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The Biden administration’s decision to pause its plan to use the Leahy Law has averted a potentially messy problem for the White House, but willingness to use such a drastic tool underscores the uncertainty of U.S.-Israel relations. 

"The Biden administration’s politicization of vital security assistance to a democratic ally like Israel is an irresponsible move that sets a dangerous precedent," Nick Stewart, senior director of government relations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Action, told Fox News Digital. 

"It ignores a crucial set of basic facts and feeds a false and damaging misrepresentation of Israel’s conduct that emboldens our terrorist adversaries," Stewart added. 

"If the Biden administration had legitimate concerns, it should have addressed them in a much more professional manner through official channels directly with the Israelis, as befits our alliance," he argued. "Instead, the very public threat of sanctions was followed by constant and seemingly coordinated leaks from the State Department."

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ALUMNI PUSH FOR SCHOOL TO RESTORE SAFETY, ENFORCE ‘ZERO-TOLERANCE AGAINST ANTISEMITISM’

"This raises concerns that the objective from the start was far less substantive and much more political," Stewart alleged. "Congress should consider probing the administration’s handling of this incident to ensure U.S. laws are not being weaponized against an ally for partisan reasons in this political season."

The Leahy Law is a set of two provisions that prohibit the U.S. government from providing funds to foreign security forces where "there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights," according to a State Department packet on the policy. 

The Biden administration had indicated its intent to invoke the act as a means of sanctioning Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) battalions, including Netzah Yehuda battalion, for alleged human rights violations in the West Bank before the Oct. 7 attack. The move would mark the first time in the decadeslong partnership between the two countries that a U.S. administration would have invoked the 27-year-old congressional act. 

The sanctions would have triggered an automatic cut-off for the battalion and its members, preventing them from receiving any type of training or assistance from the U.S. military and any sort of foreign aid. 

ISRAEL DEBUNKS ‘HAMAS LIBELS’ ABOUT MASS GRAVES SPREAD BY MEDIA FOR INTERNET CLICKS, SAYS NETANYAHU SPOKESMAN

However, the U.S. announced over the weekend that it would not invoke the Leahy Law after receiving "new information" from the Israeli government and guarantees from the government that would handle the issue. 

State Department principal deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters on Monday that four of the units in question had "effectively remediated" and the U.S. remains "in consultations and engagements with the government of Israel" on the remaining unit. He also noted that "the remediation standard is consistent and it is the same for all countries." 

"They have submitted additional information as it pertains to that unit. And we're continuing to have those conversations consistent with the memorandum of understanding that we have with the government of Israel that was entered into in 2021," Patel said. 

"When conclusions are made under actions that fall under the auspices of the Foreign Assistance Act, we are required to consult with officials from the government of Israel, and that is ongoing," Patel continued. "We are engaging with them in a process, and we will make an ultimate decision when it comes to that unit when that process is complete."

BIDEN ADMIN NOTES ‘URGENT’ CONCERN OVER ISRAEL IN GAZA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

"When we're talking about the Leahy Law, what we are talking about our unit and component restrictions, when they are found in violation, it is not have bearing on the broader security relationship that we may have with a country, especially a country like Israel, in which we have a longstanding security relationship. The provision of bulk assistance that's gone back many, many years," Patel added. 

A senior State Department official told Fox News that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has raised the matter with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 

Former Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy had championed legislation that became the Leahy Law in the 1990s, saying the U.S. needed a tool to block American military aid and training to foreign security units guilty of extrajudicial killings, rapes, torture and other flagrant human rights abuses.

Rights groups long have accused U.S. administrations, including Biden's, of shirking rigorous investigations of allegations of Israeli military killings and other abuses against Palestinians to avoid invoking such laws aimed at conditioning military aid to lawful behavior by foreign forces, according to The Associated Press.  

The development comes as Israeli officials are growing concerned that the International Criminal Court could soon issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials over charges related to the war in Gaza, reports say. 

The court may accuse senior government figures of pursuing an excessively harsh military response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the New York Times is reporting, citing Israeli and foreign officials.   

Fox News correspondent Gillian Turner, Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The world’s nations finished a round of negotiations early Tuesday on a treaty to end plastic pollution and made more progress than they have in three prior meetings.

Coming into Ottawa, many feared the effort would stall to craft the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans. The last meeting was marred by disagreements and there was much left to do.

But instead, there has been a "monumental change in the tone and in the energy," said Julie Dabrusin, a Canadian parliamentary secretary.

NEGOTIATORS DISCUSS TERMS FOR GLOBAL TREATY TO END PLASTIC POLLUTION IN CANADA

It was the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution session. For the first time, the nations began negotiating over the text of what is supposed to become a global treaty. They agreed to keep working between now and the next and final committee meeting this fall in South Korea.

"We are working toward a world where we won’t have plastic litter everywhere in our ecosystems," Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, the executive secretary of the committee, said in an interview. "The energy is there, the will is there and I know we will get an instrument by the end of the year."

Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the meeting:

The talk shifted in Ottawa from sharing ideas to negotiating treaty language. Finally, said Santos Virgílio, Angola’s chief negotiator. Time was wasted in previous meetings, Virgílio said, but this time many arguments had been exhausted and it was time to find solutions.

"It’s big, because we have been going round and round during these sessions without showing direction," he said in an interview. "But at least now, people are showing, OK, they have goodwill."

Most contentious is the idea of limiting how much plastic is manufactured globally. Currently, that remains in the text over the strong objections of plastic-producing countries and companies and oil and gas exporters. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels and chemicals.

Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Ottawa, said massively reducing plastic production is the most important thing the treaty can do because it's impossible to end plastic pollution otherwise.

