Climbers size up a rock wall in Karnataka state, India

The International Criminal Court on Tuesday ordered $8.5 million in compensation to be paid to victims of the Malian former jihadist leader Al Hassan, who was found guilty in 2024 of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court said it had awarded "collective community-based reparations ... focused on rehabilitation" and "symbolic and satisfaction measures" to 65,202 victims.

"The Chamber assessed Mr Al Hassan's liability for reparations at approximately 7,250,000 euros, equivalent to 4,755,688,250 CFA francs," said presiding judge Kimberley Prost.

Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, known as Al Hassan, was a member of Ansar Dine, one of a number of jihadist groups that seized control of Timbuktu between April 2012 and January 2013.

The 48-year-old Islamic police chief was found guilty of three counts of crimes against humanity and five of war crimes in 2024, including flogging, amputation of a hand and torture, and was jailed for 10 years.

He listened impassively to the reparations order, dressed in an ochre robe and a traditional white scarf.

The collective rehabilitation measures ordered by the ICC, which sits in The Hague, will include "socio-economic support, educational programmes or trainings, and psychological support", a statement read.

Those who suffered torture and other acts of mutilation will receive individualised rehabilitation programmes, it added.

Women and girls "suffered particular moral and material harm as a result of the crime of persecution", which had to be reflected in the implementation of reparations, it went on.

"Due to Mr Al Hassan's financial situation, the reparations will be implemented through the Trust Fund for Victims," the court said, urging countries, organisations, businesses and individuals to contribute.

Al Hassan was acquitted of the war crimes of rape and sexual slavery, as well as forced marriage, which is a crime against humanity.

The former jihadist leader was arrested by the Malian authorities and sent to The Hague in March 2018.

He is due for release in March next year instead of 2028, as the court ruled in July last year that a reduction was "in the interests of justice" because he had waived his right to appeal the verdict and sentence.

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EU lawmakers on Tuesday approved the first ever common European rules for cats and dogs including bans on abusive practices and illegal pet trading.

The European Union is home to over 72 million dogs and 83 million cats, according to the European Commission. The 27-country bloc has so far only had rules on health requirements for cats and dogs travelling inside the EU.

The rules introduce bans on harmful breeding practices as well as on ear-cropping and tail-docking, and cats and dogs must have microchips.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg voted on the final text that also introduces minimum welfare criteria for dogs and cats in kennels and shelters.

The EU wants to better regulate a market worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) and animal rights groups say the rules will help tackle animal trafficking from countries like Bulgaria and Romania.

The law also prohibits inbreeding and the breeding of animals with accentuated traits, such as overly short legs, that could affect their welfare.

Inbreeding is allowed in some cases, such as species with low genetic diversity.

The final text bans crossbreeding between domestic and wild breeds, which can lead to behaviours unsuitable in domestic animals.

Police, military and border patrol dogs will, however, be exempted from some rules including the ban on coercive collars that are used to train the animals.

There had been an attempt by lawmakers to ban the keeping or selling of dogs and cats in pet shops, but that was removed from the final text.

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The European Parliament on Tuesday threw its weight behind a more ambitious and bigger long-term EU budget, demanding new taxes to ramp up future spending.

The EU executive last year proposed a nearly two-trillion-euro ($2.3-trillion) long-term budget bazooka for 2028-2034 that includes paying off the bloc's coronavirus-related debt.

EU lawmakers rejected that proposal, and called on the European Union to rollover the debt to finance a 10-percent increase in spending and raise new money, notably through taxes on digital giants and online gambling.

Their desire for a bigger budget has pit them against EU nations including Germany, which has the bloc's largest economy. Berlin instead calls to cut spending in some areas.

Romanian EU lawmaker Siegfried Muresan, who will lead negotiations with member states, demanded a "strong" budget. 

"The position of the European Parliament is clear: we believe we cannot do more with less," he said during a parliamentary debate in Strasbourg.

Time is of the essence, say top EU officials.

EU budget chief Piotr Serafin told lawmakers during the debate that a final deal on spending for 2028-2034 had to be completed by the end of the year.

Pointing to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Serafin said the EU "should not expect the years ahead of us to be easier, on the contrary. This is why a timely agreement on the (budget) is more important than ever".

There are also concerns about elections next year including in France and so the EU wants an agreement by the end of 2026 as officials fear a potential French far-right government in 2027 could throw negotiations into disarray.

Potential French presidential candidate for the far-right National Rally party Jordan Bardella slammed the scramble to get a deal before France's vote.

"How can we not be alarmed by these manoeuvres to provide the European Union with a budget before the French presidential election scheduled for spring 2027, contrary to the usual timetable, and all in order to force the hand of the next president?" he said.

