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Authorities in Togo have repressed the media and prevented civilians from gathering to protest peacefully, Amnesty International said in a report published Wednesday, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled to take place at the end of this month.

Amnesty International said in its annual report on human rights around the world that two newspapers in Togo were forced to close for several months last year, while a number of journalists were arrested or hit with hefty fines after reporting on corruption.

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Two journalists in Togo were sentenced to three years in prison after reporting about a minister's involvement in corruption, but both fled the country to avoid detention. The human rights organization said it had recorded instances in which detainees in prison were tortured or mistreated.

The report comes at a time of heightened tension in Togo, a country of about 8 million people that has been ruled by the same family for almost 60 years. Parliamentary elections have been pushed back until April 29, and the government have arrested opposition figures and quashed efforts to organize protests ahead of the vote.

At issue is a proposed new constitution that would scrap presidential elections permanently, giving parliament the power to choose the president instead. It is awaiting sign off by President Faure Gnassingbe. The opposition and the clergy say the legislation is an effort by Gnassingbe to prolong his rule after his mandate expires in 2025.

North Macedonia will head to a presidential runoff after no candidate secured enough votes to win outright in Wednesday’s first round of balloting held as the country seeks to enter into the European Union.

The second round of voting on May 8 will coincide with parliamentary elections. Near-full results from Wednesday's vote showed a strong shift in favor of the candidate backed by the center-right main opposition coalition, VMRO-DPMNE.

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With about 92% of the votes counted, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova was well ahead with just under 40%. Incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski, who is seeking a second five-year term with support from the country’s governing social democrats, was second with nearly 20%, according to the State Electoral Commission.

Pendarovski was followed by a government-allied candidate from the ethnic Albanian minority, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, with 13.6%. Turnout was 49.75%.

To win outright, a candidate needed to win support from more than 50% of registered voters. So Siljanovska Davkova and Pendarovski will meet in the presidential runoff.

Hopes are high in North Macedonia that the president will oversee long-anticipated entry into the EU.

The small Balkan country has orbited the 27-nation bloc for nearly two decades with little to show for its efforts.

Addressing dozens of celebrating VMRO-DPMNE supporters outside the party headquarters in central Skopje late Wednesday, Siljanovska Davkova insisted on her pro-EU credentials.

"This is the beginning of a new era, this must be a new course, I should call it the European course," she said. "Let us prove that we have always (belonged to) Europe."

Pendarovski voiced disappointment with the result. But he said he hoped to do better in the second round, including with the support of the country's ethnic Albanian minority that represents about a quarter of the population.

Seven candidates were running for the largely ceremonial position, with the brief campaigning period focusing on EU accession, the rule of law, fighting corruption and reducing poverty.

Electoral commission head Aleksandar Dashtevski said earlier Wednesday that voting was going smoothly, with only a minor technical problem with biometric devices at some polling centers which was quickly resolved.

Siljanovska Davkova, 70, and Pendarovski, 61, agree that their country belongs in the EU. But they have differed on how to deal with neighboring Bulgaria's insistence on Skopje enshrining in its constitution recognition of a Bulgarian ethnic minority. EU member Bulgaria has said it will otherwise block North Macedonia's bloc membership bid.

North Macedonia has been a candidate to join the EU since 2005, but membership talks only began in 2022 and the process is expected to take years.

Voter Stavre Temelkovski said he had high expectations that North Macedonia would become a full-fledged EU member soon.

"I expect a civic movement to win, for us to be a part of all those pro-Western systems, and to start a process of healing for a state which has waited for almost three decades," he said. "Many generations are exhausted."

Rwanda says it's ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled and controversial bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some of them to the East African country.

There is even a place ready and waiting for the migrants — a refurbished Hope Hostel in the vibrant upscale neighborhood of Kagugu, an area of the Rwandan capital of Kigali that is home to many expats and several international schools.

