The international criminal court is to examine complaints that Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, has committed crimes against humanity in his brutal anti-drugs crusade. A report submitted to the ICC last year laid out evidence that Duterte had been directly responsible for “extrajudicial executions and mass murder” over three decades since he began his war on drugs as mayor of Davao in 1988.

According to official statistics, 4,000 people have been killed by the police in anti-drug operations since Duterte became president. However, the 77-page report submitted by a Philippine lawyer, Jude Sabio, alleged the death toll was over 8,000. Gary Alejano, an opposition politician who tried to get Duterte impeached last year and submitted evidence to the ICC as part of the complaint, said the ICC move was an affirmation that their claims against Duterte had legitimacy, and offered “a ray of hope for the victims of his war on drugs, which is still ongoing right now”.

He said: “In this country, people are at a loss where to go if members of your family feel victim to the war on drugs. They cannot go to police because they are involved, they cannot go to the department of justice because the secretary will say there’s no such thing as extrajudicial killing. And when we request an investigation from the House of Representatives, we can not get an impartial hearing because they are covering up for the president. There is a clear and blatant violation of the rule of law in the Philippines right now, and so the ICC are the only ones who can step in.”(theguardian)…[+]

Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader in the US House of Representatives, has given a record-breaking eight-hour speech in an attempt to persuade Republicans to allow a vote on protecting Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. Wearing four-inch heels and forgoing any breaks, Pelosi, 77, spent much of her speech reading personal letters from young immigrants whose temporary protection from deportation is set to expire next month. She also quoted from the Bible and Pope Francis, while Democrats took turns sitting behind her in support. The Office of the House Historian said it was the longest continuous speech in the chamber on record.(theguardian)…[+]

Bermuda has become the first country to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage, in what critics have called an unprecedented rollback of civil rights by the British island territory. Bermuda’s governor has signed into law a bill reversing the right of gay couples to marry, despite a supreme court ruling last year authorising same-sex marriage. Walton Brown, the minister of home affairs, said the legislation signed by Governor John Rankin would balance opposition to same-sex marriage on the socially conservative island while complying with European court rulings that ensure recognition and protection for same-sex couples in the territory. Bermuda’s Senate and House of Assembly passed the legislation by wide margins in December and a majority of voters opposed same-sex marriage in a referendum.(theguardian)…[+]