07/12/2025

WORLD 8 theSun on Sunday DEC 7, 2025

ICC prosecutor lashes out at US sanctions

11 dead in S. Africa hostel shooting JOHANNESBURG: Gunmen stormed a hostel in South Africa’s capital Pretoria yesterday, killing 11 people including a three-year-old child at a site police said was illegally selling alcohol. The attack is the latest in a string of mass shootings that have shocked the crime-weary country of 63 million people, which suffers one of the highest murder rates in the world. “I can confirm that 25 people were shot,” said police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, adding that 14 had been taken to hospital. Ten died at the scene in Saulsville township, 18km west of Pretoria, while another died in hospital, she said. Three gunmen entered what Mathe described as an “illegal shebeen” within the hostel at about 4.30am (10.30am in Malaysia) and indiscriminately fired at a group of men who were drinking. One 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old female were also killed in the attack. “Quite an unfortunate incident. Police were only alerted to this incident at about six o’clock,” said Mathe. Police said the motive was unknown and no arrests have been made. “We are having a serious challenge when it comes to these illegal and unlicensed liquor premises,” Mathe said, adding that they are where most mass shootings occur. “Innocent people also get caught up in the crossfire,” she told public broadcaster SABC. South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised nation, is grappling with entrenched crime and corruption driven by organised networks. Shootings are common and are often fuelled by gang violence and alcohol. – AFP US$30m payout for family of dead teen LOS ANGELES: The city of San Diego has agreed to pay US$30 million (RM123 million) to the family of a 16-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a police officer as the youth was fleeing another teenager who had opened fire on him. The settlement by the California city ranks as one of the largest in a wrongful death civil case arising from a killing by law enforcement, the San Diego Union-Tribune and the New York Times reported. The sum for the family of Konoa Wilson, killed on the night of Jan 28, surpasses the US$27 million payout received in 2021 by the family of George Floyd. “I’ve never seen a city take responsibility so quickly,” said Nicholas Rowley, an attorney for Wilson’s family, according to the Union-Tribune . “It’s really noble. It was an officer trying to keep people safe. It was a mistake.” Neither Rowley nor the San Diego City Attorney’s Office responded to queries from Reuters seeking comment. The payment, most of which will come from a public liability fund shared by several municipalities, covers the city and Officer Daniel Gold II, who shot Wilson As part of the agreement, the city stipulates the settlement was a “business decision” and was “not an admission of liability by any party”. Gold, who had been on the police force for two years at the time of the shooting, has remained on the department in an administrative capacity, the Union-Tribune reported. – Reuters

hearing take place for the leaders of Russia or Israel? “It’s conceivable. We tested it in the Kony case. It’s a cumbersome process. But we tried it and we realised it was possible and useful.” The advantages of such a hearing are to preserve evidence and to give a voice to victims, said the prosecutor.

hybrid car because it required a credit card that had been blocked due to the sanctions. “I have a subscription that has nothing to do with the United States, but I need a credit card. And my credit card was American Express. “So I found that all of a sudden, I couldn’t even charge up my car.” Niang said he was unable to transfer money to family members for fear their accounts would also be blocked.

‘Don’t equate us with drug traffickers’

THE HAGUE: The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court lashed out at US sanctions, arguing they effectively put top court officials on a par with “terrorists and drug traffickers”. Mame Mandiaye Niang (pic) , 65, said it would be “conceivable” to hold an in-absentia hearing against high-level ICC targets such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Niang, along with top ICC judges, is subject to sanctions from the US administration, in retaliation for the court’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu over Israel’s campaign in Gaza. “You can disagree with what we’re doing. That happens all the time,” Niang said. “But even if we upset you, you should never put us on the same list as terrorists or drug traffickers. That is the message (to Trump).” Niang said the sanctions affected several areas of his personal, family and financial life. He found himself unable to charge up his

But any request for such a hearing would require the consent of judges and would not be a trial, just a confirmation of the charges against the suspect. Niang is acting chief prosecutor of the ICC, in the absence of Karim Khan, who is on leave pending an investigation into sexual abuse allegations. He pointed to successes this year, such as the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and the conviction of a feared Sudanese militia chief. Mass crimes are being committed daily and the court is there to try those crimes, said the Senegalese jurist. “The court is here and we would love for it not to be needed. Unfortunately, the world is as it is and we still have work to do.” – AFP

Sanctions have a place in international relations, the prosecutor said, but attacking the ICC, the world’s only permanent court to try war crime suspects, risks “de-legitimising” the instrument. Niang said it was frustrating that arrest warrants against Netanyahu and President Vladimir Putin have not resulted in a court appearance. The ICC has no police force and relies on countries to arrest suspects and transfer them to the court. However, he pointed to a hearing against Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony earlier this year, held in absentia. Could such a “confirmation of charges”

Ukraine deal depends on Russia, say negotiators MIAMI: Ukrainian and US officials will hold a third straight day of talks in Miami, with Washington saying the two sides agreed that “real progress” would depend on Russia’s willingness to end the war. “Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” said a readout of the Miami talks posted on X by Witkoff on Friday. Kyiv residents take shelter inside a metro station during a Russian missile and drone strike early yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

aspirations to join Nato. But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get have been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland. The US plan has been through several drafts since it first emerged late last month, amid initial criticisms that it was too soft on Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Witkoff, Trump’s former business partner turned-roving global ambassador, and investor Kushner had hoped to persuade Putin to play ball but came away from Moscow without a deal. – AFP

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been meeting top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andrii Hnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces. The talks come after Witkoff and Kushner met President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday to discuss a US plan to end the conflict, but Moscow rejected parts of the proposal.

The US and Ukrainian officials “also agreed on the framework of security arrangements and discussed necessary deterrence capabilities to sustain a lasting peace”. Washington’s plan involves Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s