Plastic production continues to ramp up globally and is projected to double or triple by 2050 if nothing changes. Plastic producers and chemical companies want a treaty that focuses on recycling plastic and reuse, sometimes referred to as "circularity."

The negotiators agreed to keep working on the treaty in the coming months. Expert working groups will collect information and expertise to inform the negotiations at the final meeting in South Korea in the fall.

Without this preparation work between meetings, it would've been daunting to complete the negotiations this year.

The topics they’ll work on in between sessions are one indication of their priorities for the final round of talks. Plastic production won't be a focus for the working groups. Instead they will focus on how to finance the implementation of the treaty, assess the chemicals of concern in plastic products and look at how products are designed.

HONG KONG IMPLEMENTS BAN ON STYROFOAM PRODUCTS AND SINGLE-USE PLASTIC

Environmental groups were frustrated that production cuts won't be part of the work between now and the fall meeting.

Waste pickers have been on the frontlines of trying to solve plastic pollution for decades, said John Chweya, a 33-year-old waste picker representing Kenyan waste pickers.

They collect, sort, recycle and sell plastics that would otherwise pile up or be burned. They're exposed to hazardous materials and can suffer from respiratory illnesses, skin infections and other diseases. They want a treaty that recognizes the role they play and helps waste pickers transition to safer jobs.

"We’ve given this problem that this treaty is trying to solve our lives," Chweya said.

In Malawi, Tiwonge Mzumara-Gawa sees plastic bags littering the lands where goats and cows graze and people burning waste behind their homes because there is no waste collection. She believes it'll take a global agreement for the national government to do more to address plastic pollution. Mzumara-Gawa is a campaigner for the Christian charity Tearfund.

Frankie Orona told negotiators their decisions affect peoples' lives and health. Indigenous land, water and air are being contaminated as fossil fuels are extracted and plastic is manufactured using hazardous chemicals, said Orona, executive director of the Texas-based Society of Native Nations.

"We're here to make sure our voices are being heard," he said. "Our communities have been disproportionately impacted for decades, Indigenous and black and brown communities."

They plan to finish negotiating in South Korea so the treaty can be adopted next year at a diplomatic conference. It’s an extremely short timeline for negotiations, meant to match the urgency of the problem.

Dabrusin, of Canada, said she's more hopeful than ever that an ambitious treaty to end plastic pollution will be adopted on schedule. Over the past week, she said she has heard from so many people that this is what they want — from businesses and environmental advocates to waste pickers and residents of communities littered with plastic.

"We're hearing many voices coming together," she said. "That’s a beautiful moment when you can see that synergy, that it’s economic, it's environmental, it’s for health reasons. And there is that momentum right now."

A Finnish court on Tuesday sentenced a 26-year-old man to six years and three months in prison for hacking thousands of patient records at a private psychotherapy center and seeking ransom from some patients over the sensitive data.

The case has caused outrage in the Nordic nation, with a record number of people — about 24,000 — filing criminal complaints with police.

In February 2023, French police arrested well-known Finnish hacker Aleksanteri Kivimäki, who was living under a false identity near Paris. He was deported to Finland. His trial ended last month.

HACKERS USE PIRATED SOFTWARE TO HIJACK MAC, ANDROID AND WINDOWS DEVICES

The Länsi-Uusimaa District Court said Kivimäki was guilty of, among other things, aggravated data breach, nearly 21,000 aggravated blackmail attempts and more than 9,200 aggravated disseminations of information infringing private life.

The court called the crimes "ruthless" and "very damaging" considering the state of people involved.

According to the charges, Kivimäki in 2018 hacked into the information system of the Vastaamo psychotherapy center and downloaded its database of some 33,000 clients.

Vastaamo, which declared bankruptcy in 2021, had branches throughout the country of 5.6 million people and operated as a sub-contractor for Finland’s public health system.

Prosecutors said Kivimäki first demanded that Vastaamo pay him an amount equivalent to around $396,000 in bitcoins in exchange for not publishing the patient records.

When the center refused, Kivimäki in 2020 began publishing patient information on the dark web and sent patients messages demanding a ransom of 200 euros or 500 euros. About 20 patients paid, prosecutors said.

Kivimäki denied all charges. His lawyer said he would likely appeal. Prosecutors had sought seven years in prison, the maximum for such crimes under Finnish law.

Kivimäki was first convicted at age 15 after hacking into over 50,000 servers with software he developed, Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported in 2022.

In the United States, he was convicted over hacking cases involving the U.S. Air Force and Sony Online Entertainment.

French police evicted migrants from a makeshift tent-camp next to Paris City Hall early on Tuesday, the latest clear-out of people without homes that aid groups allege is a campaign to beautify the French capital ahead of the Summer Olympics.

In an operation that began before dawn, police woke around 100 teenage boys and young men from West Africa, telling them to pack their tents and belongings.

Paris police said the operation was carried out for security reasons, notably because the camp was near schools.

MASSIVE POLICING FOR PARIS OLYMPICS TO INCLUDE SECURITY CHECKS FOR SOME OF THE CAPITAL'S RESIDENTS

Paris-region officials told the men — many of them minors and in the process of seeking residency papers — that they could be housed temporarily for three weeks in the Loire-region town of Angers if they wished. A bus was waiting in a nearby street to take them first to a Paris-region transit center.

Only two or three men boarded the bus. Most of the others walked away, carrying their belongings. Some said they feared being left isolated and abandoned in Angers, 150 miles southwest of the French capital, once the three weeks of temporary accommodation run out.

Those evicted from camps and squats are liable to set up makeshift settlements elsewhere in the French capital and be cleared out again, says a campaign group that has been sounding the alarm about the Olympics'impact on marginalized people.

