- After long fight for glory, Nadal leaves with a legacy of memories
- Home hopes Zheng and Wang through to last-eight in Wuhan Open
- UN peacekeepers say Israel fired on Lebanon HQ, injuring 2
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Alcaraz out as top players pay tribute to Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Racing's Farrell 'not thinking' about British and Irish Lions
- Alcaraz, Sinner pay tribute to 'unbelievable' Nadal at Shanghai Masters
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- After K-pop, K-novels? South Korean Nobel win sparks joy, hope at home
- After Nadal exit, Djokovic left to rage against dying of the light
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Triple centurion Brook happy to break Dad's club record
- Zelensky touts 'victory plan' against Russia in Macron talks
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- UN peacekeepers accuses Israel of firing on Lebanon HQ
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- Southgate taking year out from coaching
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- Zelensky meets Macron in Paris as part of European tour
- Hurricane Milton shreds Florida stadium roof
- UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- England in sight of victory after Brook's triple hundred
- Juventus readmitted to ECA after failed Super League revolt
- World number 2 Alcaraz knocked out of Shanghai Masters by Machac
- Leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia meet amid regional tensions
- Klopp's Red Bull decision 'ruined life's work' say Dortmund fans
- Han Kang wins South Korea's first literature Nobel
- S. Korea's Nobel winner Han Kang a modest, thought-provoking writer
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- The almost impossible job: Beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open
- New French government faces key test with budget plan
- Rescuers say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills 28
- Italy's ex-world champion gymnast Ferrari announces retirement
- Zelensky talks 'victory plan' in meeting with Starmer, Rutte
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- Nadal defied injury woes in record-breaking career
- Nadal v Djokovic, French Open, 2006: Chapter One in epic rivalry
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
RYCEF | 0% | 6.9 | $ | |
RBGPF | 4.03% | 63.35 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.16% | 24.56 | $ | |
NGG | 0.49% | 65.95 | $ | |
BTI | -0.48% | 35.31 | $ | |
SCS | -2.92% | 12.66 | $ | |
RELX | -0.51% | 46.475 | $ | |
RIO | 0.37% | 66.595 | $ | |
BP | 0.93% | 32.28 | $ | |
GSK | -1.87% | 39.5 | $ | |
VOD | -0.26% | 9.705 | $ | |
BCC | -1.21% | 140.685 | $ | |
JRI | -0.08% | 13.21 | $ | |
AZN | -0.75% | 76.925 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.26% | 24.745 | $ | |
BCE | -1.11% | 32.945 | $ |
S.Africa hails 'decisive victory' at UN court
South Africa on Friday hailed a ruling by the United Nations' top court that Israel should do everything it can to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague handed down its verdict in a landmark case brought by Pretoria also ordering Israel to allow humanitarian access to the Palestinian territory.
"Today marks a decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people," South Africa's ministry of foreign affairs said.
"The decision is a momentous one," it added, thanking the court for its "swift ruling".
South Africa has accused Israel of breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention -- set up in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust -- during its military campaign in Gaza, sparked by the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
The court did not pass judgement on whether or not Israel is actually committing genocide but handed down emergency orders while it considers the wider accusation -- a process that is likely to take years.
- 'Plausibly genocidal' -
"Third States are now on notice of the existence of a serious risk of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza," the ministry of foreign affairs said.
"This necessarily imposes an obligation on all States to cease funding and facilitating Israel's military actions, which are plausibly genocidal."
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ruling council of the ruling African National Congress party erupted in cheers, singing and dancing after judges read the order.
Ramaphosa was due to make a speech on the ruling later Friday.
The ANC's National Executive Committee suspended a meeting to watch a broadcast from the court, and live footage from the event showed senior party and government figures celebrating.
The case, and their government's involvement in it, has also generated public interest in South Africa, where many have sympathy for the Palestinian quest for statehood.
In Cape Town and Pretoria, AFP reporters found people gathering to watch the ruling, which was carried in full on state television.
As the ICJ judge announced the provisional measures, applause erupted among a diverse crowd of about 30 gathered in a community centre in Cape Town, some wearing earrings and colours in support of Palestine.
"We are discussing the extent to which it can have an impact... For now it is a step in the right direction," said medical student Kwezi Zwane, 24, as attendees embraced and commented on the ruling.
The ICJ's rulings are binding on all parties but it has no mechanism to enforce them. Sometimes they are completely ignored.
- Anti-apartheid struggle -
"South Africa sincerely hopes that Israel will not act to frustrate the application of this order, as it has publicly threatened to do, but that it will instead act to comply with it fully, as it is bound to do," the ministry said.
Pretoria has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ANC party often linking it to its own struggle against apartheid.
The October 7 Hamas attack resulted in the death of around 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
At least 26,083 Palestinians, around 70 percent of them women, young children and adolescents, have been killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli bombardments and ground offensive since then, according to the Hamas government's health ministry.
B.Finley--AMWN