Greek court strips three far-right MPs of seats over electoral fraud

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Tribunal rules Spartans lawmakers ‘deceived’ voters after convicted ex-leader of Golden Dawn found to hold influence over party

A landmark court decision has dealt a blow to the far-right movement in Greece after MPs with the neo-fascist Spartans party were deprived of seats in parliament.

Citing electoral fraud, a specially assembled electoral tribunal stripped three of the group’s lawmakers, including its leader, of their status in a move that, for the first time since the collapse of military rule, leaves Athens’ 300-seat parliament operating with just 297 MPs.

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Two men jailed for life for supplying car bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia

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Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were convicted last week of their role in the anti-corruption journalist’s murder in 2017

Two men have been sentenced to life in prison for supplying the car bomb that killed the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta eight years ago.

The sentencing on Tuesday of Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, reported to be members of the island’s criminal underworld, marked a significant step in the long campaign to bring those charged with Caruana Galizia’s murder to justice.

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Palestinian Authority President Says Hamas Must Exit Gaza – The New York Times

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  1. Palestinian Authority President Says Hamas Must Exit Gaza  The New York Times
  2. France says Palestinian Authority makes ‘unprecedented commitments’ to reform ahead of conference on statehood  CNN
  3. In first, Palestinian Authority’s Abbas condemns Hamas’s October 7 attack  The Times of Israel
  4. Mahmoud Abbas sends letter to Macron outlining steps to end war in Gaza  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Abbas calls for Hamas disarmament, international forces in letter to Macron  France 24
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7,000 activists begin 300-vehicle convoy from Tunisia to Rafah, aim to open corridor – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. 7,000 activists begin 300-vehicle convoy from Tunisia to Rafah, aim to open corridor  The Jerusalem Post
  2. What is the Global March to Gaza all about?  Al Jazeera
  3. Tunisia activists launch overland Gaza-bound bus convoy to ‘break the siege’  The Times of Israel
  4. Gaza-bound flotilla and global march ignite hopes that Arabs join the movement  Haaretz
  5. “A Show of Human Solidarity”: Ex-U.S. Diplomat to Join Global March to Gaza to Break Israel’s Siege  Democracy Now!
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UK sanctions two far-right Israeli ministers for inciting West Bank violence

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Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face travel bans and asset freezes as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway also impose measures

The UK has been joined by Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing sanctions on two Israeli government ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, largely for inciting violence against Palestinians in their campaign to gain control of new settlements in the West Bank.

Ben-Gvir, the security minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, and Smotrich, the finance minister, will face travel bans and have any assets in the five countries frozen. It was stressed that they were being sanctioned in their personal capacity, placing no restrictions on the ministries they lead. Netanyahu has promised to retaliate.

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Haunting blood-red squid with large hooks drifts through Antarctic ocean’s midnight zone in world-first video – Live Science

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  1. Haunting blood-red squid with large hooks drifts through Antarctic ocean's midnight zone in world-first video  Live Science
  2. We've never seen this rare squid alive in the wild—until now  National Geographic
  3. Watch the mesmerizing first-ever footage of a rare Antarctic squid  Yahoo
  4. Deep Sea Squid Caught on Camera Alive for the First Time. The Astonishing Footage Wasn't Planned  People.com
  5. Want To See A Monster From The Deep? Nobody Had Ever Seen This Squid Alive Before  IFLScience
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Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, Pew study says – NPR

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  1. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, Pew study says  NPR
  2. How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020  Pew Research Center
  3. How the global religious landscape has changed since 2010  Deseret News
  4. Muslims are world’s fastest-growing religious group; Jews far below pre-Holocaust numbers  The Times of Israel
  5. The changing face of faith: Pew report on global religious landscape 2010-2020  Vatican News
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‘We did nothing wrong’: Greta Thunberg accuses Israel of kidnapping yacht crew

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Swedish activist says ‘12 peaceful volunteers’ did not break laws during attempt to bring symbolic aid shipment to Gaza

Hours after being deported from Israel, Greta Thunberg accused the country of kidnapping her and her fellow activists in international waters, adding that she had refused to sign a document stating that she had entered Israel illegally.

Speaking to reporters at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, the Swedish campaigner stressed that she and others on a Gaza-bound ship intercepted by Israel on Monday had simply been attempting to bring much-needed aid to the war-torn territory.

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Zelenskyy calls for ‘concrete actions’ as Russian strikes hit seven of Kyiv’s 10 districts

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Ukraine president criticises lack of response from US and others after one of Moscow’s largest attacks of war on Kyiv

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced his frustration with Donald Trump by calling for “concrete actions” rather than “silence” after Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Kyiv, with seven of the Ukrainian capital’s 10 districts hit overnight.

A total of 315 drones and seven missiles were launched at Ukrainian targets across the country in the early hours of Tuesday, including Odesa in the south-east. But it was the capital that was the focus of Russia’s ferocious barrage.

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EU calls for lower price cap on Russian oil in move to tighten sanctions

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Other measures include greater restrictions on ‘shadow fleet’, banks and Nord Stream investment

The EU executive has called for lowering the price cap on Russian oil as it seeks to tighten energy and financial sanctions against the Kremlin’s ability to wage war.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed that western countries reduce the price at which Russian oil can be sold to $45 (£30) a barrel, down from the current $60.

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