UK PLAN TO SEND MIGRANTS TO RWANDA CRITICIZED BY HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AFTER PARLIAMENT BACKS NEW LAW

The hostel once housed college students whose parents died in the 1994 genocide, this African nation’s most horrific period in history when an estimated 800,000 Tutsi were killed by extremist Hutu in massacres that lasted over 100 days.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged the deportation flights would begin in July but has refused to provide details or say about how many people would be deported.

Rwanda government's deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda told The Associated Press on Tuesday that authorities here have been planning for the migrants' arrival for two years.

"Even if they arrive now or tomorrow, all arrangements are in place," he said.

The plan was long held up in British courts and by opposition from human rights activists who say it is illegal and inhumane. It envisages deporting to Rwanda some of those who enter the U.K. illegally and migrant advocates have vowed to continue to fight against the plan.

The measure is also meant to be a deterrent to migrants who risk their lives in leaky, inflatable boats in hopes that they will be able to claim asylum once they reach Britain. The U.K. also signed a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for migrants, and adopted new legislation declaring Rwanda to be a safe country.

"The Rwanda critics and the U.K. judges who earlier said Rwanda is not a safe country have been proven wrong," Mukuralinda said. "Rwanda is safe."

The management at the four-story Hope Hostel says the facility is ready and can accommodate 100 people at full capacity. The government says it will serve as a transit center and that more accommodations would be made available as needed.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Britain every year.

After they arrive from Britain, the migrants will be shown to their rooms to rest, after which they will be offered food and given some orientation points about Kigali and Rwanda, said hostel manager Ismael Bakina.

Tents will be set up within the hostel's compound for processing their documentation and for various briefings. The site is equipped with security cameras, visible across the compound.

Within the compound are also entertainment places, a mini-soccer field, a basketball and a volleyball court as well as a red-carpeted prayer room. For those who want to light up, "there is even a smoking room," Bakina explained.

Meals will be prepared in the hostel's main kitchen but provisions are also being made for those who want to prepare their own meals, he said. The migrants will be free to walk outside the hostel and even visit the nearby Kigali city center.

"We will have different translators, according to (their) languages," Bakina added, saying they include English and Arabic.

The government has said the migrants will have their papers processed within the first three months. Those who want to remain in Rwanda will be allowed to do so while authorities will also assist those who wish to return to their home countries.

While in Rwanda, migrants who obtain legal status — presumably for Britain — will also be processed, authorities have said, though it's unclear what that means exactly.

For those who choose to stay, Mukurilinda said Rwanda's government will bear full financial and other responsibilities for five years, after which they will be considered integrated into the society.

At that point, they can start managing on their own.

Saudi Arabia’s 88-year-old King Salman entered the hospital Wednesday for what state media described as "routine examinations."

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The state-run Saudi Press Agency did not elaborate other than to say that he would be at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah. He later left the hospital.

King Salman took the throne in 2015. He’s since elevated his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to the kingdom’s monarch-in-waiting. The crown prince is widely believed to be running the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom.

Botswana's foreign minister said his country had been approached by the U.K. to take some of what he called their "unwanted immigrants" but declined the request.

Lemogang Kwape's comments in a telephone interview with South African television channel Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday came hours after the British Parliament finally passed legislation allowing a contentious plan to send some migrants to Rwanda to move ahead. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the first flights to Rwanda in East Africa would now leave in July.

UK PLAN TO SEND MIGRANTS TO RWANDA CRITICIZED BY HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AFTER PARLIAMENT BACKS NEW LAW

Kwape didn't say when the U.K. approached the southern African nation of Botswana. It struck its contentious deal with Rwanda in April 2022 and British media has reported that the U.K. government has since held talks with four countries — Armenia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast and Botswana — over replicating the Rwanda plan.

"I can confirm that indeed the British government through the foreign secretary and the minister for Africa did approach Botswana through diplomatic channels to receive illegal migrants that are destined for the United Kingdom, but we did not accede to their request," Kwape told Newzroom Afrika.

