The UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday gave Honduras territorial rights to four islands disputed with Nicaragua, but set a new border between the neighbors in the Caribbean Sea.
The ruling, which representatives from both sides deemed "good for both countries," gives Nicaragua sovereignty over some 130,000km2 of territorial waters it was also claiming.
Tensions grew between the two countries after Honduras in late 1999 ratified a 1986 border treaty with Colombia, which Nicaragua said seized some of its territorial waters. Nicaragua took its complaint to the ICJ in December 1999.
The unanimous ruling by the court's 17 justices gives Honduras sovereignty over the Bobel, South, Savanna and Port Royal islands and keys within the area in dispute at the mouth of the Coco river.
It also negates Honduras' claim to the 15th parallel north as a maritime border with its neighbors, establishing instead a northeastern line extending seaward from the mouth of the Coco River that separates the two countries.
The new maritime border is a Solomonic solution to the dispute since it neither adheres to Honduras' claim of the 15th parallel as the borderline nor to Nicaragua's claim of the 17th.
The ICJ ruling was welcomed with a big hug by presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Manuel Zelaya of Honduras in a meeting Monday in Ocotal, 220km north of Managua.
"Today we open a new chapter in the history of our two nations," Zelaya told hundreds of people gathered in the Nicaraguan city near the border with Honduras.
Ortega said his meeting with Zelaya marked "a historic day," adding that he felt "proud" about the way both governments received the ICJ's ruling.
"Ours is a brave stance because there are others interested in keeping us apart and in confrontation," Ortega said, alluding to Colombia's alleged attempt in a 1986 treaty with Honduras to seize territorial waters.
"This is the right road," Ortega said.
"The road to brotherhood and not to hatred, confrontation nor the road to warfare," he said.
"We want to sent a message to our people and outsiders that united we are invincible and that nobody can stop us from seeking joint solutions to the problems that beset us," Zelaya said.
Ortega said he would return Zelaya's visit in two weeks and discuss joint energy and economic projects.
The UN court's ruling was also welcomed by Colombia because it did not affect its claims to the San Andres archipelago in the Caribbean 800km from its shores and 200km east of Nicaragua, which Managua also lays claim to.
"The court ... abstained from taking any decision that might prejudge Colombia's rights in the area," Colombia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of