The International Criminal Court on Friday condemned US sanctions over probes targeting America and Israel and pledged to press on with its aim to fight for “justice and hope” around the world.The United Nations and the European Union urged US President Donald Trump to reverse the asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their families and anyone deemed to have helped ICC investigations.US allies, including Britain, France and Canada, were among 79 ICC member states who said the US action “could jeopardize” the safety of victims, witnesses and court officials. The sanctions could also hit the court’s technical and IT operations, including evidence gathering. There were also fears that victims might now hesitate to come forward.Trump signed an executive order Thursday saying the court based in The Hague had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.The ICC said the sanctions sought to “harm its independent and impartial judicial work”.”The court stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world,” it added. – ‘Undermines’ justice system -The United Nations urged Trump to reverse the move.”The court should be fully able to undertake its independent work — where a state is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution,” UN human rights office OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told AFP in an email.”The rule of law remains essential to our collective peace and security. Seeking accountability globally makes the world a safer place for everyone.”Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council representing the EU’s 27 member states, wrote on X that the move “undermines the international criminal justice system”.The European Commission separately expressed “regret” and stressed the ICC’s “key importance in upholding international criminal justice and the fight against impunity”.Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy also expressed concern.”We hope that they will not affect the court’s ability to achieve justice for the victims of Russian aggression,” he said.Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof called the US action a “disturbing signal”. As court’s host, the Netherlands would seek to maintain the “unhindered functioning” of the ICC, he added.The 79 ICC member countries said Trump’s sanctions increased the “risk of impunity” for serious crimes and “threaten to erode the international rule of law”.That statement was led by Slovenia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Sierra Leone and Vanuatu but Brazil, Britain, Canada, France and Germany were among the signatories.- ICC ‘illegitimate’: Trump -The names of individuals affected by sanctions were not immediately released, but previous US sanctions under Trump targeted the court’s prosecutor.Trump’s order said the tribunal had engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel,” referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar strongly applauded Trump and called the court’s actions against Israel “immoral” and without “legal basis”.Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.Following a request by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, judges issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif who was killed last year.The court said it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare in Gaza, as well as crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.Netanyahu accused the court of anti-Semitism.During his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on the ICC’s then prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials in 2020. His administration acted after Gambian-born Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan. Bensouda also opened a probe into events in the Palestinian territories in 2019.Current prosecutor Khan later effectively dropped the US from the Afghan investigation and focused on the Taliban instead.  President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions after taking office in 2021.burs-tw/jj

The Kansas City Chiefs chase a historic hat-trick of Super Bowl titles when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles here Sunday as New Orleans hosts the NFL showpiece just five weeks after a deadly attack in the city’s party district.In a first for a sitting US President, Donald Trump will be among an array of VIPs and celebrities in a sell-out crowd of around 74,000 who will be packed into the Caesars Superdome for the biggest annual event in the American sporting calendar.Pop superstar Taylor Swift will also be in attendance to watch as her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his Chiefs team-mates bid to win an unprecedented third straight Vince Lombardi Trophy, and a fourth in six seasons.There is a heavy police presence in the city and blanket security around the event after the New Year’s Day attack which saw 14 people killed and many more injured in the Big Easy’s famous Bourbon Street district.A US army veteran, who the FBI say was motivated by loyalty to the jihadist Islamic State group, used a pickup trick to kill and wound revelers in the crowded French quarter.Authorities expect over 100,000 visitors to the city for the game which the Department of Homeland Security has assigned a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 designated event, the highest classification level of public safety risk.”I’m confident the safest place this weekend will be under the security umbrella we have in place around [the Superdome],” Cathy Lanier, the NFL’s chief security officer, said this week. “We have reviewed, and re-reviewed, all the events of January 1.”Trump’s presence will only increase the security effort with the President going beyond the traditional pre-game televised interview to attend in person.Trump has had a