Bardella also opposed the larger budget, describing it as a "headlong rush" that will cost the French taxpayers "20 billion euros".

The parliament's text will form the basis of its negotiations with member states, which usually have the final say over the budget.

But the member states are far apart on the issue, with France pushing for more joint borrowing and Germany and the Netherlands diametrically opposed.

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German rescuers launched a fresh bid Tuesday to free a humpback whale stranded for a month off the country's coast, aiming to transport the cetacean to deeper waters in a barge.

The 13-metre (over 40 foot) whale and its struggle for survival have gripped Germany since it beached on a sandbank near the city of Luebeck, far from its natural habitat in late March.

The rescue -- financed by two entrepreneurs -- will involve loading the sea mammal onto a special barge to carry it from Germany's Baltic Sea coast to deeper waters in the North Sea.

As the bid got underway, rescuers in diving suits could be seen attaching straps to the whale and then attempting to drag it through the water towards the vessel.

Once the mammal is on the barge, "we can hopefully begin the journey," said Till Backhaus, environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

"Ideally by sunset we should have the whale on the barge".

He had earlier given the green light for the operation after vets examined the creature, dubbed "Timmy" by German media, and said it was medically fit to be transported.

The whale was first spotted stuck on a sandbank on March 23 before freeing itself and then becoming stuck again several times.

At the start of April officials gave up on the animal, saying they believed it could not be saved. 

But this triggered an outcry and authorities were persuaded to let the entrepreneurs come up with a rescue plan.

Some scientists have strongly criticised the decision to allow further rescue bids, believing they will be too risky for the whale and estimating the chances of success as low.

But Backhaus defended the latest rescue bid, saying it was "definitely worth it".

"I've always said, those who do nothing make no mistakes," he added.

The saga has sparked a media frenzy -- with non-stop coverage from TV channels, online outlets and social media influencers -- but has also led to angry spats and conspiracy theories.

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British energy giant BP on Tuesday reported a sharp increase in profits in the first quarter as crude oil prices soared amid the Middle East war.

Oil prices have risen since the start of the US-Iran conflict on February 28, often swinging violently in response to the war's ever-changing headlines. 

BP's profit after tax jumped to $3.8 billion for the January-March period from $687 million in the same quarter a year earlier, London-listed BP said in an earnings statement.

The closely followed underlying profit figure more than doubled to $3.2 billion from $1.4 billion the previous year, a figure that "reflects exceptional oil trading contribution", the statement said.

"Overall, our business continues to run well. This was another quarter of strong operational and financial delivery, and we made further progress towards our 2027 targets," said CEO Meg O'Neill, who was appointed at the end of last year to replace Murray Auchincloss.

The group had announced in mid-April that it expected to benefit from rising oil prices, noting that the price of Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, averaged $81.13 a barrel in the first quarter, up from $63.73 in the fourth quarter of last year.

Oil prices have been volatile due to the war, coming close to $120 a barrel in March, which BP traders were able to profit from.

"Traders do best in periods of volatility as sharp swings in the price create gaps between buyers and sellers ... and greater hedging demand from industries like the airline sector," said AJ Bell head of markets, Dan Coatsworth.

"The highest quarterly profit in the best part of three years is not a bad way for new BP CEO Meg O'Neill to begin her tenure."

BP shares were up 3 percent Tuesday by midday on the London Stock Exchange.

The company said in mid-April that each one dollar variation in the price of a barrel has a $340 million impact on its annual operating profit before tax.

BP "has been working relentlessly to keep our assets producing safely, reliably and efficiently," while working "in an environment of conflict and complexity," O'Neill said.

The American CEO took up her post in early April with a mission of implementing a recovery plan for the struggling group, whose profit after tax in 2025 plunged 86 percent year-on-year to $55 million.

- 'Simpler, stronger' -

BP's performance has generally fallen behind that of its rivals in recent years, and last year the company mounted a boardroom shakeup after slashing clean energy investment and pivoting back to its more profitable oil and gas business.

O'Neill plans to reorganise the company, clearly separating its upstream and downstream activities.

Her aim is to make BP "a simpler, stronger, more valuable company," she said Tuesday.

"Now, we have to capitalise on the opportunity that exists across our portfolio, simplifying how we work, unlocking growth and driving improved returns," she added.

The new CEO faced a stinging rebuke from shareholders last week at the annual general meeting where they largely rejected two board proposals as a step backwards on transparency, particularly concerning climate strategy.

One proposal aimed to revoke two resolutions adopted at previous general meetings, which required BP to publish certain climate-related information. 

The other was intended to authorise holding shareholder meetings exclusively online.

BP chairman Albert Manifold, who took office on October 1, faced a personal rebuke, with around 18 percent of shareholders voting against his election.

