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A lawyer for the chief defendant in a French mass rape trial on Wednesday, November 27, urged the court to recall his good side after prosecutors demanded lengthy jail terms for the dozens of suspects. The main defendant, Dominique Pelicot, has admitted enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his then-wife while she was drugged and unconscious.

Provisions for immunity from prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) apply to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the French foreign ministry said on Wednesday, November 27. In a statement the ministry reaffirmed its commitment to international justice after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, but also said that the Israeli leader was covered by immunity rules that apply to states which are not a party to the ICC. Israeli is not an ICC member.

“Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said in a statement, external. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Billionaire Elon Musk has been tapped by Donald Trump to co-lead a new body aimed at overhauling government operations. The body aims to streamline bureaucracy and cut federal spending. Trump described the organisation as an external advisory body working alongside the White House and the Office of Management and Budget.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his recent election victory, praising him as a “courageous man” during a speech in Sochi. Putin noted that Trump was “hounded from all sides” during his previous term in office.