"It’s a never-ending cycle," said Antoine de Clerck, a spokesman for the Revers de la Médaille group, which translates as "the other side of the medal."

"We call it ‘nettoyage social,’ or social cleansing, as there’s no proper solution(s) that are proposed to the people," he added. He alleged that people are being swept aside to make "room for the beautiful Paris postcard."

In a written order that announced Tuesday’s clear-out in advance, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the makeshift camp was made up of more than 80 tents and was blocking pavements. The order also noted that the camp was near public buildings, including a church and City Hall, where security has been increased because France is on heightened alert against possible terrorism threats.

Migrant camps are commonly dismantled every spring in France with the end of an annual winter-time "truce" that limits evictions and evacuations when the weather is cold. Paris City Hall says the number of people living rough on the streets has swelled to 3,500, 500 more than at the same time last year.

Aid groups working with migrants and other vulnerable people say clear-outs are intensifying ahead of the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics. They say that people are being sent far from the capital instead of being offered shelter in the Paris region, where many asylum-seekers have upcoming court dates and meetings with officials about their residency requests.

A gunman stormed a mosque in western Afghanistan, opening fire and killing six people as they were praying, a Taliban official said Tuesday.

Local media reports and a former president of Afghanistan said the mosque was targeted because it was a place of worship for the country’s Shiite Muslim minority.

The attack happened on Monday night in the district of Guzara in Herat province, said Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the Taliban Interior Ministry. He said in a post on the social media platform X that an investigation was underway.

TALIBAN-RUN TOURISM INSTITUTE AIMS TO ATTRACT MORE TRAVELERS TO AFGHANISTAN

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded another worshipper while the attacker fled. Local media reported that the mosque's imam was among those killed.

"I strongly condemn the attack on the Imam Zaman Mosque," former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on X. "I consider this terrorist act against all religious and human standards."

The United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also condemned the attack, which it said killed and wounded at least seven people, including a child. It called for urgent accountability for perpetrators and protection measures for Shitte communities.

The Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan is a major Taliban rival and frequently targets schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout the country.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, during the last weeks of the chaotic departure of U.S. and NATO troops from the country after 20 years of war.

Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban gradually reimposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, as they did during their previous rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Authorities in Kazakhstan arrested a former interior minister on Tuesday, in connection with deadly police crackdown on unrest that gripped the country in 2022, Kazakh news media reported.

The Prosecutor General's Office announced on Monday that Erlan Turgumbayev was detained on charges of "abuse of power and official authority resulting in grave consequences" in the harsh crackdown of riots by the police. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Internal Affairs is in charge of the nation's police force.

The unrest started in the city of Zhanaozen on Jan. 2, 2022, when residents protested a sharp increase in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas, commonly used as fuel for vehicles in Kazakhstan.

KAZAKHSTAN SURPRISES PARTICIPANTS BY ENDING HOSTING OF SYRIAN CONFLICT TALKS

Those protests evolved into criticisms of corruption, economic inequality against former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose critics say have been profiting off the country's vast energy wealth ever since assuming office in 1991.

Nazarbayez resigned from the presidency in 2019 but still held substantial power at the time of the protests as head of the Kazakhstan's security council.

In Almaty, the country's largest city, protests turned violent and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev issued shoot-to-kill orders as demonstrators stormed government buildings. Officials said 238 people were killed in the unrest.

Tokayev then pushed an array of reforms, including limiting the presidency to a single seven-year term. He also removed Nazarbayev as head of the security council and the capital city, which had been named Nur-Sultan in Nazarbayev's honor, reverted to its former name of Astana.

Turgumbayev was relieved of duty a month after the unrest.

The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China staged a sit-in protest outside his lab after authorities locked him out of the facility — a sign of the Beijing's continuing pressure on scientists conducting research on the coronavirus.

Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post Monday that he and his team had been suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since the virologist published the sequence in January 2020 without state approval.

When Zhang tried to go to the lab over the weekend, guards barred him from entering. In protest, he sat outside on flattened cardboard in drizzling rain, pictures from the scene posted online show. News of the protest spread widely on Chinese social media and Zhang told a colleague he slept outside the lab — but it was not clear Tuesday if he remained there.

NEW REPORT BLASTS GOVERNMENT'S COVID RESPONSE, WARNS OF REPEATING SAME MISTAKES

"I won’t leave, I won’t quit, I am pursuing science and the truth!" he wrote in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo that was later deleted.

In an online statement, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center said that Zhang’s lab was being renovated and was closed for "safety reasons." It added that it had provided Zhang’s team an alternative laboratory space.

But Zhang wrote online that his team wasn’t offered an alternative until after they were notified of their eviction, and that the lab offered didn’t meet safety standards for conducting their research, leaving his team in limbo.

Zhang’s latest difficulty reflects how China has sought to control information related to the virus: An Associated Press investigation found that the government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace it from the first weeks of the outbreak. That pattern continues to this day, with labs closed, collaborations shattered, foreign scientists forced out and Chinese researchers barred from leaving the country.

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When reached by phone on Tuesday, Zhang said it was "inconvenient" for him to speak, saying there were other people listening in. In an email Monday to collaborator Edward Holmes seen by AP, Zhang confirmed he was sleeping outside his lab after guards barred him from entering.

An AP reporter was blocked by a guard at an entrance to the compound housing Zhang’s lab. A staff member at the National Health Commission, China’s top health authority, said by phone that it was not the main department in charge and referred questions to the Shanghai government. The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zhang’s ordeal started when he and his team decoded the virus on Jan. 5, 2020, and wrote an internal notice warning Chinese authorities of its potential to spread — but did not make the sequence public. The next day, Zhang’s lab was ordered temporarily shut by China’s top health official, and Zhang came under pressure by Chinese authorities.

