Asian leader breaks up relations with the International Criminal Court

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has broken off his government's contact with the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the tribunal rejected an appeal to halt an investigation of his predecessor's bloody crackdown on drug dealers. The decision came after the ICC, based in the Hague, last week refused a request by the Philippine government to drop its investigation of alleged executions and police cover-ups during a drug war launched by former President Rodrigo Duterte. Marcos withdrew the Philippines from the ICC's founding treaty in 2018. Philippine officials have argued that their own law enforcement authorities are capable of investigating allegations over Duterte's drug war, which reportedly left more than 7,700 people dead. The ICC is billed as a court of last resort that investigates and prosecutes crimes in cases where nations are unable or unwilling to do the job themselves.