McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Lawyers for Ukraine told the United Nations' top court Tuesday that Russia bankrolled a "campaign of intimidation and terror" by rebels in eastern Ukraine starting in 2014 and sought to replace Crimea's multiethnic community with "discriminatory Russian nationalism" after its occupation and annexation of the region.
The claims came at hearings at the International Court of Justice in a case brought by Kyiv against Russia linked to Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the arming of rebels in eastern Ukraine in the years before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine wants the world court to order Moscow to pay reparations for attacks and crimes in the regions, including for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that was shot down by Russia-backed rebels on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
Four days of hearings in the court's ornate, wood-paneled Great Hall of Justice opened against a backdrop of Europe's deadliest conflict since the Second World War. Ukraine and Russia were trading accusations of blame for the damage to the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station, which are located in a part of Ukraine that Moscow controls.
Lawyers for Kyiv presented legal arguments to support their case Tuesday. Russia's lawyers will address judges Thursday. Each side has another opportunity next week to present evidence. Judges are expected to take months to issue a judgment.
"When it could have instructed its officials not to fund groups committing violence against civilians, Russia did nothing," Harold Koh, a lawyer for Ukraine, told judges. "Instead, as more deadly weapons arrived in Ukraine and more Ukrainian civilians suffered atrocities, Russian officials escalated their illegal supply of monies and weapons sending."
Koh said that in July 2014, a Buk anti-aircraft system was sent into Ukraine "after which Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was destroyed."
Another lawyer on Ukraine's team, David Zionts, said that pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine "attacked civilians as part of a campaign of intimidation and terror. Russian money and weapons fuelled this campaign."
The Ukrainian legal team said Russia did nothing to prevent or help Ukraine investigate the financial streams.
Turning to alleged breaches in Crimea of a convention to combat racial discrimination, Koh said that, following its illegal occupation and annexation of the peninsula, Russia "sought to replace the multiethnic community that had characterized Crimea before Russia's intervention with discriminatory Russian nationalism."
He told judges that Russian policies amount to "a long-term project to erase the rights and culture that make Ukraine a proud, multi-ethnic nation, to wipe out what makes Ukrainians Ukrainians and what makes the Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatars."
The case is one of several legal proceedings against Russia linked to Ukraine.
In a separate case brought by Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of Russia's illegal invasion, the world court issued a preliminary order calling on Russia to stop hostilities -- a legally binding ruling that Moscow ignored.
In that case, Kyiv is arguing that Russia violated the 1948 Genocide Convention by falsely accusing Ukraine of committing genocide and using that as a pretext for the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion. Moscow argues that the court doesn't have jurisdiction.
Not far away at the International Criminal Court, judges have issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of deporting and illegally transferring children from Ukraine. Russia isn't a member of the court and doesn't recognize its jurisdiction.
A Dutch domestic court last year convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian for their roles in downing MH17 and sentenced them in their absence to life imprisonment. Ukraine also has another case against Russia at the International Court of Justice over its invasion, and the Netherlands and Ukraine are suing Moscow at the European Court of Human Rights over MH17.
Russia has always denied involvement in the downing of the passenger jet that was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down by a Soviet-era missile over eastern Ukraine.
"The Russian Federation has contempt for international law," a senior Ukrainian diplomat, Anton Korynevych, said. "Over the last 16 months, the world has woken up to this dark reality."
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.