Around the time, China had reported several dozen people were being treated for a respiratory illness in the central city of Wuhan. Possible cases of the same illness had been reported in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan involving recent travelers to the city.

Foreign scientists soon learned that Zhang and other Chinese scientists had deciphered the virus and called for him to publish. Zhang published his sequence of the coronavirus on Jan. 11, 2020, despite a lack of government permission.

Sequencing a virus is key to the development of test kits, disease control measures and vaccinations. The virus eventually spread to every corner of the world, triggering a pandemic that disrupted lives and commerce, prompted widespread lockdowns and killed millions of people.

Zhang was later awarded prizes in recognition for his work.

But Zhang’s publication of the sequence also prompted additional scrutiny of his lab, according to Holmes, Zhang’s collaborator and a virologist at the University of Sydney. Zhang was removed from a post at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and barred from collaborating with some of his former partners, crippling his research.

"Ever since he defied the authorities by releasing the genome sequence of the virus that causes COVID-19 there has been a campaign against him," Holmes said. "He’s been broken by this process and I’m amazed he has been able to work at all."

A 36-year-old man was arrested after allegedly killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring four others with a sword in an east London suburb Tuesday morning. 

The man, whose identity has not been released, was tasered and arrested in a residential area near Hainault underground station, police said. The incident does not appear to be terror-related.

Police were called just before 7 a.m. for reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in the Thurlow Gardens area, with reports of people stabbed. The suspect was arrested 22 minutes after the first call to police was received.

"People will want to know what has happened and we will provide more information as soon as we can," Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said in a press release.  

CHARLOTTE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO DIED IN SHOOTOUT IDENTIFIED: 'FOREVER INDEBTED'

Two members of the public remain in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said Tuesday. Two Met officers are in the hospital with stab wounds. Both require surgery due to significant, non-life threatening injuries. 

Video on British media showed a man in a yellow hoodie holding a long sword or knife walking near houses in the area.

KING CHARLES VISITS CANCER CENTER AS MONARCH RETURNS TO PUBLIC DUTIES FOLLOWING DIAGNOSIS

Witnesses say they heard police shouting at the suspect urging him to put down the weapon as they chased after him.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the incident was "shocking," adding: "Such violence has no place on our streets."

Transport for London said Hainault underground station was closed due to a police investigation in the area.

Police continue investigating what happened, and ask anyone with information to call them. They are not looking for additional suspects. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Twenty years after joining the European Union, Poland is still not ready to adopt the euro currency, the finance minister in the pro-European Union government said.

Andrzej Domański, finance minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, said in an interview on TVN24 on Monday that Poland joining the eurozone, the currency union of 20 EU members, is not justified at this time.

He said he believed that having its own currency, the zloty, helped Poland avoid recession during the global financial crisis and to weather other shocks.

POLAND'S PROSECUTOR GENERAL SAYS PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT USED POWERFUL SPYWARE AGAINST HUNDREDS

On Wednesday, Poland and nine other countries will mark the 20th anniversary of joining the EU, on May 1, 2004. Under the terms of membership, Poland committed itself to replacing the zloty with the single European currency.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday his governing party's major defeat in last weekend's by-elections was largely due to a political fundraising scandal and that he would not step down or replace party executives to take responsibility.

Instead, Kishida said he will push anti-corruption measures and political reforms.

"As I take the results seriously, I believe as president of the governing party we must tackle the challenges we face one by one and achieve results, and this is the way I will take responsibility," Kishida said. "By doing so, I will regain the people's trust."

US AMBASSADOR URGES JAPAN TO BOOST WEAPON PRODUCTION FOR STRONGER SECURITY ALLIANCE

Kishida said the scandal dealt "a big and heavy hindrance" to the party. The scandal centers on dozens of lawmakers in Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party who allegedly pocketed profits from ticket sales to political events by falsifying accounting reports.

Asked if he would take responsibility for the election loss, Kishida denied he would step down or replace top LDP posts, and pledged to pursue party and political reforms, including a revision to the political funds laws. He also vowed to tackle economic issues.

The conservative Liberal Democratic Party lost all three seats in Sunday's parliamentary by-elections in Nagasaki, Shimane and Tokyo. Kishida’s party only fielded its own candidate in Shimane, a conservative stronghold, while the liberal-leaning main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan clinched all three seats previously held by LDP.

The loss is seen as a punishment by voters for the governing party's scandal, which erupted last year and has undermined Kishida’s leadership.

The party is unlikely to lose power because the opposition is fractured. But Sunday's defeat marks a further setback for Kishida, who will seek reelection as his party’s leader in the fall.

Political analysts say Kishida was hoping to call a snap election possibly after the current parliamentary session ends in late June, seeking to receive a public mandate, and then win another term in the party presidential vote in September.

Kishida's state visit to the U.S. earlier this month was perceived as a success, but Sunday's losses could erode his clout and LDP lawmakers may try to bring him down in favor of a fresh face ahead of the next general election.

Such a move would make it difficult for Kishida to run for another three-year term in the party's presidential race in September. As prime minister, he can call a snap election anytime before the current term for the lower house expires in October 2025.

Kishida on Tuesday denied he has plans to call for a snap election.

He has fought plummeting approval ratings since the corruption scandal broke. He has removed a number of Cabinet ministers and others from party executive posts, conducted internal hearings and drafted reform measures, but support for his government has dwindled to around 20%.

The scandal centers on unreported political funds raised through tickets sold for party events and involved more than 80 LDP lawmakers, mostly belonging to a major party faction previously led by assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Ten people — lawmakers and their aides — were indicted in January.

