French police probe fake Disneyland ‘marriage' with 9-year-old
French police were on Sunday probing the circumstances of a bizarre stunt at Disneyland outside of Paris, with a group of adults suspected of hiring the theme park and paying hundreds of extras to stage a fake marriage for a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl.
Two people were held for questioning in
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Scoop
12 hours ago
- Scoop
International Criminal Court: Investigate Russian Airstrikes And Drone Attacks On Civilians
(KYIV, June 24, 2025)—The International Criminal Court (ICC) should investigate a pattern of recent Russian missile and drone attacks targeting Ukrainian civilians, following one of the deadliest assaults on civilian areas in recent months, Fortify Rights said today. During the night of June 16 to the morning of June 17, a nearly nine-hour-long assault struck multiple civilian locations in Ukraine, including the cities of Kyiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava. According to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service, the attack killed at least 28 civilians and injured more than 140 in Kyiv alone and caused damage to civilian buildings in eight districts of the capital. Furthermore, reportedly at least nine more civilians died during Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv on the morning of Monday, June 23. 'Russia's egregious violations of the laws of war must not be ignored,' said Aliona Kazanska, Human Rights Associate at Fortify Rights. 'Even though Putin's top military commanders have already been indicted by the International Criminal Court for their massive attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, such attacks continue unabated, causing many civilian casualties.' Fortify Rights interviewed six survivors and eyewitnesses to recent attacks, including the June 16–17 missile and drone attacks. Fortify Rights also visited the site of a Russian attack and documented the destruction to civilian infrastructure caused by the attacks. Yulia, 40, a Kyiv resident who survived the June 16-17 attack, described to Fortify Rights the moment her apartment building, where she lives with her husband and young daughter, was struck by a Russian missile: [On June 16th] It all started with the [drones], and the air defense shooting them down. When they [drones] started arriving, we went down to the first floor. … Then it became all quiet. We returned to the ninth floor. We still have a small child, so we put her to bed. We heard flying [drones] again. My husband and I went down to the first floor and sat on the floor. It's literally been 15 minutes. … Sitting on the floor in the corridor, in a half-asleep state, I was holding my baby. Then I just saw from the other end of the corridor, from where the shock wave came, the doors flew open, and everything was covered in sand and plaster. It just took a second. In a second, everyone was down. Then I didn't know what to do. … A lot of wounded people were around me. Yulia added: 'You know, we live on the ninth floor, where the missile struck. If we were at home there, we would not be [alive] anymore.' The June 16-17 attack was not an isolated incident. Just days earlier, on June 10, Russian forces launched waves of missile and drone attacks targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure. Iryna, 53, a resident of Kyiv, told Fortify Rights her experience of the June 10 attack: I did not sleep [because of the incoming attack alerts], and my mother is paralyzed … we had just put her to bed and were about to go to bed. Suddenly, there was a bang! It was deafening, louder than it's ever been. And we also heard the glass shattering. … There was debris almost all over the kitchen. My mother had such thick curtains, and the blinds were also thick. This must have protected her. But we were left without windows. During the early morning hours of April 24 in the Sviatoshynskyi District of Kyiv, Russian forces launched a massive aerial night-time drone and missile attack, which killed 13 people and injured 87, including six children. Fortify Rights spoke with Olena, 64, a survivor of the attack: It was sometime after midnight. I heard the alarm. … I didn't react, I just got up, covered my husband [with a blanket], and went to bed. … Then I heard an explosion that was so loud for us. … I opened the door and was going to sit in the corridor, and then [the shockwave of the explosion] hit me. I didn't hear the second explosion. It was just so dark and warm. … I [lost consciousness] and just remember waking up on the floor a minute later. She continued: My husband was saved. … He was under a heavy carpet and only had small cuts. … Both my arm and leg were injured. … Now, when the air raid alert goes off, I feel paralyzed with fear. I can't hold it back. I want to give up everything and run somewhere. I used to be very calm about all this. According to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on June 16-17, Russia launched 440 long-range drones and 32 missiles into Ukraine, of which 175 drones and 14 missiles were directed at Kyiv. OHCHR also reported that in the first 17 days of June, Russia launched at least 3,340 drones mostly manufactured by Iran and 135 missiles at Ukrainian targets, mostly striking civilian areas. The recent wave of Russian aerial attacks directed against Ukraine fails to distinguish between civilian populations and military targets, and should be considered war crimes, Fortify Rights said. It continues a pattern of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, showing clearly that Russia continues to violate the laws of war to a degree that reaches the level of crimes against humanity. International humanitarian law, also known as the laws of war, governs the conduct of parties to international armed conflicts. Article 43 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions states that: In order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives. Further, Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the ICC explicitly categorizes 'Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population' as a war crime. Before Ukraine ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC in 2024, Ukrainian authorities twice accepted the court's jurisdiction. On April 9, 2014, Ukraine accepted the ICC's jurisdiction under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute pertaining to acts committed in Ukraine from November 21, 2013, to February 22, 2014. On September 8, 2015, Ukraine extended the court's jurisdiction to focus on alleged crimes committed throughout Ukraine from February 20, 2014, onwards. Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute allows non-ICC member states to accept the jurisdiction of the Court. As part of the investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity during Russian aggression against Ukraine, the ICC has already issued an arrest warrant against Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash and Admiral Viktor Sokolov for directing attacks at civilian objects and for causing excessive harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects. 'Russia's continuing direct attacks against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure demand international attention and accountability,' said Aliona Kazanska. 'The International Criminal Court must respond to this pattern of deliberate aerial attacks against civilians, and countries around the world must intensify their efforts to block the Russian military from continuing its attacks against Ukrainian civilians by strengthening sanctions and blocking its access to weapons technology.'