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Oil prices jumped Tuesday on lack of progress towards re-opening the Strait of Hormuz while stocks diverged as attention turned back to the outlook for interest rates and company earnings.

The White House has refused to say if US President Donald Trump is inclined to accept Iran's latest proposals to end the two-month old conflict and re-open the crucial waterway.

Oil prices rallied more than two percent, with Brent holding  above $110 a barrel and WTI just a whisker below $100 a barrel.  

Hopes for a deal had been rising going into last weekend but Trump dashed them on Saturday by scrapping a planned trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad.

Stock markets mostly fell in Asia, under further pressure after the Bank of Japan sharply raised its inflation forecasts for the current year and halved its growth projections owing to surging oil prices.

"The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged but signalled that it would be keeping a very close eye on inflation dynamics," said analyst Andreas Lipkow at CMC Markets. "This triggered profit-taking. A similar picture could emerge at the meetings of the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank."

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, Manila and Wellington all closed lower, though Seoul rose again thanks to a resumption of the tech rally that has pushed the Kospi to a record high.

In Europe, shares were slightly higher in late-morning trading, boosted by energy companies, even as investors overall took a cautious stance ahead of a series of key central bank meetings. 

In London, BP shares were up more three percent after it reported strong first-quarter earnings, while in Paris TotalEnergies was up just under three percent.

The European Central Bank meets Thursday, with eyes on what President Christine Lagarde says at her press conference.

The ECB is not expected to announce an interest rate hike, but "every word will be scrutinized for any potential shift in tone regarding this persistent energy shock," said John Plassard of Cite Gestion.

The US Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting Thursday amid the same growing inflationary concerns over the surge in energy costs.

Meanwhile in New York, tech giants Meta and Microsoft are due to report earnings Wednesday with Apple following Thursday. Older industrial companies including Ford and ExxonMobil are also reporting this week.

In Zurich, Novartis shares were down more than two percent after the Swiss drugmaker reported disappointing results.

- Key figures at 1045 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.5 percent at $99.75 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.6 percent at $111.15 a barrel

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,369.85 points 

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,168.37 Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 24,116.02

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 59,917.46 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 25,679.78 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 4,078.64 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 49,167.79 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1697 from $1.1722 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3490 from $1.3534

Dollar/yen: UP at 159.59 yen from 159.39 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.69 pence from 86.61 pence

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Nepali guides on Tuesday opened the route past the icefall on Mount Everest, which was blocked for two weeks by a large chunk of dangerous ice.

A team of highly skilled mountaineers, known in Nepal as "icefall doctors", began fixing ropes and ladders on Everest last month, to prepare for the spring climbing season.

But a serac -- a block of glacial ice -- above the already treacherous Khumbu icefall disrupted their work, sparking fears of delays in the limited summit season on the world's highest peak.

"A team of 21, including eight icefall doctors, went up this morning, opening the route up to Camp 1," Lakpa Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, who coordinated the effort, told AFP.

"The serac is still there so the risk persists... We expect it will melt soon."

Sherpa said teams would work to set the route up to the summit to ensure there are no more delays.

The government has issued more than 900 climbing permits for various Himalayan mountains this season, including 425 for Everest.

A sea of tents to host more than 1,000 people -- foreign climbers and support staff -- has built up at the foot of Everest, readying to scale the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) summit.

Climbers at the base camp have been anxiously watching the developments on the route. They must cross the icefall, a constantly shifting maze of crevasses and ice blocks, to reach higher on Everest.

"We are not yet sending people up," said Lukas Furtenbach of Furtenbach Adventures, saying he would await a decision from the committee which mobilises the icefall doctors. 

Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and attracts hundreds of climbers each spring, when temperatures are warmer and winds calmer.

A climbing boom has made mountaineering a lucrative business since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa made the first ascent in 1953. 

Around 700 people reached Everest's summit last year from the Nepali side, according to the tourism department, with another 100 climbers believed to have reached the peak from the northern side, via China.

In 2023, three Nepali guides were killed when a falling block of glacial ice swept them into a deep crevasse as they were crossing the Khumbu icefall with supplies.

Autumn summits on Everest in 2019 were also thwarted by a serac.

In 2014, an immense tumbling wall of snow, ice and rock killed 16 Nepali guides on the icefall, one of the deadliest accidents in the Himalayas.

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An Indian billionaire's son offered on Tuesday to take hippos descended from those introduced to Colombia by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, rather than have the animals killed.

Anant Ambani, the son of tycoon Mukesh Ambani, said he had formally requested the Colombian government to stay a decision to kill the animals, which have wreaked havoc on rivers in the South American nation.