Mexico took Ecuador to the top U.N. court on Tuesday, accusing the nation of violating international law by storming the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice president who had just been granted asylum by Mexico.

The April 5 raid, hours after Mexico granted asylum to former Vice President Jorge Glas, spiked tensions that had been brewing between the two countries since Glas, a convicted criminal and fugitive, took refuge at the embassy in December.

Leaders across Latin America condemned the raid as a blatant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

MEXICO WANTS UN TO SUSPEND ECUADOR OVER ITS POLICE RAID ON THE MEXICAN EMBASSY IN QUITO

Ecuador said Glas was wanted on corruption convictions and not for political reasons, and has argued that Mexico granting asylum to a convicted criminal was itself a violation of the Vienna convention.

Two mornings of preliminary hearings at the International Court of Justice are focused on Mexico’s request for interim orders known as provisional measures to be put in force while the case progresses through the court — a process likely to take many months.

Among the measures Mexico is seeking are for the world court to order Ecuador to take "appropriate and immediate steps to provide full protection and security of diplomatic premises" and prevent any further intrusions. It also wants Ecuador to let Mexico clear its diplomatic premises and the homes of its diplomats in the country.

In its case filed April 11, Mexico also asked the court to award reparation and suspend Ecuador from the United Nations.

On Monday, Ecuador also filed a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Mexico of using its embassy to "shield Mr. Glas from enforcement by Ecuador of its criminal law" and arguing that the actions "constituted, among other things, a blatant misuse of the premises of a diplomatic mission."

It asked the court to rule that Mexico's actions breached a number of international conventions. No date was immediately set for hearings in the case filed by Ecuador.

The House of Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. Many sources cite them as the wealthiest royal family in the world, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 trillion.

The royal family consists of around 15,000 total members, according to the House of Saud website, but only around 2,000 are part of the inner circle. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is the de facto Saudi ruler.

Women of the House of Saud have dedicated themselves to a wide variety of philanthropic efforts. Below are just a few women of the House of Saud and their impact on charities.

SAUDI ARABIA PUSHES FOR US DEFENSE PACT AS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION LOOMS

Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud was appointed as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States in 2019, making her the first female to hold the role. She was sworn in by King Salman Al Saud in Al Yamamah palace.

"As the first-ever woman ambassador from the Kingdom, I recognize this as a historic moment in the Saudi-U.S. relationship, and a manifestation of the sweeping reforms taking place in the Kingdom," she said, according to a press release from the Saudi Embassy in Washington in 2019.

She added, "As we continue to redefine and modernize Saudi Arabia, I am eager to share this progress with Saudi citizens in the United States, and the American public."

She went to college at George Washington University, where she received a degree in museum studies. She also earned an honorary doctorate from Marymount University. 

The princess serves as the president of the Women's Sports Committee as well as the board of directors for the Saudi Olympic & Paralympic Committee. 

In 2016, she was appointed vice president for women's affairs of the General Sports Authority, according to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia website. The following year, she became the deputy of development and planning.

WOMEN PUSH FOR MORE RIGHTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

In 2007, she was a founding member of the Zahra Breast Cancer Association, according to the source. The association set a Guinness World Record in 2015 when they formed the "World's Largest Human Awareness Ribbon."

Princess Al Joharah bint Talal Al Saud is the chair of Atal Almaid, which aims to provide services to make businesses more innovative on a global scale, according to Emirates Woman.

She has also attended a wide range of international events over the years, like the Women Empowerment Summit. 

"I always feel honored when I am invited to take part in conferences and events. I am very humbled to be a part of them. I am among accomplished, strong people, and they always circulate around my three favorite topics: women, entrepreneurs and philanthropy," she told Harper's Bazaar Arabia in 2022.

Princess Sora bint Saud Al Saud is the granddaughter of Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia from 2005 until his death in 2015. She is a leader in fashion and philanthropy.

SAUDI ARABIA TABBED AS HOST VENUE FOR 2034 WORLD CUP

The princess received a bachelor's degree in psychology from American University in 2015. 

She is the founder of the fashion brand SO. by Sora, which began in 2018, according to Emirates Women. The company aims to reduce waste and over-consumption. She also started Sora by Loren Jewels, according to American University's website.

"I hope to start a conversation that connects cultures and sheds light on the remarkable talent that exists in Saudi," she said about the company in 2016, per American University. "This is only the beginning."

She also established the Ahyaha Foundation with her husband, Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal Al Saud, which "focuses on improving the community through sustainable, creative and social programs on youth and education, sustainable development, water resources and traffic safety and awareness," according to Arab News.

The princess became an honorary ambassador for youth advocacy program Mentor Foundation USA in 2017.

Princess Adila bint Abdullah Al Saud went to King Saud University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English literature.

SAUDI ARABIA OPENS ITS FIRST LIQUOR STORE IN OVER 70 YEARS AS KINGDOM FURTHER LIBERALIZES

The princess has focused many philanthropic efforts on health-related issues. 

She has done this as the president of the National Charitable Foundation for Home Health Care in Jeddah and as the founding member and chair of the Sanad Charitable Society to Support Children with Cancer, according to Emirates Women.

Princess Haifa bint Muhammad Al Saud went to the University of New Haven in Connecticut, where she earned her degree in business administration in 2008. She later went to London Business School, where she earned a master's degree in business administration and management in 2017. 

Her career began at HSBC Holdings, where she was an analyst, according to Arab News. During her time there, she worked her way up to senior associate of equity sales before leaving in 2012, according to the source.