strained relationship with the NFL in the past — he was part of an anti-trust lawsuit against the league in the 1980s when he owned a club in the rival USFL league.In 2017, Trump criticised NFL players who knelt during the playing of the US national anthem to draw attention to issues of racial injustice, prompting strong criticism from some players.Trump then cancelled a planned White House reception for the Eagles after large numbers of players had made it clear they would not attend.But there has been no objection from players to Trump attending Sunday’s game with Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is seeking his fourth Super Bowl ring, describing the prospect as “cool”.As always, the Super Bowl crosses over into popular culture and the half-time show this year will feature hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, who had a clean sweep at last Sunday’s Grammys, winning in all five categories for which he received nominations.Bookmakers and casinos meanwhile are taking odds on whether Chiefs star Kelce will propose to pop icon Swift after the game.American sportsbooks, now legal in 38 states, could take an estimated $1.39 billion in bets on the Super Bowl according to an annual report from the American Gaming Association (AGA).- Chiefs favourites -For the more serious punters, the oddsmakers have the Chiefs as slight favourite for the game which is a rematch of the Super Bowl from two years ago which the Chiefs won by three points.The Chiefs defended their title last year, beating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas and putting them one win away from an unprecedented ‘three-peat’.The 29-year-old Mahomes will become one of just four quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to have won more than three Super Bowls should he triumph again.But the Eagles have added serious offensive firepower since their defeat two years ago with mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts joined by the game-changing speed and power of running back Saquon Barkley.While the Super Bowl regularly draws the biggest television audience of the year in the USA, interest in the NFL is growing outside of it’s stronghold.There is international involvement in this year’s game with Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata looking to become the first Australian to play in and win a Super Bowl.Having played in Brazil this year, the NFL is rapidly expanding their presence globally and next season regular season games will be held in London, Berlin and Madrid with Melbourne, Australia, to host a game in 2026.In this week’s build-up, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell floated the idea that the Super Bowl itself might one day be held outside the USA.”I do think there’s potential that someday we will have an international franchise. If we do, it would not surprise me at all if a Super Bowl follows and is played there,” he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet President Donald Trump during a trip to the United States next week, the foreign ministry in New Delhi said on Friday.Modi, who will visit Washington from February 12-13, will be “among the first few world leaders to visit the United States following the inauguration of President Trump”, India’s top career diplomat, Vikram Misri, told reporters.Misri said there had been a “very close rapport” between the leaders, although their ties have so far failed to bring a breakthrough on a long-sought US-India trade deal.”The visit will be a valuable opportunity to engage the new administration on all areas of mutual interest”, he said, adding that Modi would hold a bilateral meeting with Trump.”This has been one of our strongest international partnerships in recent years and the prime minister’s visit is in line with our steady engagement with the new administration,” Misri said.Modi was among the first to congratulate his “dear friend” Trump on his inauguration last month, saying he wanted New Delhi and Washington to work closely together.”I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries, and to shape a better future for the world”, Modi wrote on X in January.- ‘Very close rapport’ -However, Trump pressed Modi for “fair” trading ties in a telephone call later that month, the White House said, as Trump pushed his hardline trade agenda with world leaders.Trump and Modi also discussed strengthening the so-called Quad grouping with Australia and Japan, which is widely seen as a counterweight to China.India is due to host the bloc’s leaders later this year.The Indian and US leaders, both of whom critics accuse of authoritarian tendencies, enjoyed warm relations when Trump was in the White House from 2017 to 2021.Modi visited Trump in office in 2017 and 2019.He also hosted Trump at a huge rally in his home state of Gujarat, while Trump returned the favour with a similar event in Houston, Texas.”There is an obvious convergence of interests between the two countries,” Misri said, which included “trade, investment, technology, defence cooperation, counter-terrorism (and) the security of the Indo-Pacific”.The meeting will come days after a US military airplane flew back 104 Indian migrants, part of Trump’s overhaul of immigration.India’s foreign ministry said it was “firmly opposed to illegal migration, especially as it is linked to other forms of organised crime”.But New Delhi’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday pointed out that  the “process of deportation is not a new one”, and that the United States had expelled more than 15,000 Indians since 2009, almost half of them between 2019-2024.India is the world’s fifth-largest economy and enjoys world-beating GDP growth, but hundreds of thousands of its citizens still leave the country each year seeking better opportunities abroad.