EUROPEAN UNION: Commission president Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived a confidence vote today, as MEPs rejected a censure motion against her.

The motion contained a mix of allegations against Ms von der Leyen, including text messaging privately with the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the Covid-19 pandemic, misuse of EU funds and interference with elections in Germany and Romania.

The motion was defeated by 360 votes to 175.

BANGLADESH: A special tribunal accepted charges of crimes against humanity today against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah al-Mamun.

The charges are linked to a mass uprising in which hundreds of students were killed last year.

Ms Hasina’s Awami League party labelled the tribunal a “kangaroo” court.

NIGERIA: Security forces have killed at least 30 gunmen after armed attacks in the north-east, authorities said today.

The operation occurred on Wednesday after hundreds of armed men attacked several villages, State Commissioner for Home Affairs Nasir Mua’zu said in a statement.

Mr Mua’zu said three police officers and two soldiers had died during the counterattack, which was launched after the villages were targeted on Tuesday evening.

GREECE: More than 500 migrants arrived at the port of Lavrio near Athens today after being intercepted south of the island of Crete, as Greece clamps down on a surge in Mediterranean crossings from Libya. 

The migrants were transferred overnight to a bulk carrier after their fishing trawler was intercepted by Greek authorities. They will be sent to detention facilities.