Author: Press Room

THE HAGUE: Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte did not attend his first court hearing at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Friday (Mar 14), where he faces murder allegations stemming from his “war on drugs”. The 79-year-old Duterte was tired after flying to the Netherlands from the Philippines following his arrest and was permitted to attend the session via video link, Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc told the court. He had “a long journey with considerable time difference”, she said. Duterte, wearing a blue suit and tie and appearing frail, confirmed his identity and age. Duterte arrived in the…

A court in Finland found a Russian paramilitary fighter guilty of war crimes committed during Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine, sentencing him to life in prison on Friday.Voislav Torden, a Russian citizen who also goes by the name Yan Petrovskiy, was charged with committing war crimes for leading an ambush on Ukrainian soldiers in 2014, when Russian-backed forces first invaded Ukraine’s eastern front, according to the court ruling.It was the first time a court in Finland presided over a case involving an alleged international war crime committed during the conflict in Ukraine, and a rare instance of a conviction for…

Alan K. Simpson, a plain-spoken former Republican senator from Wyoming who championed immigration reforms and conservative candidates for the Supreme Court, and fought running battles with women’s groups, environmentalists and the press, died on Friday in Cody, Wyo. He was 93. He had been struggling to recover from a broken hip that he sustained in December, according to a statement from his family and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a group of museums of which he was a board member for 56 years. The statement said his recovery had been hindered by complications of frostbite to his left…

Policy uncertainty and tariff whiplash are making consumers less confident about the economic outlook and more worried about inflation, new data from the University of Michigan showed on Friday, the latest evidence that Americans are bracing for pain in President Trump’s second term.A new survey released on Friday showed consumer sentiment plummeting 11 percent in March as Americans of all ages, income groups and political affiliations turned even more downbeat about the trajectory for the economy. Consumer confidence has fallen for the third consecutive month, not only about personal finances, but also the job market and stock markets. Since December,…

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly gave a closing news conference at the G7 summit she hosted in Charlevoix, Que., Friday, saying her European Union counterparts initially thought U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty were a “joke.” Canada hosted the two-day gathering of G7 foreign ministers in the resort town of La Malbaie, Que., where delegates focused largely on the war in Ukraine and efforts to secure a ceasefire deal.But U.S. tariffs and Trump’s repeated pledge to make Canada the 51st state loomed large, despite not being on the official agenda.“The reaction of my colleagues coming from Europe about…

German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz says he had secured the crucial backing of the Greens for a massive increase in state borrowing, clearing the way for the outgoing parliament to approve it next week.Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats, who are in negotiations to form a government after an election last month, had proposed a 500 billion euro ($A862 billion) fund for infrastructure and sweeping changes to borrowing rules to bolster defence and revive growth in Europe’s largest economy.With the Greens, they now have the two thirds majority necessary to pass constitutional amendments, with a vote scheduled for next week.Merz has…

Steph Curry continued to etch his name in the NBA’s history books during the Golden State Warriors’ 130-104 win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. Curry became the first player in NBA history to make 4,000 3-pointers in the win. Curry achieved the feat with 8:19 left in the third quarter. The star point guard received a pass from Moses Moody, pump-faked and then took a quick dribble before rising up and nailing the contested shot.  Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after making a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento…

“KILL ALL OF YOU” As he landed in The Hague, the former leader appeared to accept responsibility for his actions, saying in a Facebook video: “I have been telling the police, the military, that it was my job and I am responsible”. In his application for arrest, the prosecutor quotes from some of Duterte’s more colourful pronouncements when he was running for president. He is cited as saying the number of criminal suspects killed “will become 100,000 … I will kill all of you” and the fish in Manila Bay “will become fat because that’s where I will throw you”. Duterte…

India international Axar Patel is the last IPL 2025 captain to be named as Delhi Capitals make belated announcement.India’s spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel has been named Delhi Capitals captain in the run-up to the new Indian Premier League season, the team said. The 31-year-old is the team’s longest-serving player, having joined in 2019. He has scored 967 runs and picked up 62 wickets at an economy rate of 7.09 in 82 appearances with the Capitals. Axar, who was named India’s Twenty20 International vice-captain in January, takes the Delhi captaincy from Rishabh Pant after his move to Lucknow Super Giants. “It…

President Donald Trump is blaming former President Joe Biden for getting the U.S. into “a real mess with Russia,” but said he would get the U.S. out of it. He called on Russia to commit to the U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine agreed to earlier this week.”Millions of people are needlessly dead, never to be seen again… and there will be many more to follow if we don’t get the ceasefire and final agreement with Russia completed and signed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There would have been NO WAR if I were president. It just, 100%,…