The princess is now the Saudi vice minister of tourism, a role to which she was appointed in 2022. Before that, she was appointed to the board of directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation in 2020, according to Arab News.

Gunmen fatally shot a police officer assigned to protect polio workers in Pakistan’s northwest, an official said Tuesday.

At least 10 police have died this year while on security duty for vaccination campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The gunmen fired at a team working in Bajaur district, killing the officer on the spot, police officer Dilawar Khan said.

IMF DEPLOYS REMAINING $1.1B IN PAKISTAN BAILOUT FUNDS

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.

Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

A five-day anti-polio campaign started Monday in 13 high-risk districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More than 21,000 teams are tasked with administering vaccines to 4,423,000 children under age 5. More than 32,000 police are protecting the teams.

Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only countries where the spread of polio has never been stopped.

The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under age 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water.

A huge explosion in southwestern Cambodia over the weekend that killed 20 soldiers at an army base appears to have been an accident caused by mishandling of ammunition by troops, a senior military official said Tuesday.

The Saturday afternoon blast in Kampong Speu province also destroyed military vehicles and four buildings at the base, and damaged homes in a nearby village.

Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Mao Phalla said the soldiers were transferring ammunition from trucks into a storage facility when the blast occurred, killing them instantly. He said another 11 people, including soldiers and nearby villagers, were slightly injured, mostly from debris from the damaged buildings, not shrapnel.

45 INJURED, SOME CRITICALLY, IN NORTHWEST CAMBODIA AS TRAIN HITS BUS AT CROSSING

Cambodia held a mass funeral on Sunday for those killed in the explosion.

The initial but still not official theory was that the soldiers were unloading ammunition from a truck and stacking it on the ground before moving it into the storage facility, causing one item to explode, he said. That set off a chain reaction, added Mao Phalla.

However, he said it will be difficult to determine the exact chain of events as all those involved in the unloading were killed.

Mao Phalla said the site has been sealed off and that deminers from the Cambodian Mines Action Center were clearing the area any unexploded ordnance.

In March 2005, a nighttime blast at an arms depot in the northwestern provincial town of Battambang triggered an hourslong spray of shells and bullets that killed at least six people and caused panic.

A 2014 report by the Swiss-based group Small Arms Survey highlighted the dangers of poorly stored or mishandled munitions, calling it a "global problem." It noted that from 1979 through 2013 there were more than 500 incidents involving unplanned explosions at munitions sites.

Around 30 men are crammed into a Kabul classroom, part of the debut student cohort at a Taliban-run institute training tourism and hospitality professionals.

It’s a motley crew. One student is a model. Another is 17 and has no job history.

The students vary in age, education level and professional experience. They're all men — Afghan women are banned from studying beyond sixth grade — and they don't know anything about tourism or hospitality. But they are all eager to promote a different side of Afghanistan. And the Taliban are happy to help.

AFGHANISTAN'S SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS WITHOUT 1 MILLION GIRLS BARRED FROM EDUCATION BY TALIBAN

Afghanistan’s rulers are pariahs on the global stage, largely because of their restrictions on women and girls. The economy is struggling, infrastructure is poor, and poverty is rife.

And yet, foreigners are visiting the country, encouraged by the sharp drop in violence, increased flight connections with hubs like Dubai, and the bragging rights that come with vacationing in an unusual destination. The numbers aren’t huge — they never were — but there’s a buzz around Afghan tourism.

In 2021, there were 691 foreign tourists. In 2022, that figure rose to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000.

Mohammad Saeed, the head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul, said the biggest foreign visitor market is China because of its proximity and large population. Afghanistan also has advantages over some of its neighbors.

"They’ve told me they don’t want to go to Pakistan because it’s dangerous and they get attacked. The Japanese have said this to me also," Saeed said. "This is good for us."

UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS DEMAND TALIBAN RESCIND DECREES SERIOUSLY OPPRESSING WOMEN AND GIRLS

But there are disadvantages, too.

Visas are difficult and expensive to access. Many countries severed ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, and no country recognizes them as the legitimate rulers of the country.

Afghan embassies either closed or suspended their operations. There's an ongoing power struggle between Afghanistan’s embassies and consulates staffed by people from the former Western-backed administration, and those under the Taliban administration’s full control.

Saeed concedes there are obstacles for Afghan tourism to develop but said he was working with ministries to overcome them.

His ultimate aim is to have a visa on arrival for tourists, but that could be years away. There are problems with the road network, which is half-paved or non-existent in some parts of the country, and airlines largely avoid Afghan airspace.

The capital Kabul has the most international flights, but no Afghan airport has direct routes with major tourist markets like China, Europe, or India.

Despite the challenges, Saeed wants Afghanistan to become a tourism powerhouse, an ambition that appears to be backed by the Taliban’s top leaders.

"I have been sent to this department on the instructions of the elders (ministers). They must trust me because they’ve sent me to this important place."

The students also have aspirations. The model, Ahmed Massoud Talash, wants to learn about Afghanistan’s picturesque spots for Instagram posts and its history for media appearances.

Business school graduate Samir Ahmadzai wants to open a hotel but thinks he should know more about tourism and hospitality first.

"They hear that Afghanistan is backwards, poverty and all about war," said Ahmadzai. "We have 5,000 years of history. There should be a new page of Afghanistan."

Classes include Afghan handicrafts and anthropology basics.

An unofficial subject is how to interact with foreign women and how their behavior or habits could clash with local customs and edicts. Examples might be women smoking or eating in public, to mixing freely with men who are not related to them by blood or marriage.

The Taliban have imposed a dress code for women and requirements for them to have a male guardian, or mahram, when they travel. Dining alone, traveling alone, and socializing with other women in public have become harder. With gyms closed to women and beauty salons banned, there are fewer places where they can meet outside the home.

