Trump latest: President sanctions major international court that has arrest warrant for Netanyahu

That’s all for another day of our live coverage looking at Donald Trump’s first 100 days as US president.

We’ll be back once again tomorrow morning with further updates.

Before we sign off, here’s a rundown of what’s been going on over the last 24 hours:

Trump signed three executive orders yesterday, including sanctioning the International Criminal Court and targeting “anti-Christian bias” in federal government.

He also ordered a review of funding to all non-governmental organisations that rely on federal cash.

In other news:

  • A federal judge has temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s plan to get rid of government employees by offering them a payout;
  • China has branded US tariffs as “vile” after filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation;
  • Preparations for a meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin are now at an “advanced stage”, according to Russian media;
  • Panama’s president says he will speak with Trump tomorrow amid a continuing stand-off over the Panama Canal;
  • Trump is considering plans pushing the World Health Organisation to put an American in charge as a condition for the US rejoining;
  • The US Treasury has announced it is imposing new sanctions on individuals and tankers helping to ship millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil to China each year;
  • Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been at the White House for talks on trade policy.

We’ve just seen Donald Trump sign an executive order which included sanctions on the International Criminal Court (see 21.56 post).

But it’s not the first time the US president has imposed sanctions on the court.

In June 2020, when Trump was three years into his first term as president, he placed sanctions on senior ICC officials as the court investigated whether the US committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

Under the order, the US could block assets of ICC employees and prevent them from entering the country – a move the court said was an attack on justice and the rule of law.

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the sanctions, which were lifted in April 2021, as “inappropriate and ineffective”.

Previously, the Guantanamo Migrant Operations Centre (MOC) held primarily migrants picked up by US authorities at sea.

Under new plans, it is set to house thousands of migrants accused of committing crimes, who the Trump administration has branded “the worst of the worst”.

Satellite images captured on 4 February by Planet Labs show preparations at the site on the island of Cuba have been carried out at a rapid pace.

Three areas have been readied for arrivals, with tents springing up across the facility.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been at the White House today for meetings.

Posting on social media site X, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said Zuckerberg was in attendance to “discuss how Meta can help the administration defend and advance American tech abroad”.

Zuckerberg was in attendance at Donald Trump’s inauguration last month, with Meta saying last week it would pay $25m to end a lawsuit from Trump over the suspension of his accounts following the 6 January 2021 riot at the Capitol.

Donald Trump has just signed an executive order targeting “eradicating anti-Christian bias” in the federal government.

“It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order, to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponisation of government,” it says.

The order says it will prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism and “work tirelessly to uphold” religious freedom.

It adds that attorney general Pam Bondi will lead a task force on eradicating the “anti-Christian bias” within the federal government.

Trump has not cited specific examples of this bias but has previously claimed the Biden administration used the federal government to target Christians specifically.

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