"We have enough problems that we are dealing with, especially immigration problems in our neighborhood," he said. "So I think to receive unwanted immigrants from another country while we are dealing with our own problems in the region will be unfair to Botswana."

Kwape said British authorities had mentioned migrants from Afghanistan as some of those they were proposing might be moved to Botswana but that was the only country mentioned.

"They were not that explicit," Kwape said.

Sunak's plan to stem the tide of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats in the hope of claiming asylum in the U.K. has been beset by court battles and legislative delays and has been fiercely criticized by human rights groups.

The agreement will see migrants who arrive in the U.K. as stowaways or in boats sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed. If successful, they would stay in Rwanda.

The British government has already paid Rwanda at least $298 million for the asylum plan even though no migrants have been deported yet.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied corruption allegations against his wife but said he will consider resigning after the launch Wednesday of a judicial investigation into accusations by a right-wing legal platform that she used her position to influence business deals.

Sánchez said in a letter posted on his X account that while the allegations against his wife Begoña Gómez are false, he is canceling his public agenda until Monday when he will announce whether he will continue or step down.

SPAIN REOPENS INQUIRY INTO PEGASUS SPYWARE CASE FOLLOWING FRANCE'S REQUEST TO COLLABORATE ON A SIMILAR CASE

"I need to stop and reflect," Sánchez wrote. "I must answer the question if it is worth it to continue, given the mud pit the right and far right have made out of our politics, if I must continue at the helm of the government or renounce that highest of honors."

Sánchez, 52, has been Spain’s prime minister since 2018. He was able to form a new left-wing coalition government in November to start another four-year term. He is one of Europe’s longest serving Socialist leaders.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Spanish judge agreed to probe allegations of corruption made by a private group with a history of filing lawsuits mainly for right-wing causes. The court based in Madrid will consider the allegations and proceed with the investigation or toss it out.

"Begoña will defend her honor and collaborate with the justice system in every way that is required to clarify that these facts that appear scandalous are in fact nonexistent," Sánchez said.

Gómez, 49, does not hold public office and maintains a low political profile.

Manos Limpias, or "Clean Hands," accuses Gómez of allegedly having used her position to influence business deals. The court did not provide further information and said that the probe was under seal.

Manos Limpias describes itself as a union, but its main activity is a platform pursuing legal cases. Many have been linked to right-wing causes. It acts as the "popular prosecution," a peculiarity of Spanish law that allows individuals or entities to take part in certain criminal cases even when they haven’t been directly harmed by the accused.

Justice Minister Félix Bolaños called the new allegations "false."

Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, the leader of the junior member of Sánchez’s government, publicly backed him against "this offensive by the Right."

The possibility of a governmental crisis comes just weeks before important regional elections in Catalonia followed by European elections in June.

Sánchez accused online news sites politically aligned with the leading opposition conservative Popular Party and the far right Vox party of spreading what he called "spurious" allegations that he said led to the judicial probe.

The Popular Party criticized Sánchez for "playing the role of the victim instead of holding himself accountable."

Last month, Spain’s government watchdog for conflict of interests tossed out a complaint made by the Popular Party against Sánchez whereby the opposition party claimed that Gómez had allegedly influenced her husband in a decision related to an airline.

Spain’s leader said that he was moved in part to reflect on his future due to his love for his wife.

"This attack is without precedent, it is so serious and coarse that I need to stop and reflect with my wife," he said. "Most of the time we forget that politicians are people. And I do not blush to say it, but I am a man who is deeply in love with my wife, who is living with the feeling of impotence while being pelted with mud."

"To summarize, this is an operation to harass me by land, sea and air to try and make me give up politics through a personal attack on my wife," Sánchez wrote.

Iran lashed out at Argentina on Wednesday after the South American country sought the arrest of Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi over his alleged involvement in the deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center.

Without mentioning Vahidi by name, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned Argentina against "making baseless accusations against citizens of other countries." The warning Wednesday came a day after Argentina demanded that Pakistan act on an Interpol red notice to arrest Vahidi during an official visit to Islamabad.

