any acts of killing or physical destruction in Gaza that would violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention, which was introduced in 1948 after the Holocaust. It also ordered Israel to take steps to prevent the incitement of genocide. And it said Israel must take “immediate and effective measures” to ensure the supply of “urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” to Gaza. The17 judges of the court gave overwhelming support to the emergency orders, voting by a margin of 15-2 or 16-1 on each order. The orders give Israel a one-month deadline to report back to the court on its compliance with the orders. The court will next turn to assessing the merits of the genocide allegation, which could take months or years to consider - Globe and Mail
More than 40 senior former Israeli national security officials, celebrated scientists and prominent business leaders have sent a letter to Israel’s president and speaker of parliament demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be removed from office for posing what they say is an “existential” threat to the country. The signatories on the letter include four former directors of Israel’s foreign and domestic security services, two former heads of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and three Nobel Prize winners. The letter blasts the coalition Netanyahu assembled to form the most right-wing government ever in Israel, along with his highly controversial efforts to overhaul Israel’s judiciary that they say led to security lapses that resulted in the October 7 attacks, the deadliest day in Israel’s history. “We believe that Netanyahu bears primary responsibility for creating the circumstances leading to the brutal massacre of over 1,200 Israelis and others, the injury of over 4,500, and the kidnapping of more than 230 individuals, of whom over 130 are still held in Hamas captivity,” it reads. “The victim’s blood is on Netanyahu’s hands” - CNN
Donald Trump was ordered Friday to pay a whopping $83 million in damages for defaming E. Jean Carroll, the advice columnist whom a prior jury found that Trump sexually assaulted inside a department store fitting room. The jury verdict was broken down into $65 million meant to punish Trump, $11 million to help Carroll rebuild her reputation and another $7.3 million to compensate her for her pain and suffering - NY Post
Turkey’s central bank on Thursday hiked its key interest rate by another 250 basis points to 45%. The hike to the benchmark one-week repo rate was in line with economists’ expectations. It comes amid an ongoing battle against double-digit inflation for Turkey’s monetary policymakers, with the rate hike the latest step in that effort. Inflation in Turkey increased to 64.8% year-on-year in December, up from 62% in November, and the country’s currency, the lira, hit a new record low against the U.S. dollar earlier in January, breaking 30 to the greenback for the first time. Analysts predict this will be the last hike for some time, especially with local elections approaching in March - CNBC
Yet another Pakistan International Airlines flight attendant disappeared in Canada last week after touching down in Toronto, the airline's spokesman, Abdullah Hafeez Khan, confirmed on Wednesday. Khan said that flight attendant Faiza Mukhtar landed in Toronto on Jan. 19 on PIA flight PK-781 from Islamabad, and was supposed to depart the following day on flight PK-784 from Toronto to Karachi. However, "she did not board the flight and disappeared," Khan told The Media Line. Mukhtar's disappearance follows at least seven disappearances in 2023 by PIA flight attendants after landing in Canada.