In a sign that the country is preparing for more overseas visitors, the country’s only five-star hotel, the Serena, has reopened its women’s spa and salon for foreign females after a monthslong closure.

Foreigners must show their passport to access services. Women with "born in Afghanistan" on their ID are barred.

The restrictions on Afghan women and girls weigh on overseas travel companies, who say they try to focus on the positive aspect of cultural interactions by making donations, supporting local projects or only visiting family-run businesses.

Shane Horan, the founder of Rocky Road Travel, said visiting Afghanistan should not be seen as an endorsement of any particular government or political regime.

"Ultimately, the goal should be to support responsible tourism practices that contribute positively to the local economy and foster mutual respect and understanding, while also remaining cognizant of the broader political context in Afghanistan."

He said there was no input from authorities about what tour groups saw or did, and that the company worked closely with a women’s rights organization in Afghanistan. A percentage of the tour cost went into supporting this organization’s programs, Horan added.

There are no women at the Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management. The students don’t mention it. But an official at the Tourism Directorate does.

"It’s a heartbreaking situation," said the official, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. "Even female family members ask if they can study here. But there was a change in policy with the change in government. The women who were studying before (the takeover) never came back. They never graduated."

About 30 Ukrainian men have died trying to illegally cross Ukraine's borders and avoid fighting in the war against Russia which started in 2022, the spokesman for Ukraine's border service told Ukrinform news agency.

"Some lost their lives while attempting to cross a mountain river or traverse mountains," said Andriy Demchenko, according to a Ukrinform report late on Monday.

"Overall, since the full-scale invasion began, about 30 people have died attempting to illegally cross the border."

UKRAINE IMPLEMENTS PASSPORT RENEWAL RESTRICTION FOR MILITARY-AGE MEN OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY

With some exceptions, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country as they may be mobilised to fight, according to Ukraine's martial law.

On Monday, the State Border Guard Service said in a statement on social media that 24 men alone have died while trying to cross the Tisa river on Ukraine's border with Romania.

Demchenko said that since the start of the war border guards have uncovered about 450 criminal groups that have attempted to smuggle people across the border.

"Attempts to illegally cross the border occur every day," Demchenko said. "Most of these attempts are outside of border checkpoints on the border with Moldova and Romania. The largest number with forged documents is recorded on the border with Poland."

Earlier in April, Demchenko told Ukraine's state broadcaster that on average about 10 men are stopped each day trying to illegally leave Ukraine.

Last week, Ukraine suspended consular services for military-age male citizens until May 18, criticising Ukrainians abroad who it said expected to receive help from the state without helping it battle for survival in the war against Russia.

In November, BBC said in a report based on data of illegal border crossings from Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia that nearly 20,000 men have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the war to avoid being drafted.

Serbia's new government will include a former intelligence chief who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States, the prime minister-designate said Tuesday.

Aleksandar Vulin will serve as one of several vice-premiers, said Milos Vucevic as he announced the composition of his future cabinet that is expected to be voted into office in the coming days in Serbia's parliament.

Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership but has maintained friendly relations with Russia and refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING TO VISIT FRANCE, SERBIA AND HUNGARY, APPEARS TO WANT BIGGER ROLE IN UKRAINE

The inclusion of Vulin into the new government suggests continued close ties with Russia despite Serbia's proclaimed pro-EU path.

In July, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Vulin, accusing him of involvement in illegal arms shipments, drug trafficking and misuse of public office.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Vulin used his public authority to help a U.S.-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer move illegal arms shipments across Serbia’s borders. Vulin is also accused of involvement in a drug trafficking ring, according to U.S. authorities.

Vulin resigned as the director of Serbia’s intelligence agency BIA after the sanctions were imposed on him. He had previously served also as both the army and police chief.

Vucevic, the new prime-minister designate, previously served as the defense minister.

The government formation comes months after a tense parliamentary election in December that saw the ruling populist right-wing party of President Aleksandar Vucic win most seats in the 250-member assembly. The vote fueled political tensions because of reports of widespread irregularities reported by both local and international monitors. An opposition group organized street protests in the wake of the election.

An army helicopter carrying supplies to troops crashed in a rural area in northern Colombia on Monday, killing nine soldiers on board, the country’s armed forces said.

In a statement, the Colombian military said the helicopter was taking the supplies to the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur, an area that has recently experienced fighting between the National Liberation Army guerrilla group and the drug trafficking group known as the Gulf Clan.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF COLOMBIANS PROTEST AGAINST LEFTIST PRESIDENT'S AGENDA

The military statement described the helicopter crash as an accident.

"I regret the death of the nine passengers on board the army’s helicopter" Colombian president Gustavo Petro wrote on X on Monday. "It was supplying troops…that were conducting operations against the Gulf Clan."

The military said the helicopter crashed around 1:50 pm local time. It was an MI-17 Russian-built chopper that is often used to carry troops and supplies.

Two officers were among the victims of the crash, which also included two sergeants and three privates. None of the passengers on the helicopter survived.

A retired Roman Catholic bishop who was famous for trying to mediate between drug cartels in Mexico was apparently kidnapped, but was later located and taken to a hospital, the Mexican Council of Bishops said Monday.

The church leadership in Mexico said in a statement earlier that Msgr. Salvador Rangel, a bishop emeritus, disappeared on Saturday and called on his captors to release him.

CATHOLIC BISHOPS IN MEXICO HOSTED PEACE TALKS WITH DRUG CARTEL LEADERS

But the council later said he "has been located and is in the hospital," without specifying how he had been found or released.

Earlier, the council said Rangel was in ill health, and begged the captors to allow him to take his medications as "an act of humanity."