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Vahidi, who is wanted by Interpol, cut his government trip to Southeast Asia short, making an unexpected return to Tehran Wednesday.

There was no immediate response from Pakistani authorities.

Argentina's renewed push to hold Iran accountable for the worst such attack in its history comes as right-wing President Javier Milei reshapes foreign policy to align more closely with Iran's bitter enemy, Israel, and as tensions surge between the Mideast foes.

In an apparent reference to Israel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani urged Argentina "not to be influenced by those who are enemies of our bilateral relations."

No one has been convicted for planning or carrying out the 1994 bombing that killed 85 people and wounded over 300 others. But in recent weeks — as Iran faces increasing global isolation and sanctions — Argentina has escalated efforts to condemn Iran and its overseas militant network for its alleged involvement. Iran has repeatedly denied any connection to the attack.

In a move cheered by Israel, Argentina's highest criminal court this month ruled the Iranian government had plotted the 1994 attack — as well as a 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people. Judges singled out three former Iranian officials for their involvement in the Jewish community center attack — including Minister Vahidi who at the time led the Revolutionary Guard's expeditionary Quds Force. The court also accused the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group of executing the attack.

Earlier this week Vahidi accompanied Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Islamabad, where he met with his Pakistani counterpart to discuss intelligence-sharing. Although expected to continue on with Raisi’s delegation to Sri Lanka, Vahidi abruptly turned back, raising speculation that Argentina's request had complicated his international travel.

He made a surprise appearance Wednesday at a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, where he praised his trip to Pakistan in interviews with state-linked Iranian news outlets. Meanwhile, President Raisi landed in Sri Lanka.

Argentine authorities said Tuesday they had coordinated with diplomats in Pakistan and India to request Vahidi’s detention and extradition to Buenos Aires. "They continue to hold positions of power with total impunity," a government statement said. Kanani, the foreign minister spokesperson, accused Argentina of making "illegal and false requests" to defame Iran.

For years, Argentina has tried in vain to leverage Interpol red notices to press for the arrests of accused Iranian officials. The country's elusive quest for justice in the 1992 and 1994 bombings has been mired in controversy and alleged government coverups.

A U.S.-led resolution that would prevent using nuclear weapons in outer space received dozens of co-sponsors, but Russia vetoed the measure amid reports it has deployed a weapon that can destroy satellites. 

"The detonation of a nuclear weapon in space would destroy satellites that are vital to communications, agriculture, national security, and more worldwide, with grave implications for sustainable development, and other aspects of international peace and security," the U.S. Mission to the United Nations wrote in a press release prior to the vote. 

"The diverse group of cosponsors of this resolution reflects the strong shared interest in avoiding such an outcome," the statement read. "We join these Member States in calling on the Security Council to meet this moment today and adopt the resolution unanimously, consistent with its mandate to maintain international peace and security."

The U.S. and Japan presented the resolution to the U.N. Security Council for a vote on Wednesday, but Russia shot the measure down. Prior to the vote, Russia's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky reported that his country's initial impression was that the resolution served as "yet another propaganda stunt by Washington" and called it a "very politicized" effort "divorced from reality," The Associated Press reported. 

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The draft resolution, which received backing from 60 member states, states that "the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger for international peace and security." It affirms that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must comply with their obligations.

The tug-of-war over hypothetical space-based weapons follows claims from the White House in February that Russia had deployed a "troubling" anti-satellite weapon – though no one has yet confirmed the weapon is operational or even in a testing phase. 

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The weapon would allegedly be capable of destroying satellites by creating a massive energy wave when detonated, Foreign Policy reported. The weapon could therefore potentially cripple countless other satellites that serve both commercial and government purposes, including cellphone use and internet access.

Russia at the time argued that it would uphold the international 1967 treaty, which bans the deployment of "nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction" into orbit or the stationing of "weapons in outer space in any other manner." 

