Netherlands

ICC says Karim Khan will take a leave of absence pending the conclusion of UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has taken a leave of absence pending the conclusion of UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Khan’s office said on Friday that he had informed colleagues he would step aside until the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) wraps up its probe. The OIOS has been conducting the external investigation since December, following complaints raised with the ICC’s oversight body.

Khan has denied the allegations, which were first reported in October last year. The court said that he would remain on leave until the inquiry concludes, though a timeline for its completion remains unclear. During his absence, the court’s two deputy prosecutors will assume his responsibilities.

Khan’s decision to step aside temporarily follows months of growing pressure from human rights groups and some court officials, who had urged him to withdraw while the investigation was ongoing.

“Stepping aside helps protect the court’s credibility and the trust of victims, staff, and the public. For the alleged victim and whistleblowers, this is also a moment of recognition and dignity,” said Danya Chaikel of human rights watchdog FIDH.

The court has not confirmed when the OIOS investigation will conclude, but the case comes at a time of rising global scrutiny of the ICC’s role and credibility.

High-profile investigations

The decision comes as the court is pursuing high-profile investigations, including into Russia’s assault on Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza.

Khan requested arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children, and for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The United States, a vocal critic of the court’s recent moves, imposed sanctions on Khan over his pursuit of Israeli officials. ICC leadership has since warned that such political attacks could endanger the institution’s survival.

Days earlier, Novo Nordisk cut its sales and profit forecast for first time since the launch of Wegovy four years ago.

Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk has pushed out CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen over concerns the company is losing its first-mover advantage in the highly competitive obesity drug market.

Novo Nordisk announced the decision on Friday.

Days earlier, Novo Nordisk cut its sales and profit forecast for the first time since the launch of Wegovy four years ago, though Jorgensen had predicted a return to growth in its biggest market in the second half of this year.

Novo’s chairman, Helge Lund, tried to reassure analysts and investors on a call that the company’s strategy was intact and the plan for executing it had not changed.

He told the Reuters news agency that discussions to replace Jorgensen had occurred over the past few weeks. Novo said earlier that Jorgensen will remain in his role until a successor is found.

Under Jorgensen’s leadership, Novo Nordisk became a world leader in the weight-loss drug market, with skyrocketing sales of its Wegovy and Ozempic treatments.

Analysts and investors were unconvinced of the need to replace him.

“He was leading the company for eight years and was, in my opinion, extremely successful,” Lukas Leu, a portfolio manager at Bellevue Asset Management, told Reuters.

Danske Bank analyst Carsten Lonborg Madsen was similarly caught off guard.

“The way we know Novo Nordisk is that normally you have patience when you’re on the right track, and then you let things move in the right direction once you have the strategy right,” he said.

“It just feels like there’s something that has gone pretty wrong here,” he said on the call.

Novo’s shares have plunged since hitting a record high in June last year as competition, particularly from US rival Eli Lilly, makes inroads into its market share and as its pipeline of new drugs has failed to impress investors.

“The changes are made in light of the recent market challenges Novo Nordisk has been facing, and the development of the company’s share price since mid-2024,” Novo said in its statement.

Shares down

Jorgensen, at 58, has been CEO since 2017. He said in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2 that he did not see the decision coming, and was only informed very recently.

Booming sales of Wegovy helped make Novo the most valuable listed company in Europe, worth $615bn at its peak in June last year, but its market value has halved to about $310bn.

Novo Nordisk’s share price fell on the news, trading 0.8 percent lower by 14:01 GMT after being 4 percent higher earlier in the day.

The shares are down 32 percent year-to-date and 59 percent from their all-time high.

Eli Lilly has seen US prescriptions for its Zepbound obesity shot surpass Wegovy since mid-March in its biggest market. Eli Lilly shares were up 2.6 percent after the news.

Camilla Sylvest, Novo’s head of commercial strategy and corporate affairs and a consistent presence alongside CEO Jorgensen, stepped down last month without citing a reason.

Former CEO of Novo Nordisk for 16 years and current chair of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Lars Rebien Sorensen, will join the board as an observer with immediate effect with the aim of taking a seat at the next annual general meeting, Novo said.

The company is controlled by the Novo Nordisk Foundation through its investment arm, which owns 77 percent of the voting shares.

Russia must pay damages for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) says.

The United Nations aviation agency has said Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014 that killed all 298 passengers and crew.

With 38 Australian citizens and 196 Dutch citizens on board the aircraft when it was downed, the two governments called on Russia to take responsibility for the incident and pay damages. However, Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the downing of the plane.

Late on Monday, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said Australia and the Netherlands’ claims over the shooting down of flight MH17 were “well-founded in fact and in law”.

“The Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,” the agency said in a statement.

According to international air law, a distinction must be made between military aircraft and commercial or other aircraft during warfare.

While the ICAO has no regulatory powers, it holds moral suasion and sets global aviation standards adopted by its 193-member states.

‘Important step’

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement that the ICAO’s ruling in the case launched in 2022 was an “important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice”.

“This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: States cannot violate international law with impunity,” he said.

Moreover, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government welcomed the decision and urged ICAO to swiftly determine reparations.

“We call upon Russia to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct, as required under international law,” Wong said in a statement.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also welcomed the ruling and said the decision was another step towards “restoring justice for this crime”.

“No matter how much money and effort Russia put into lying to conceal its crimes, the truth wins out, and justice prevails,” Sybiha wrote on X.

On July 17, 2014, the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was hit by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where pro-Russian separatists were fighting Ukrainian forces.

At the time, separatists in the area claimed the airliner was shot down by a Ukrainian military jet, with Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing Ukraine of bearing “responsibility” for the deaths of the passengers.

In 2022, a Dutch court sentenced three men to life sentences over the downing of the plane, including two Russians that Moscow refused to extradite.

The International Court of Justice dismissed Sudan’s case accusing the United Arab Emirates of enabling genocide in Darfur by supplying the paramilitary forces with weapons. The ICJ said it lacked jurisdiction, rejecting Sudan’s request for emergency measures and ordered the case be removed from its docket.