Instead, he has asked to allow the "safe, scientifically-led translocation that would bring the 80 animals to a permanent home" at his Vantara animal centre.

The vast zoo in India's western state of Gujarat bills itself as the "one of the world's largest wildlife rescue, care and conservation centres".

Vantara is already home to hundreds of elephants, as well as 50 bears, 160 tigers, 200 lions, 250 leopards and 900 crocodiles, among other animals, according to India's Central Zoo Authority.

Experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm on Vantara's massive animal intake, including the import of critically endangered and rare species.

Escobar brought hippos -- which are native only to Africa and can weigh up to several tonnes -- to Colombia in the 1980s.

After Escobar's death, hippos from his private zoo made a new life in the lush river banks of the Colombia's Magdalena River -- where they have attacked fishermen, prompting moves to cull them.

Anant Ambani, son of the billionaire head of the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, said he had submitted a detailed plan to give the animals a new home at Vantara.

The animal centre is sited alongside the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery Complex, which the conglomerate says is the world's largest crude oil refinery.

Summers there can get extremely hot, with temperatures soaring above 40C.

Ambani's proposal sets out a veterinary-led capture and transport, as well as the creation of a "purpose-designed naturalistic setting" for the hippos, according to a statement.

"Vantara has the expertise, infrastructure and resolve to support this effort, entirely on Colombia's terms," the statement said.

"These 80 hippos did not choose where they were born, nor did they create the circumstances they now face," Ambani added.

"They are living, sentient beings, and if we have the ability to save them through a safe and humane solution, we have a responsibility to try."

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Comedian Jimmy Kimmel hit back on Monday at Donald Trump's call for him to lose his job over a joke about First Lady Melania Trump days before an alleged attempt to assassinate the US president.

Trump said Kimmel should be fired for likening the first lady to an "expectant widow" on Thursday, two days before a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington that the couple attended.

Kimmel portrayed himself in a monologue as the MC of that upcoming banquet. It included a segment in which he addressed the first lady in the audience and said: "Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."

Trump turns 80 in June and is the oldest president to take office in the United States. His wife, a former model who was born in Slovenia, is 56.

The first lady also lashed out at Kimmel in a rare statement, calling on US broadcaster ABC to "take a stand" against the late-night host over his comments.

However, Kimmel brushed off the criticism in a monologue on his talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" late on Monday, saying that the gag was "obviously... a joke about their age difference."

"It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," Kimmel said.

"It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that."

Kimmel also appeared to invite Trump onto his show to discuss "hateful" rhetoric -- an apparent reference to the president's inflammatory comments about groups including migrants, political opponents and the media.

"I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject," Kimmel said.

"I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it," he added, addressing the first lady.

The president had earlier accused Kimmel in a Truth Social post of a "despicable call to violence" and said he should "be immediately fired."

As a prominent late-night comedy host, Kimmel has been at the heart of the debate over constitutionally protected speech.

He was briefly suspended from his show last September following government pressure after he said Trump's hard-right MAGA movement was trying to make political capital from the assassination of influencer Charlie Kirk.

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A 21-year-old man went on trial in Austria on Tuesday over a plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert, which led to shows by the US megastar in the Alpine nation to be scrapped in 2024.

Three dates in Swift's record-breaking "Eras" tour were cancelled in the summer of 2024 after authorities warned of the plot. 

Beran A., who was led into the courtroom by masked police personnel, has been in detention since his arrest in August 2024 and is facing terror offences and other charges.

The Austrian is accused of having been a member of a terror organisation from May 2023 "by planning and preparing a terrorist attack on the concert of singer Taylor Swift", prosecutors have said.

By sharing Islamic State (IS) propaganda through various messaging services and other offences, he participated and "openly aligned himself" with IS, they added.

Planning the attack on the concert, he allegedly tried to get weapons and worked on making a shrapnel bomb "specific to IS attacks" and received instructions from other IS members on handling explosives, according to prosecutors.

- Attack plans abroad -

He is also alleged to have been involved in other attack plans abroad, including in Dubai and Istanbul though those attacks never materialised.

Another 21-year-old, Arda K., is standing trial together with Beran A., according to Austrian news agency APA.

The duo, together with a third man, Hasan E. imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, are accused of forming a "highly dangerous IS terror cell" planning to carry out several attacks in the name of IS, prosecutors say.

The trial of the two defendants has been scheduled to last four days.

If found guilty, Beran A. faces up to 20 years in prison.

Last year, a Berlin court convicted a Syrian teenager of contributing to the plot to attack the Swift concert.

The 16-year-old was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

The plot was thwarted with the help of US intelligence.

Swift later wrote on social media that "the reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many had planned on coming to those shows".

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