"Our position is quite clear and transparent: we have always been and remain categorically opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February. "Just the opposite, we are urging everyone to adhere to all the agreements that exist in this sphere."

However, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu cryptically added at another time that Russia has only developed space capabilities that "other nations, including the U.S., have." 

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U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres later warned that "geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades."

Putin, throughout the conflict with Ukraine, has dangled threats of nuclear weapons. He said that "from a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready," when asked in March about a potential nuclear war. 

Putin has used the threat of nuclear weapons in Ukraine as a means of preventing more direct intervention from the U.S. and other NATO allies, repeatedly stressing that any deployment of troops or similar more direct moves against Russia would be viewed as intervening in the war. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Italy’s Culture Ministry has banned loans of works to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, following a dispute with the U.S. museum over an ancient marble statue believed to have been looted from Italy almost a half-century ago.

The dispute began in March 2022 when an Italian court ruled that the Minneapolis museum was irregularly in possession of the Stabiae Doriforo, a Roman-era copy of The Doryphoros of Polykleitos, an ancient Greek sculpture.

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Rome claims that the sculpture was looted in the 1970s from an archaeological site at Stabiae, an ancient city close to Pompeii that was also covered by lava and ashes when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79.

A spokesman for Italy’s Culture Ministry confirmed the ban on Wednesday.

In February 2022, Italian prosecutors issued an international warrant for the artwork to be impounded and returned. At a news conference earlier this year, Nunzio Fragliasso, chief prosecutor at the Torre Annunziata court, said they were "still awaiting a response."

In 1984, while the work was on display in a German museum, Italy initiated a legal proceeding to claim it. The claim was denied in 1986. The U.S. museum, which bought the statue in 1986 for $2.5 million, said it was purchased from art dealer Elie Borowski and imported into the United States.

"Since that time, the work has been publicly displayed and extensively published," the Minneapolis museum said in a statement. "While it takes issue with recent press reports regarding the Doryphoros, Mia (the museum) believes that the media is not an appropriate forum to address unproven allegations."

The museum asserted that it has always acted "responsibly and proactively" with respect to claims related to its collection. However, it added, "where proof has not been provided, as well as where Mia has evidence reasonably demonstrating that a claim is not supported, Mia has declined to transfer the work."

The museum called Italy’s new ban on loans "contrary to decades of exchanges between museums."

Neighbors Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday pledged to enhance efforts at a "united front" against Afghanistan-based militants, saying their presence poses a serious threat to regional and global security.

The countries, which share a long and porous border, made the commitment in a joint statement issued after a three-day visit by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to Islamabad.

PAKISTANI, IRANIAN LEADERS SEEK TO INCREASE TRADE, EASE DIPLOMATIC TENSIONS

The visit was aimed at mending ties that were strained in January when each carried out strikes in the other’s territory, targeting militants accused of attacking security forces.

The Iranian president met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials, including powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir.

The joint statement said the two sides "reaffirmed their willingness to enhance cooperation on counter-terrorism and security and to develop a united front against terrorism."

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent months, mostly blamed on Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban and insurgents who also target security forces in Iran.

Pakistan often says Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks since 2021 when the Afghan Taliban came to power. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban.

However, Afghanistan’s Taliban government insists it does not allow the Pakistani Taliban — or any other militant group — to use Afghanistan’s soil to launch attacks against any other country. In March, the Pakistan Air Force targeted multiple suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban said the attacks killed eight people and prompted return fire from their forces.

Tehran has also blamed an Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate for recent attacks in Iran. The affiliate is also active in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan bordering Iran.

In recent years, Pakistan has urged Tehran to take stern action against Pakistani insurgents living inside Iran near the border. They often target security forces in Baluchistan, the scene of low-level insurgency by separatists for more than two decades.

Pakistan and Iran also agreed that their common border should be the "border of peace and friendship," and reiterated the importance of regular cooperation between political, military and security officials to combat other threats such as narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, hostage-taking and money-laundering.

