Ireland is to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to broaden its definition of genocide – claiming Israel has engaged in the “collective punishment” of people in Gaza.

An intervention will be made later this month, deputy prime minister Micheal Martin said, and will be linked to a case South Africa has brought under the United Nations’ Genocide Convention.

Mr Martin said the Irish government is “concerned” that a “narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide” leads to a “culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised”.

The Dublin administration’s “view of the convention is broader” and “prioritises the protection of civilian life”, he added.

Mr Martin, who also serves as Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs, claimed there had been “collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza”.

Some 44,000 people have died, he added (figures from Hamas) and “millions of civilians” have been displaced.

Mr Martin continued: “By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state.”

The Dublin government has also approved an intervention in The Gambia’s case against Myanmar under the same convention.

“Intervening in both cases demonstrates the consistency of Ireland’s approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention,” Mr Martin said.

Under the convention, genocide refers to acts committed with the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

It can include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and inflicting conditions that bring about its physical destruction.

In May, Israel’s deputy attorney general told a panel of 15 international judges that South Africa’s allegations of genocide are “completely divorced from the facts and circumstances”.

“Armed conflict is not a synonym of genocide,” Gilad Noam said.

The accusation “makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide”, he added.

Israel has often stated that it warns civilians when it is about to target Hamas fighters.

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Amnesty International has also accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The human rights group claimed Israel sought deliberately to destroy Palestinians by launching deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

Israel’s foreign ministry described Amnesty as a “deplorable and fanatical organisation” which had produced a “fabricated report” that was “entirely false and based on lies”.

Stephen Bowen, executive director of Amnesty Ireland, said the Irish government’s intervention offered a “glimmer of hope”.

He added: “Those like Ireland who have called for a ceasefire must join with other like-minded states to create this common platform to end the genocide.

“They must be resolute; they must be relentless; they must be loud, clear, visible. This is genocide. This must stop.”

David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, has told Sky News that Amnesty’s claim of genocide against Israel is “a classic example of antisemitism” and “Holocaust inversion”.

It is not even Christmas yet: trees are still being decorated, turkeys are yet to be defrosted and Christmas puddings remain intact.

But though 2024 is not even out, scientists already have a handle on how hot 2025 will be.

Next year’s global average temperature is likely to be the third-highest on record – going back to 1850 – after 2024 in the top spot and 2023 in second place, the Met Office said today.

This year is on course to be at least 1.5C hotter than pre-industrial times, before humans started burning fossil fuels at scale, and 2023 was 1.45C warmer.

Next year is forecast to be at least 1.29°C hotter, but probably closer to 1.4C, bumping 2020 into fourth place.

And 2025 is expected to be hot even though the El Nino weather pattern, which had a warming effect on 2023 and 2024, has waned.

The Met Office said that’s because an underlying trend is making all years hotter – climate change.

Greenhouse gases – which primarily come from fossil fuels – are continuing to build up in the atmosphere, warming the planet.

That’s why scientists are already pretty confident next year will be hot.

Professor Adam Scaife from the Met Office said: “The 2023/24 El Niño event has temporarily provided a boost to global temperature, adding a peak to the rising temperatures driven by years of increasing greenhouse gas emissions.”

But climate researchers are also “actively looking at other factors” that might be responsible for a recent extra surge in temperatures, he added.

They are racing to understand whether other factors could have played a role, such as the Hunga-Tonga volcano eruption, a reduction in aerosols from shipping emissions or worrying, anomalous heat in the world’s oceans.

The figures published by the Met Office today are global average temperatures, which smooth out extremes from different parts of the world.

That is the reason it can still feel cold in some countries, even if the global average temperature is high.

Countries are trying to limit global warming to no more than 2C, and ideally 1.5C, above pre-industrial levels.

This is the goal they signed up to under the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement and is one of the things they try to achieve via their annual COP climate summits.

On Tuesday, the UK’s climate envoy Rachel Kyte warned the Paris Agreement is “more fragile” than it has ever been.

She said the seminal treaty was losing “friends” on both end of the spectrum, with some countries angry that it moves too slowly, and others stopping it from moving too quickly.

Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host nation for the 2034 football World Cup.

Also confirmed were the hosts for the 2030 World Cup, which was awarded to six countries and will take place across three continents to celebrate 100 years of the tournament.

Saudi Arabia was the sole bidder for the 2034 competition. Its host status was confirmed on Wednesday after an online meeting of the 211 members of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

The members confirmed the unchallenged bids by acclamation – simply clapping during the virtual meeting led by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

As well as the World Cup, Saudi Arabia is hosting football’s 2027 Asian Cup, the 2029 Asian Winter Games and the 2034 Asian Games. It also has long-term ambitions to host more major events, including the Women’s World Cup, according to Sky Sports News.

The 2030 tournament will be led by co-hosts Spain and Portugal in Europe, and Morocco in North Africa. Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina will each hold an opening match to mark 100 years since the first World Cup, which took place in Uruguay and was won by the hosts.

Before both of them, the US, Canada and Mexico will co-host the 2026 World Cup.

England’s Football Association (FA) supported the plans for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, Sky Sports News understands.

‘Blatant sportswashing’

Saudi Arabia first published its bid for the World Cup back in August after FIFA controversially fast-tracked the process for hosting the tournaments in 2030 and 2034.

But, the plan for the 2034 tournament has led to criticism from activist groups, who argue that Saudi laws will not protect workers overseas.

The tournament will require the construction of eight new stadiums, for a total of 15 hosting venues, plus the addition of 175,000 hotel rooms, which will rely heavily on migrant labour.

One of the stadiums is planned in a city that doesn’t yet exist.

Critics of FIFA also insist a Saudi-based World Cup risks a repeat of the rights abuses seen during a decade of similar preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Labour MP Andy Slaughter said the decision was “complete sportswashing” and last month, Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance called on FIFA to halt the process of picking Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 tournament unless major human rights reforms are announced before the vote.

Amnesty International accused the country of “blatant sportswashing” – the practice of using sports to improve a country’s or organisation’s reputation and often to distract from negative actions.

A Stonewall spokesperson said LGBTQ+ fans would feel unsafe at the prospect of attending the 2034 tournament.

‘We’ve come a long way’

Hitting back at criticism, Hammad Albalawi, head of Saudi Arabia’s bid, said at the beginning of December that the country has made significant progress in human rights while aiming to attract “more fans than ever” to the event.

He said Saudi Arabia is committed to transforming its social and economic landscape under Vision 2030 – a government programme announced back in 2016.

“We have come a long way and there’s still a long way to go. Our principle is to develop something that is right for us. Our journey started in 2016, not because of the World Cup bid,” Mr Albalawi told the Reuters news agency.

“We’ve launched initiatives granting employees the freedom to move between employers. Documents of these employees are now uploaded into government systems, ensuring they have rights within their contracts.”

He added that the tournament would be held in a “safe and family-friendly environment” regardless of the sale of alcohol – which is banned in the country.

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“I think today what you see in Saudi Arabia is an environment that is family-friendly, safe and secure – something that people can actually enjoy on and off the pitch,” Mr Albalawi said.

“Our aim and aspiration is to bring more teams and more fans into one place than ever before.”

FIFA previously praised the Saudi bid in an in-house evaluation, noting that the 48-team, 104-game tournament offers “significant opportunities for positive human rights impact”.

However, it added that Saudi Arabia must invest “significant effort and time” to comply with international standards.