Rangel was bishop of the notoriously violent diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, in the southern state of Guerrero, where drug cartels have been fighting turf battles for years. In an effort later endorsed by the government, Rangel sought to convince gang leaders to stop the bloodshed and reach agreements.

Rangel was apparently abducted in Morelos state, just north of Guerrero. The bishops' statement reflected the very fine and dangerous line that prelates have to walk in cartel-dominated areas of Mexico, to avoid antagonizing drug capos who could end their lives in an instant, on a whim.

"Considering his poor health, we call firmly but respectfully to those who are holding Msgr. Rangel captive to allow him to take the medications he needs in a proper and timely fashion, as an act of humanity," the bishops' council wrote before he was found.

It was unclear who may have abducted Rangel. The hyper-violent drug gangs known as the Tlacos, the Ardillos and the Familia Michoacana operate in the area. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the crime.

If any harm were to have come to Rangel, it would have been the most sensational crime against a senior church official since 1993, when drug cartel gunmen killed Bishop Juan Posadas Ocampo in what was apparently a case of mistaken identity during a shootout at the Guadalajara airport.

Prosecutors in Guerrero state confirmed the abduction but offered no further details, saying only they were ready to cooperate with their counterparts in Morelos. Morelos, like Guerrero, has been hit by violence, homicides and kidnappings for years.

In a statement, Rangel's old diocese wrote that he "is very loved and respected in our diocese."

In February, other bishops announced that they had helped arrange a truce between two warring drug cartels in Guerrero.

Rev. José Filiberto Velázquez, who had knowledge of the February negotiations but did not participate in them, said the talks involved leaders of the Familia Michoacana cartel and the Tlacos gang, which is also known as the Cartel of the Mountain.

Bishops and priests try to get cartels to talk to each other in hopes of reducing bloody turf battles. The implicit assumption is that the cartels will divide up the territories where they charge extortion fees and traffic drugs, without so much killing..

Earlier, the current bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, José de Jesús González Hernández, said he and three other bishops in the state had talked with cartel bosses in a bid to negotiate a peace accord in a different area.

Hernández said at the time that those talks failed because the drug gangs didn’t want to stop fighting over territory in the Pacific coast state. Those turf battles have shut down transportation in at least two cities and led to dozens of killings in recent months.

"They asked for a truce, but with conditions" about dividing up territories, González Hernández said of the talks, held a few weeks earlier. "But these conditions were not agreeable to one of the participants."

In February, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he approves of such talks.

"Priests and pastors and members of all the churches have participated, helped in pacifying the country. I think it is very good," López Obrador said.

Critics say the talks illustrate the extent to which the government’s policy of not confronting cartels has left average citizens to work out their own separate peace deals with the gangs.

One parish priest whose town in Michoacan state has been dominated by one cartel or another for years said in February that the talks are "an implicit recognition that they (the government) can’t provide safe conditions."

The priest, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said "undoubtedly, we have to talk to certain people, above all when it comes to people’s safety, but that doesn’t mean we agree with it."

For example, he said, local residents have asked him to ask cartel bosses about the fate of missing relatives. It is a role the church does not relish.

"We wouldn’t have to do this if the government did its job right," the priest said.

In February, Rangel told The Associated Press that truces between gangs often don’t last long.

They are "somewhat fragile, because in the world of the drug traffickers, broken agreements and betrayal occur very easily," Rangel said at the time.

Priests are widely respected but by no means safe in Mexico.

In 2023, a Roman Catholic priest was killed in the western Mexican state of Michoacan. The church’s Catholic Multimedia Center said he was the ninth priest slain in the country in the past four years.

A suspected missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels damaged a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, the latest assault in their campaign against international shipping in the crucial maritime route.

The attack happened off the coast of Mokha, Yemen, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The ship sustained damage in the attack, the UKMTO said, though its crew was safe and heading to its next port of call. The agency urged vessels to exercise caution in the area.

IRANIAN-BACKED HOUTHIS CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR US REAPER DRONE CRASH OFF YEMEN COAST

There was "an explosion in close proximity to a merchant vessel," the UKMTO said. "Vessel and crew are reported safe."

The private security firm Ambrey said a salvo of three missiles targeted a Malta-flagged container ship traveling from Djibouti onward to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"The vessel was targeted due to its listed operator’s ongoing trade with Israel," Ambrey said.

CMA CGM, a Marseille, France-based shipper, had its Malta-flagged CMA CGM Manta Ray due to sail to Jeddah from Djibouti on Monday. However, the shipper said the vessel remained at harbor in Djibouti and could not have been targeted in the incident.

In a statement released late Monday, the Houthis said: "The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out military operations against hostile warships in the Red Sea, of which two American warships were targeted with a number of drones."

The statement said the attacks on ships would not stop "unless the siege is lifted and the aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is stopped."

Meanwhile Monday, the Italian Defense Ministry said its frigate Virgino Fasan shot down a Houthi drone that morning near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

"A missile exploded in the water in the vicinity of the escorted vessel, causing only minor superficial damage," the Italian Defense Ministry said, not identifying the commercial vessel being escorted. "The frigate Fasan and the protected merchant vessel are continuing their southward route as planned to exit the Red Sea."

The Houthis say their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat.

American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the U.S.-led campaign against them and after firing drones and missiles steadily for months. However, the rebels have renewed their attacks in the past week. Early Sunday morning, the U.S. military shot down five drones in the air over the Red Sea, its Central Command said.

The drones "presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region," Central Command said in a statement.

The Houthis on Saturday claimed they shot down another of the U.S. military’s MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that "a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen." He said an investigation was underway, without elaborating.