The countries also agreed to expand trade and economic cooperation, pledging to set up new border markets, new border crossings and economic free trade zones.

The two sides also condemned the suspected Israeli strike on April 1 targeting a consular building next to the Iranian Embassy in Syria which killed two Guard generals and others. Iran responded with unprecedented direct strikes on Israel.

Authorities also said Pakistan and Iran also discussed how to go ahead with their gas pipeline project, which has been on hold mainly because of fears of U.S. sanctions. The project — opposed by Washington as a violation of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program — launched in 2013 to supply Iranian natural gas to energy-starved Pakistan.

Poland's prosecutor general told the parliament on Wednesday that powerful Pegasus spyware was used against hundreds of people during the former government in Poland, among them elected officials.

Adam Bodnar told lawmakers that he found the scale of the surveillance "shocking and depressing."

"It is sad for me that even in this room I am speaking to people who were victims of this system," Bodnar told the Sejm, the lower house of parliament.

POLISH PM DONALD TUSK SAYS AUTHORITIES WIDELY USED PEGASUS SPYWARE UNDER PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT

Bodnar, who is also the justice minister, didn't specify who exactly was subject to surveillance by the spyware. His office said the information was confidential.

Bodnar was presenting information that the prosecutor general's office sent last week to the Sejm and Senate. The data showed that Pegasus was used in the cases of 578 people from 2017 to 2022, and that it was used by three separate government agencies: the Central Anticorruption Bureau, the Military Counterintelligence Service and the Internal Security Agency.

The data show that it was used against six people in 2017; 100 in 2018; 140 in 2019; 161 in 2020; 162 in 2021; and then nine in 2022, when it stopped.

The Associated Press broke the news of the former governments' abuse of Pegasus in December 2021, based on forensics by the University of Toronto's online watchdog Citizen Lab.

Bodnar said that the software generated "enormous knowledge" about the "private and professional lives" of those put under surveillance. He also stressed that the Polish state doesn't have full control over the data that is gathered because the system operates on the basis of a license that was granted by an Israeli company. He said "the use of this type of method must raise serious doubts from the point of view of the protection of constitutional rights."

Pegasus, produced by Israel's the NSO Group, has been sold to governments and is described as a tool to fight criminals and terrorists. However, evidence has emerged of governments using it against political opponents, journalists and human rights workers.

The Biden administration, concerned about the potential of the technology for abuse, blacklisted the NSO Group in 2021, barring it from access to U.S. technology. This year it went further and imposed visa restrictions on foreign individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware.

Pegasus gives its operators complete access to a mobile device, allowing them to extract passwords, photos, messages, contacts and browsing history and activate the microphone and camera for real-time eavesdropping.

Its use in Poland under the previous government, led by the Law and Justice party, resulted in accusations that the authorities were abusing power and eroding democratic guardrails.

Investigations into the use of the powerful spyware were launched after Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office in December as the head of a three-party pro-European Union coalition.

The investigations into Pegasus use are part of a larger effort by Tusk and Bodnar to restore democratic norms that they believe were eroded by the Law and Justice government, which held power from 2015 to 2023.

"The use of Pegasus over these few years has poisoned the essence of democracy in Poland," Marcin Bosacki, a lawmaker with Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition, told lawmakers after Bodnar's presentation.

Jarosław Kaczyński, the head of Law and Justice, said last month during testimony to an investigative commission that the "use of Pegasus was in accordance with the law," and that in 99% of the cases it was used against criminals.

The minister currently in charge of the security services, Tomasz Siemoniak, said earlier this month in an interview on the private broadcaster TVN24 that while the use of Pegasus in Poland was "justified" in some cases of suspected terrorism and for counterintelligence use, in "too many cases" it wasn't justified.

Siemoniak said the unjustified use of the software resulted in Poland losing its license for using it.

Bodnar is also working to address the issue of judicial independence after the previous government overhauled the justice system to gain more control over courts.

