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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to authorize sanctions against court staff, saying it amounted to “an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial proceedings.”An executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday authorizes sanctions against ICC staff investigating American troops and intelligence officials and those of allied nations, including Israel, for possible war crimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere.Trump’s order would block the financial assets of court employees and bar them and their immediate relatives from entering the United States. MORE AT LINK

It is very sad to see another airplane crash and it is indeed surprising to see that the passengers aboard the IRIAF C-130H were just reporters and photographers who were going to cover the Iranian Army exercises in south of the country. The simple thing that can be written about the above incident is that the Mullahcracy of Tehran has had no respect for the human life since it seized power in Islamic Revolution of 1979! But I'd like to add a little bit more to this! Every time a tragedy like this happens in Iran, the regime claims that...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners flooded central Tehran on Thursday for a funeral ceremony for more than 100 people killed in a plane crash that the families of victims have blamed on poor safety procedures. Among those killed on Tuesday were 68 journalists and media technicians, making it the worst accident involving the media anywhere in the world, officials said. "We used to see them on TV every day," said Hamid, a government employee among the crowds who packed streets in the center of the capital to join relatives and colleagues of the dead. "We will miss them very...

The decision by Fidel Castro to dedollarize Cuba's economy is yet another sign of economic distress for an island that has had a rough year, Cuba analysts say. Havana's move earlier this week to eliminate U.S. dollars from circulation is a tacit admission of the effectiveness of U.S. trade and travel sanctions and is the Cuban president's response to the United States, they say. And the change comes at a time when Cuba's economy is also starting to suffer from skyrocketing oil prices and a drop in crucial foreign investment. Cubans may still hold dollars, but to spend their money...

SARASOTA, Fla. - A retired schoolteacher who went to Iraq (news - web sites) to serve as a "human shield" against the U.S. invasion is facing thousands of dollars in U.S. government fines, which she is refusing to pay. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a March letter to Faith Fippinger that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in "virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq." She and others from 30 countries spread out...