Currently Online 
Best to avoid Germany having to hand over an Israeli leader to the ICC, president warns
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned against Netanyahu’s arrival in Germany, saying Berlin should “avoid testing” international law given the arrest warrant issued against the prime minister by the International Criminal Court.
“We, in particular, should make the international legal order part of our own identity,” Steinmeier said in the Interview of the Week programme to be broadcast on Sunday by radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, of which DPA, Germany’s press agency, obtained a copy.
Steinmeier said it would be best to avoid being put in a position where Germany would have to hand over an Israeli leader to the ICC.
His comments came in response to a question about Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement that Germany would not recognise the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel’s war on Gaza.
Germany is complicit regardless. Merz should be brought before the ICC as well.
Another painful reminder of US' failure in Afghanistan
Nowhere to run: The Afghan refugees caught in Israel’s war on Iran
On Friday, June 13, when Israeli missiles began raining down on Tehran, Shamsi was reminded once again just how vulnerable she and her family are.
The 34-year-old Afghan mother of two was working at her sewing job in north Tehran. In a state of panic and fear, she rushed back home to find her daughters, aged five and seven, huddled beneath a table in horror.
Shamsi fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan just a year ago, hoping Iran would offer safety. Now, undocumented and terrified, she finds herself caught in yet another dangerous situation – this time with no shelter, no status, and no way out.
“I escaped the Taliban, but bombs were raining over our heads here,” Shamsi told Al Jazeera from her home in northern Tehran, asking to be referred to by her first name only, for security reasons. “We came here for safety, but we didn’t know where to go.”