The practices of Law and Justice prompted the European Union to withhold billions of euros in funding — money that is now flowing after a change of government.

Guerrilla fighters from the main ethnic Karen fighting force battling Burma’s military government have withdrawn from the eastern border town of Myawaddy two weeks after forcing the army to give up its defense, residents and members of the group said Wednesday.

Their withdrawal came after a contending armed Karen group, which has occupied the town and claimed responsibility for its security, provided assistance to army soldiers who had fled to a riverside spot there for safety.

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The soldiers came from the army’s Infantry Battalion 275, whose base, about 3 miles to the west of Myawaddy, was captured on April 11 by the armed wing of the Karen National Union —- or KNU — and allied pro-democracy forces.

The fleeing soldiers reestablished themselves in an area next to one of Myawaddy’s two bridges connecting it to Thailand’s Mae Sot district.

The complicated maneuvering is the latest development in the nationwide conflict in Burma that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.

Despite its advantage in arms and manpower, Burma’s army had been on the defensive since last October, when an alliance of three ethnic rebel groups launched an offensive in the country’s northeast. Resistance forces since then have captured major swaths of territory in northern Shan state on the border with China, made significant gains in Rakhine state in the west, and continue to pressure the army elsewhere.

The soldiers now encamped next to the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge were given at least tacit protection there by Kayin state's Border Guard Force, another armed Karen group that had been nominally affiliated with the military but announced last month they were cutting their ties and establishing themselves independently under the name of the Karen National Army.

The border guard units had been accused of providing protection to casino resorts in the Myawaddy area that have been decried as centers for organized crime, including online scam operations and human trafficking.

KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee told journalists on Wednesday that its forces had withdrawn temporarily from Myawaddy as Border Guard Force units brought the soldiers hiding near the bridge to the abandoned Infantry Battalion 275 base, where they raised Burma’s national flag in place of the standard hoisted by the guerrillas when it occupied it.

Photos and video clips of a handful of soldiers raising Burma’s flag on Tuesday were circulated by supporters of the military government on the Telegram social network. It wasn't clear if any of the soldiers remained at the base after the photo opportunity, or if they returned to their campsite by the bridge.

The KNU is preparing to defend against an expected counterattack by the military government, and it keeping its units mobile rather than trying to hold territory.

A member of the Karen National Union/ Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, another Karen organization based in Myawaddy, told The Associated Press that the border guards had helped arrange the safe flight of the soldiers to their bridge encampment two weeks ago and provided them with food and weapons. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release information.

Myawaddy’s residents say the Border Guard Force has played a major role in taking charge of security measures in the town.

Last Friday, the Karen guerrillas launched a small attack aided by drones against the soldiers hiding near the bridge, and Burma's military responded with airstrikes, dropping several bombs nearby for two days, and forcing about 3,000 residents to seek shelter in Thailand.

French President Emmanuel Macron showed off his sporting prowess again Wednesday, this time as Paris gears up to hold the Summer Olympics.

Macron, a well-known soccer fan, donned a jersey for a charity match alongside soccer legends and celebrity players at a club in Yvelines, west of Paris. The event, which raises money for a children's health charity chaired by first lady Brigitte Macron, featured a lineup including former World Cup winners Laurent Blanc and Didier Deschamps.

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Since being elected in 2017, the 46-year-old has seized multiple opportunities to demonstrate his athletic skills — and physique — in what observers view as a photo-friendly way to brandish a dynamic image as modern France’s youngest-ever president.

Earlier this year, photos of Macron pounding a punching bag went viral on social media in what was widely perceived as the latest round in his drive to toughen up Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Macron has also promised to take a dip in the Seine's recently revitalized fresh waters, which will be used for Olympic contests on several days during the Games.

On Wednesday, the French president took to the field as a midfielder, playing alongside 1998 World Cup champions and football icons such as Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard. The match also saw participation from other notable personalities like MMA fighter Cyril Gane and former German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

Not exactly new to the football scene, Macron has previously participated in a charity match, notably scoring from the penalty spot in a game against health care workers three years ago.