NZ Herald
17 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Book of the day: The Bombshell by Darrow Farr
The eponymous 'bombshell' – in more ways than one – of this ambitious political thriller is 17-year-old Séverine. She's finding life rather dull in her new home in Ajaccio, the main city in Corsica, the windswept French territory where Napoleon was born. It's the early 90s and Corsica, a flashpoint
Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
Ukraine: Security Council Hears Of Escalating Attacks, Diplomatic Developments
20 June 2025 'As we are facing renewed escalation on the ground and crisis elsewhere, it is critical to maintain focused attention on the urgent need for peace in Ukraine,' said UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča – one of two senior officials briefing the ambassadors. In the three weeks since the Council last met on Ukraine, Russia has carried out unrelenting large-scale attacks on cities and towns, resulting in a significant rise in civilian casualties. Deadly Kyiv attack A combined drone and missile attack on the capital Kyiv overnight on 16-17 June was one of the deadliest there in a year. At least 28 civilians were killed and more than 130 injured. Many others are still reported missing under the rubble of the 35 apartments destroyed that night. Attacks also reportedly occurred in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv provinces that same night, with two civilians reportedly killed and scores injured in Odesa. 'These levels of death and destruction risk dimming hope for an immediate ceasefire and threaten to undermine prospects for a lasting peace,' he said. 'Dramatic increase' in casualties Data from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, reveals that at least 13,438 civilians, including 713 children, have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Another 33,270 civilians have been injured, including over 2,000 children. The number of civilian casualties in the first five months of this year alone totaled 5,144 – nearly 50 per cent higher than in the same period in 2024. Of this number, 859 were killed and 4,285 injured. 'This dramatic increase is a result of intensified use of long-range weapons, both missiles and loitering munitions, against cities across Ukraine,' said Mr. Jenča. Ukrainian authorities report that between 1 and 17 June, Russian forces launched at least 3,340 long-range drones, including loitering munitions and decoy drones, and 135 missiles into the country. This compares to 544 long-range munitions launched during the whole of June 2024. Attacks reported in Russia Escalating violence also continues to be reported in Russian regions that border Ukraine, though at a far lower level. In the Kursk region, a woman died in hospital a day after being injured in a Ukrainian drone attack while a man was killed, and five others injured, in a strike on a recreational centre. The UN was not able to verify these reports. 'Let me once again unequivocally state – attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, wherever they occur,' said Mr. Jenča, reiterating the UN's condemnation. Diplomatic developments welcomed Meanwhile, 'important diplomatic developments have taken place on the challenging path towards a lasting peace in Ukraine.' Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their second face-to-face meeting in Istanbul on 2 June. They reportedly exchanged written memoranda outlining their respective visions for a ceasefire and parameters for a future peace settlement. The sides also reached agreement for the large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, mortal remains and civilian detainees. Swaps have been carried out since then, with the latest round taking place earlier on Friday. The mortal remains of 6,057 Ukrainian and 78 Russian servicepersons also have been returned as of 16 June. 'We welcome the continuation of all meaningful diplomatic efforts, including the recent talks in Istanbul. We urge the sides to make tangible progress towards a ceasefire and a lasting settlement through continued talks,' said Mr. Jenča. In the face of escalation, he called for redoubling efforts 'to ensure that the fragile diplomatic process is not only sustained but becomes irreversible.' Civilians bear the brunt In the meantime, civilians continue to bear the severe consequences of the war, said Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 'As the war continues, millions of lives are impacted every day. Essential services are disrupted, and vulnerabilities are deepening for nearly 13 million people in need of assistance,' she said. Roughly 3.7 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, including 60,000 newly displaced from frontline regions since January alone. Almost six million citizens are now refugees, mainly in Europe. Amid the intensifying hostilities, the Government continues to order the mandatory evacuation of families with children from front-line villages, she said. However, for some people in these locations 'attacks are so frequent that evacuations themselves become a risky prospect.' Humanitarians at risk Ms. Wosornu noted that humanitarians also face growing threats. This year, two aid workers have been killed and 24 injured while delivering assistance, and some 68 incidents of violence impacting relief personnel, assets and facilities have been recorded. She said that 'despite an operating environment beset by multiple risks and challenges,' humanitarians remain committed and engaged, and their operations continue. Between January and May, they reached some 3.4 million people with life-saving aid, including food, water, medicines, health services and livelihood support. Humanitarians are seeking $2.6 billion for Ukraine this year, and $816 million, has been secured, she said, stressing the importance importance of 'timely financial support'. End the war Ms. Wosornu concluded her remarks by renewing earlier calls for the Council to take urgent, collective action in three areas, including protecting civilians and ensuring safe humanitarian access to all in need. Ambassadors were also urged to ensure sustained financial support as 'declining funding trends' threaten aid efforts. Her final request was an appeal to 'end this war, and until then, ensure that humanitarian concerns are a central part of discussions on a pause in fighting or longer-term agreement.'
