First Thing: Trump green-lights sanctions against the ICC

Amnesty International says the move ‘sends the message that Israel is above the law’. Plus: meet the man whose job it is to create ‘scary smells’

Good morning.

Donald Trump has signed an executive order green-lighting sanctions against the international criminal court (ICC), accusing it of targeting Israel and the US with “illegitimate and baseless actions”.

It means the US president can freeze assets and impose travel bans against ICC staff and their family if the US finds they are involved in efforts to investigate or prosecute citizens of the US and certain allies, and comes after the court in November issued warrants for both Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Neither the US nor Israel are members of the ICC, which was established in 2002 and has 125 states ratifying its founding statute.

What did Israel say? Netanyahu thanked Trump for defending “America and Israel from the anti-American and antisemitic corrupt court”.

And others? Human rights groups criticized the move, with Amnesty International saying it “sends the message that Israel is above the law”.

Trump’s blitz to expand his power is ‘direct threat to democracy’, experts say

Trump’s slew of executive orders include several that seek to expand presidential powers in ways that threaten the rule of law and US democracy, legal experts have said.

While pushback from Republicans has been scant, resistance has come from the judiciary: two dozen Democratic state attorneys general have filed lawsuits, and federal court judges have temporarily halted two of Trump’s more extremist moves.

A group of inspectors general – the independent watchdogs summarily fired by Trump during his first week in office – are expected to file a lawsuit challenging their dismissals, according to a source familiar with the matter. Congressional Democrats and unions are also challenging some of Elon Musk’s efforts to slash and burn public services via his “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

What do experts think is behind Trump’s executive orders? They say the move could be aimed to get cases to the supreme court, in the hope that the conservative majority will rule in favor of his expansive views of executive power.

Government workers sue Trump and Rubio over ‘catastrophic’ USAid cuts

The largest government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its slashing of the US Agency for International Development.

The lawsuit aims to block the Trump administration’s efforts to comprehensively dismantle the agency. Filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, it seeks an order to prevent what it labels “unconstitutional and illegal actions” that have triggered a “global humanitarian crisis”.

The 90-day foreign aid freeze and shutdown of the agency have paralyzed global efforts to relieve hunger, leaving $340m worth of food to rot. Meanwhile, analysts have said the shutdown is ceding power to China, as it hands the US’s chief rival an opportunity to expand its influence.

Who are the named defendants? They include Trump, Rubio and the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent – but the text zeroes in on the actions and statements of Elon Musk.

In other news …

“Very significant” numbers of Rwandan soldiers have been killed fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sources have said, rebutting Kigali’s insistence that its soldiers are not involved.

North Korean troops sent to fight alongside Russia have been withdrawn from the frontline in Ukraine, Seoul’s spy agency has said, speculating that this was as a result of suffering heavy losses.

Tech firms should be legally required to report their data centers’ energy and water usage as the AI boom threatens the environment, experts have said.

Stat of the day: Just ‘290 of more than 10,000 USAid employees globally’ to be retained after Trump cuts

The dismantling of the USAid program has begun this week, and will lead to a mere 290 of the more than 10,000 employees worldwide being retained, according to the New York Times. Former UK prime minister Gordon Brown lays out what this means: “The halting of landmine-clearing work in Asia … drug deliveries to fight the current mpox and Ebola outbreaks in Africa have been stopped … life-saving food lies rotting at African ports.”

Don’t miss this: iPad-smashing Elton John

At 77, Elton John could easily be resting on the laurels of his success. But to the singer, that begs the question: “If I don’t push myself, what’s the point in carrying on? Just be ‘Elton John’ for the rest of my life? Which would have filled me with absolute fucking horror.” Read here about how he made his best album this century (according to the Guardian’s deputy music editor, Laura Snapes) with Grammy-winning Americana artist Brandi Carlile, in a process that could be … turbulent. “He smashed his iPad,” Carlile says. “He smashed headphones. There were really amazing, classic Elton John outbursts. My lyrics got torn up and thrown on the ground.”

Climate check: How did Musk go from climate champion to backing EV-bashing Trump?

If Donald Trump succeeds in his goal of scrapping a significant tax credit for Americans buying electric vehicles, sales could fall by 27%, a study shows. So how did Elon Musk – the CEO of Tesla and former climate champion – come to do such a 180 to back Trump, and what does it mean for the planet?

Last Thing: The man whose job is to create scary smells

Liam Findlay has a role you don’t often see advertised at careers fairs: inventing scents that trigger fear, for clients such as theme parks and museums. It doesn’t always go to plan, though: “Once we did a test for a rotting flesh smell for a Texas Chainsaw Massacre attraction in the US,” he said. “Instead of leaving the ride feeling afraid, everyone emerged feeling hungry for burgers. Our scent smelled too much like cooked meat.”

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