You can support the work of this news agency, Nachrichtenagentur Radio Utopie, its mothership Radio Utopie and founder and artist Daniel Neun
â via Steady (de / en)
â by a donation via Paypal
Daily Archives: 19. August 2026
International Criminal Court: Statement by the High Representative on US sanctions against the President and a Senior Trial Lawyer
The European Union reiterates its unwavering support for the International Criminal Court (ICC). The EU deeply regrets the decision by the United States to impose sanctions against International Criminal Court President Judge Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye.
The ICC is a cornerstone of the international criminal justice system and the global fight against impunity. It plays an essential role in ensuring accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. Its independence, impartiality and ability to carry out its mandate must be free from pressure, intimidation or interference.
Sanctions against the Court, its officials and personnel undermine its work. The EU stands firmly with the ICC and will continue to provide its full support to ensure the protection of the Court and its staff against external pressures or threats.
The EU remains unwavering in its commitment to the Rome Statute and to safeguarding the independence and integrity of the Court.
EU Condemns Trump Administrationâs Sanctions On ICC President, Senior Trial Lawyer, Backs Court
The European Union has reaffirmed its âunwavering supportâ for the International Criminal Court (ICC), strongly condemning the decision by the United States to impose sanctions on the Courtâs President, Judge Tomoko Akane, and Senior Trial Lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye.
The EU said the ICC remains a cornerstone of the international criminal justice system and plays a critical role in the global fight against impunity, particularly by ensuring accountability for some of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.
The Guardian view on Israelâs death penalty: capital punishment is always wrong. This new law is doubly so
(March 31, 2026)
Execution will be the default for Palestinians found guilty of lethal attacks deemed as terrorist acts in the West Bankâs military courts â which have a conviction rate of around 96%. Amnesty International says that the system routinely relies on evidence extracted through torture and abuse. The death sentence will be imposed even if prosecutors do not seek it. Convictions need no longer be unanimous. There is no possibility of pardon. Executions must take place within 90 days. Within Israeli civilian courts, the new law imposes the death penalty for deliberately killing a person with the intention of ânegating the existence of the State of Israelâ. Life imprisonment can only substitute in unspecified âspecialâ circumstances.
There could hardly be a more shocking contrast with the near-total impunity of Israelis killing Palestinians in the West Bank, amid increasing â and increasingly systematic â state-backed settler violence.
Israelâs Ben Gvir boasts of planned execution facility for Palestinian prisoners
âIn this place, the terrorists will be executed,â Ben Gvir said in a video posted on Instagram, where he has around 150,000 followers.
In the video, Ben Gvir points towards what appears to be an active construction site and says the complex will include âviewing chambers where crime victims will be able to come and watchâ Palestinians being hanged.
„We are fulfilling what we promised,“ the minister added.
Report: Israeli settlers seize near-total control of Ramallah village land
Marwan Sabah, head of the village council, said residents could no longer access the village cemetery, adding that he had instructed residents to bury their dead at home.
‚Violence, dispossession, and destruction‘: Israeli forces and settlers launch 467 West Bank attacks in one week
Israeli forces and settlers launched at least 467 attacks on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank over the past week, the Palestinian prime ministerâs office said.
In a post on X, the office said the violence damaged 75 Palestinian homes and other structures.
It described the attacks as part of a ârelentless escalation of violence, dispossession, and destructionâ.
Nine killed, 15 injured in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City
GAZA, August 19, 2026 (WAFA) â At least nine Palestinians were killed and 15 others injured on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City.
WAFA correspondent, citing sources at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, reported that the bodies of nine Palestinians, most of them burned and dismembered, were brought to the hospital, along with 15 injured Palestinians, most of whom were in critical condition.
Canadian official condemns Israelâs âunlawful invasionâ and announces new aid to Lebanon
Randeep Sarai, Canadaâs secretary of state for international development, visited Lebanon to announce new humanitarian aid to the crisis-hit country, where the U.N. says some 360,000 people remain displaced as a result of the latest conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
âWe have been working actively, I think, through diplomatic channels to do whatever possible to stop that and to allow Lebanese communities that are from those areas to be able to move back,â Sarai said in an interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday.
Blast kills 2 in southern Lebanon‘s Mayfadoun amid ongoing Israel attacks: News agency
At least two people were killed on Wednesday when the town of Mayfadoun was rocked by an explosion amid ongoing Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon that have included airstrikes, artillery barrages and ground incursions.
Lebanonâs official National News Agency (NNA) attributed the explosion to a âsuspicious objectâ left behind from a previous Israeli attack.
NNA also reported that a fire had broken out in the nearby town of Mansouri after an Israeli drone dropped explosive ordnance in the area.
