City Hague Financial News

(Reuters) — Following are reactions from foreign governments and officials to Russia's presidential election, which handed Vladimir Putin a landslide win and another six-year term in office, according to first official results on Sunday.

By Toby Sterling

—Name withheld on request

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday that Palestinians are suffering “colonialism and apartheid" under Israelism and urged judges to order an “immediate and unconditional end to Israel's occupation". “The Palestinians have endured colonialism and apartheid... There are those who are enraged by these words.

Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was committed to international law after the World Court ordered it to take action to prevent acts of genocide in its war in Gaza, but he reiterated that it had a right to defend itself. Responding to a case brought by South Africa, Netanhayu said the charge of genocide was «outrageous».

Hague are set to announce their decision on Friday regarding a potential order for Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza. As reported by Reuters, diplomatic efforts are actively underway to negotiate a renewed agreement for a ceasefire and the release of additional Israeli hostages. On the ground in Gaza, local officials reported on Thursday that Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of 20 Palestinians who were waiting for food aid in Gaza City.

European Union can avoid getting swept up into China’s response to US chip-equipment curbs, Beijing’s ambassador in The Hague said in an interview with a Dutch newspaper. “If the Americans treat us in a hegemonic manner, we will of course respond,” said Tan Jian, Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands, in an interview with NRC published Sunday. “But our relationship with the EU should not be affected.”

crime. Not because it is the bloodiest: Stalin and Mao killed many more people in gulags and famines than the nearly 6m Jews murdered by the Nazis. But the Holocaust was seen as so monstrous that the UN adopted the Genocide Convention, promising never again to allow an attempt to wipe out a group of people, or part of one, simply because of their nationality, race, religion or ethnicity.

Israel on Sunday, killing two civilians and renewing concerns about the risk of a second front erupting in the Israel-Hamas war. The deadly strike near the border came on the 100th day of the conflict between Israel and Hamas that has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85% of the territory's 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation. The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack into southern Israel in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages, about half of whom are still in captivity. Since then, tensions have soared across the region, with Israel trading fire almost daily with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group and Iranian-backed militias attacking U.S.

South Africa says more than 50 countries have expressed support for its case at the United Nations' top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza. Others, including the United States, have strongly rejected South Africa's allegation that Israel is violating the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Many more have remained silent.

Israel described the allegations leveled by South Africa as hypocritical and said one of the biggest cases ever to come before an international court reflected a world turned upside down. Israeli leaders defend their air and ground offensive in Gaza as a legitimate response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, when militants stormed through Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.

Gaza, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rebuffed for the first time calls by some right-wing ministers to permanently occupy the enclave. As Israel's war in Gaza continued to rage, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, also known as the World Court, was to hold hearings on Thursday and Friday in a case brought by South Africa in December claiming Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza violates the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Israel is sending top legal minds, including a Holocaust survivor, to The Hague this week to counter allegations that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The robust engagement with the International Court of Justice is unusual for Israel, which normally considers the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased. The decision to participate rather than boycott reflects Israeli concerns that the judges could order Israel to halt its war against Hamas and tarnish its image internationally.

A storm has brought heavy rain and strong winds across northern Europe, bringing down trees and prompting warnings of flooding on the North Sea coast

Molly-Mae Hague hinted at a 'extremely massive' career change for next year. During a vehicle ride, the 24-year-old influencer took part in an Instagram Q&A with her 7.8 million followers, and was asked, “Have you got any plans for 2024?” In response, Molly-Mae said that she has something really big coming in 2024. She has never been more enthused about a shift in her career, probably the biggest one to date, explained Mae in excitement, «My biggest goal will be excelling in this new project,» the single mother stated.

Thousands of families are lining up for free handouts at food banks across the Netherlands

South China Sea, in addition to violations of established codes of conduct, poses a clear danger to «good order» and «discipline» at sea, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Wednesday, in an oblique reference to China's military assertiveness in the region. There have been growing global concerns over China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons. Several countries in the region including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei have counterclaims.

HOUSTON (Reuters) — BP (NYSE:BP), Edison and Shell (LON:SHEL) pressed a U.S.-EU energy group to intervene in a dispute with liquefied natural gas exporter Venture Global LNG over the U.S. firm's failure to deliver contract supplies of the fuel.

International Criminal Court (ICC) headquartered at The Hague in the Netherlands has heightened its online security after detecting a serious cyber security incident five weeks ago, which it revealed was an act of espionage. In a statement on Friday the ICC said that as soon as the incident was confirmed by its alert mechanism, steps were taken to mitigate its effects by initiating an immediate incident response with the support of the Netherlands as the «host state» and external cyber security experts.

Reuters reported. Vietnam's President Vo Van Thuong invited Putin to “soon" visit the country and “Putin happily accepted the invitation," Vietnam News Agency, the state's official newswire, reported late on Tuesday. Also Read: BRI Summit: Putin advocates Russia's northern sea route; hails 'dear Friend' Xi Jinping Like China and Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam is not a member of the ICC.

Ukraine war and an escalating conflict in the Middle East. Xi is hosting Putin along with dozens of global leaders at the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Summit to celebrate 10 years since the Chinese President launched the infrastructure project aimed at strengthening alliances with Asian, African, and Latin American nations. During the meeting, the two leaders are expected to focus on their remarks about the Israel-Hamas war as US President Joe Biden is visiting Israel today.