TRANSCRIPT
- Germany accused of enabling genocide at the International Court of Justice
- A total eclipse brings darkness to millions in Mexico, the US and Canada
- Russ Cook shares scary moments from his run across the length of Africa
**
Nicaragua has accused Germany of enabling acts of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its support of Israel's military assault on Gaza.
The Central American country is seeking to halt Germany's military arms exports to Israel and reverse its decision to stop funding the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency.
Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest allies since the October 7 attacks and also sent $536 million in military equipment and weapons to Israel in 2023.
Nicaragua's agent ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez opened the ICJ case by arguing Germany has violated its commitment to the 1948 Genocide Convention.
“Germany is failing to honour its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law. The violations of international humanitarian law by Israel create obligations for Germany as it does for all states of the international community. In the present case, Nicaragua is also requesting the court to order that Germany should cease providing support to Israel in its campaign of destruction of the Palestinian people.”
Gazan health authorities say at least 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's bombardment of the enclave since the 7th of October.
Israel denies allegations of genocide and Germany has rejected Nicaragua's accusations.
Germany will next present its side to the ICJ.
**
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his pledge to invade Rafah, declaring a date has been chosen without elaborating as to when.
His comments came as negotiations took place in Cairo to try to broker a ceasefire deal with Hamas and the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
In other developments, Palestinians have returned to what's left of their homes in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, a day after the Israeli military announced it was withdrawing troops from the area.
Those returning found their city unrecognisable with thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged.
**
A chilly darkness has fallen across the United States as a total solar eclipse begins to move across the continent.
The spectacle was eagerly awaited by millions of spectators in the US, Mexico and Canada.
In the Mexican coastal city of Mazatlan, crowds gathered on the shore to watch the spectacle, underscored by a live orchestra's rendition of Star Wars themes.
Meanwhile, in Torreon, amateur astronomers and scientists set up telescopes anticipating the eclipse, expected to last up to four minutes.
The astronomical event, visible from Mexico and extending into Texas and across 14 other US states, culminated in Quebec and four additional provinces in Canada.
Austin Kingston viewed the eclipse from Washington DC.
"I don't know. It's cool. It happens with, like, regularity. The math on it's really crazy, like the fact that the moon just so happens to be the right proportions to cover up the sun. So it's cool. It happens like every five years, I guess. It's kind of just fun to take a break and enjoy the weird things that happen in life."
**
The Coalition and Greens have rejected the findings of a review into the supermarket sector which has called for increased regulation.
The review, led by Former Labor Minister Craig Emerson, suggests making a previously opt-in code of conduct mandatory for the sector, with breaches punishable with fines of up to 10 per cent of a business' annual revenue.
However, there remain concerns the report fell short of recommending the introduction of divestiture powers, which could be used to force Coles and Woolworths to sell off part of their businesses to reduce their market-share and increase competition.
The two businesses currently control approximately two thirds of the supermarket sector.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the review has been a partisan exercise, while Greens Senator Nick McKim believes it does not go far enough.
DUTTON: "The review was written, the results were dictated by Jim Chalmers and I think this is a Mickey Mouse review that has been conducted by Labor the going to be priced to leave here for consumers."
MCKIM: "Dr Emerson's recommendations are applying a band-aid to a gaping wound and unless the concentration of market power of Coles and Woolworths is adequately addressed nothing will change."
**
In sport, extreme marathon runner Russ Cook has shared some of the scariest moments of his epic run to become the first person in history to run the entire length of Africa.
Finishing in Tunisia, the British endurance athlete travelled through 16 countries, with the 352-day odyssey including being robbed at gunpoint and suffering food poisoning.
Cook started his adventure last April at Africa's most southerly point in South Africa and proceeded up the continent's west coast, running a total of over 16,000 kilometres.
Along the way, the 27-year-old raised more than $1.3 million for charity.
While Cook and his crew were robbed at gunpoint in Angola, it was another incident in the Congo when the runner was held for ransom that almost saw him quit his journey.
"I think the closest I ever really got was after the situation in the Congo, probably for one minute thought about quitting and then realised I couldn't so that's about as close as it ever got. There's obviously been a bunch of times where it was very difficult: Sahara Desert, sandstorms, and pushing that mileage up for the last couple of months was really tough as well but I was never going to quit."