Ende der Sozialdemokratie: Klingbeil warnt SPD vor Personal- und Kursdebatten
Angesichts schlechter Umfragewerte und befĂŒrchteter Niederlagen bei den anstehenden Wahlen in Sachsen-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Berlin gibt es vermehrt innerparteiliche Kritik an Klingbeil und Koparteichefin BĂ€rbel Bas. Mit der Forderung nach einem Sonderparteitag steht die Frage ihrer Ablösung im Raum. Als mögliche Nachfolgerin gilt in Teilen der Partei Mecklenburg-Vorpommerns MinisterprĂ€sidentin Manuela Schwesig, die bei der Landtagswahl Ende September ihr Regierungsamt verteidigen will.
âThe Fight Has Just Begunâ: Angie Nixon Delivers Shocking Upset Win in Florida
In a surprise upset described variously as âstunningâ and âa shockerâ in headlines, State Rep. Angie Nixon won the Democratic primary for the open US Senate seat in Florida on Tuesday, defeating Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, the former national security official who many presumed would sail to victory with the support of the party establishment and a massive cash advantage.
Nixon, a former union organizer and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, will now face Sen. Ashley Moody, whom Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to the seat after former Sen. Marco Rubio became Secretary of State, in the general election.
Angie For Florida
What Led To This Moment
Angie Nixon is a Florida State Representative, union organizer, and mother born and raised in Jacksonville who has spent her career fighting for hardworking Floridians. In the State House, she expanded childcare, took on corporate price-gouging, and led the fight against DeSantisâs unfair voting maps. Her leadership is rooted in lived experienceâwatching her mom work two jobs to get by, attending public schools, and losing her cousin to gun violence. Angie is running to lower costs, raise wages, and build a people-powered government that puts families firstânot greedy billionaires.
FULL: Angie Nixon gives victory speech after winning Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate
Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon, from Jacksonville‘s Moncrief neighborhood, beat former Trump Administraton whistleblower Alex Vindman in a stunning upset.
Angie Nixon, progressive Jacksonville firebrand, wins Democratic primary for U.S. Senate
Vindman ran a centrist camapaign focused on corruption and the need for congressional checks on the Trump administration. But some strategists have said his campaign was a sleepy one, centered more on the general election than on the primary, where he faced an experienced campaigner.
Vindman declined to debate Nixon during the campaign. He conceded the race Tuesday night, applauding her âhard workâ and Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate. ââI will be standing by her,â he said, âand my hope is that she wins this election, because again, the stakes couldnât be higher.â
Socialists capture major Florida victory on hit-or-miss night for Trump-endorsed primary candidates
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member and Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon scored a massive upset in the state‘s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Nixon ran against retired Air Force Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a prominent critic of Trump who played a central role in the left‘s failed 2019 impeachment attempt, who was expected to emerge victorious.
She defeated Vindman by almost 12 points, despite his $16.3 million war chest, compared to hers of only about $1 million. As of July, Vindman had spent about $9 million on the race, while Nixon had spent just over $700,000.
The ICC strongly rejects new US sanctions designations
The International Criminal Court deplores the announcement of new designations for sanctions by the US administration against Judge Tomoko Akane (Japan), the President of the Court, and Mr Abdoulaye Seye (Senegal), Senior Trial Lawyer at the Office of the Prosecutor.
These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates pursuant to the mandate conferred by its States Parties from across regions. As a result of these designations, at present, nine of the eighteen Judges, both of the two Deputy-Prosecutors, the former Prosecutor and one staff member have been sanctioned by the United States.
Such measures targeting judges, prosecutors and staff who work towards the fulfilment of the mandate that was conferred to the ICC by States undermine the rule of law. When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk.
Vorgehen gegen IStGH: USA sanktionieren PrÀsidentin des Strafgerichtshofs
Rubio begrĂŒndete den Schritt damit, dass die beiden Juristen an BemĂŒhungen des Gerichts beteiligt gewesen seien, gegen Regierungsvertreter von Staaten zu ermitteln, die dessen ZustĂ€ndigkeit nicht anerkennen. Zu diesen Staaten zĂ€hlen neben den USA auch Israel und Russland.
âDeranged Behaviorâ: Marco Rubio Slammed for US Sanctions on ICC President
The social media account of Drop Site News accused Rubio of attacking the court solely to protect Netanyahu from war crimes prosecution, pointing out that âthere is currently not a single American citizen under indictment, investigation, or facing an arrest warrantâ from the ICC.
The sanctions earned the praise of the Israeli American Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which accused the ICC of conducting âpolitically motivated investigations and prosecutions targeting America and Israel.â
Rutgers Law School professor Adil Haque said the ICC sanctions showed the US was acting like a ârogue governmentâ and engaged in âderanged behavior.â