TV News LIES

Watching lawyers for South Africa and Israel debate whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza was like observing two versions of reality that barely intersect.

Each set of counsel, appearing before the international court of justice at The Hague, largely avoided the most powerful evidence contradicting their case, and the absence of a factual hearing or any questioning left it unclear how the judges will resolve the dispute. Yet I would wager that South Africa’s case was strong enough that the court will impose some provisional measures on Israel in the hope of mitigating the enormous civilian harm caused by Israel’s approach to fighting Hamas.

Genocide, as defined in a widely ratified treaty, has essentially two elements. First, an offender must commit certain acts against a targeted group such as “killing” or “deliberately inflicting … conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or part”. Second, these acts must be committed with genocidal intent, meaning an “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”. Both parts of the crime were deeply contested by the lawyers in The Hague.

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President Joe Biden invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House for a meeting on Tuesday and he has accepted, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and another White House official said Sunday.

Biden intends to “underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine” in its war against Russia, Jean-Pierre said.

“As Russia ramps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, the leaders will discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States’ continued support at this critical moment,” she added.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have also invited Zelenskyy to speak at an all-senators meeting on Tuesday morning, according to a Senate leadership aide.

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Ukraine has launched an investigation after a video emerged purportedly showing Russian troops killing two Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered.

Ukrainian prosecutors say the footage shows "a group of people in Russian uniforms" shooting the unarmed Ukrainians at close range.

The prosecutors say the killing of prisoners of war is a "gross violation" of the laws and customs of conflict.

The video has not been independently verified. Russia has not commented.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of violating the Geneva conventions - a set of international humanitarian laws regulating the conduct of armed conflict, and specifically the treatment of POWs.

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Israel formed an emergency unity government on Wednesday as its jets pounded Gaza and tanks massed around the Palestinian enclave, and the army said it killed three Hamas militants in a fresh confrontation on nearby Israeli territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to form a war cabinet with former defence minister and centrist opposition party leader Benny Gantz and focus entirely on the conflict, a joint statement from Gantz's National Unity party said.

Israel's death toll rose to 1,200 with over 2,700 wounded, its military said, from Hamas militants' weekend rampage after breaching the border fence enclosing Gaza on Saturday in a shock mass infiltration of nearby Israeli towns and villages.

Israeli reprisal strikes on blockaded Gaza have killed 1,100 people and wounded 5,339, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Some 535 residential buildings had been destroyed leaving around 250,000 homeless, Hamas officials said. Most of the displaced were in U.N.-designated shelters, others huddling in shattered streets.

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In the two years since Simone Biles returned home from the Olympics mentally and physically empty, it has taken everything for her to make it back to the top. She first had to withdraw from her sport in order to heal, with many hours spent in therapy. Since her return, she has thrown herself back in like never before.

It is a result of that hard work, commitment and mental strength, as well as her unparalleled talent, that Biles is once again, officially, the best gymnast in the world. On Friday, Biles won a record-extending sixth world all-around title at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp with a score of 58.399.

“It was emotional, and it means everything,” said Biles afterwards. “The fight, everything that I’ve put in to get back to this place, feel comfortable and confident enough to compete. It was a lot.”

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NATO’s secretary-general met with Ukraine’s president to discuss the status of the war and needs of troops on Thursday, the day after Russia accused Ukraine’s Western allies of helping plan and conduct last week’s missile strike on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg agreed to make efforts to get NATO members to help provide additional air defense systems to protect Ukraine’s power plants and energy infrastructure that were badly damaged by Russian attacks last winter.

Zelensky also reminded the secretary-general of the persistent drone, missile and artillery attacks that often strike residential areas and were blamed Thursday for at least three civilian deaths in the past day.

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