Post-match, all participants in Wednesday's game were invited to the presidential Elysee Palace, highlighting the social stature of the event amid the buildup to the Games.

This charity match underlines Macron’s ongoing engagement with sports as a means of promoting both charitable causes and national spirit ahead of the significant international spectacle of the Olympics set to take place in Paris July 26 to Aug. 11.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message Wednesday saying "what’s happening in America’s college campuses is horrific." 

"Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty," he said. "This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s. It’s unconscionable. It has to be stopped. It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally. But that’s not what happened. The response of several university presidents was shameful." 

Netanyahu spoke as American college students are continuing to hold anti-Israel demonstrations Wednesday around the nation. 

"Now, fortunately, state, local, federal officials, many of them have responded differently but there has to be more. More has to be done. It has to be done not only because they attack Israel, that’s bad enough, not only because they want to kill Jews wherever they are, that’s bad enough, it’s also when you listen to them, it’s also because they say not only, "Death to Israel. Death to the Jews," but "death to America,’" Netanyahu said. "And this tells us that there is an antisemitic surge here that has terrible consequences.  

LIVE UPDATES: ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS ON US COLLEGE CAMPUSES 

The Israeli prime minister also said he is seeing an "exponential rise of antisemitism throughout America and throughout Western societies as Israel tries to defend itself against genocidal terrorists, genocidal terrorists who hide behind civilians." 

WHAT PROTESTERS AT ELITE US UNIVERSITIES ARE SHOUTING 

"Yet it is Israel that is falsely accused of genocide, Israel that is falsely accused of starvation and all sundry war crimes. It’s all one big libel," he added. "But that’s not new." 

He concluded his message by saying "So I ask all of you, Jews and non-Jews alike, who are concerned with our common future and our common values to do one thing: stand up, speak up, be counted. Stop antisemitism now." 

Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report. 

British army veteran Bill Gladden, who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore through his ankle a few days later, wanted to return to France for the 80th anniversary of the invasion so he could honor the men who didn’t come home.

It was not to be.

Gladden, one of the dwindling number of veterans who took part in the landings that kicked off the campaign to liberate Western Europe from the Nazis during World War II, died Wednesday, his family said. He was 100.

D-DAY: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORIC WORLD WAR II BATTLE

Although weakened by cancer, Gladden had been determined to make it back to Normandy to take part in this year’s D-Day commemorations. With fewer and fewer veterans taking part each year, the ceremony may be one of the last big events marking the assault that began on June 6, 1944.

"If I could do that this year, I should be happy,’′ he told The Associated Press from his home in Haverhill, England, in January, even as he celebrated his birthday with family and friends. "Well, I am happy now, but I should be more happy."

Born Jan. 13, 1924, Gladden was raised in the Woolwich area of southeast London. His mother worked at the nearby Royal Arsenal during World War I and his father was a soldier.

He joined the army at 18 and was ultimately assigned to the 6th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment as a motorcycle dispatch rider.

D-DAY BATTLE SITES EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD SEE AS EPIC INVASION FASCINATION DRAWS MILLIONS TO NORMANDY

On D-Day, Gladden landed behind the front lines in a wooden glider loaded with six motorcycles and a 17,000-pound tank. His unit was part of an operation charged with securing bridges over the River Orne and Caen Canal so they could be used by Allied forces moving inland from the beaches.

Based in an orchard outside the village of Ranville, Gladden spent 12 days making forays into the surrounding countryside to check out reports of enemy activity.

On June 16, he carried two wounded soldiers into a barn that was being used as a makeshift field hospital. Two days later, he found himself at the same hospital after machine gun fire from a German tank shattered his right ankle.

Lying on the grass outside the hospital, he read the treatment label pinned to his tunic:

"Amputation considered. Large deep wound in right ankle. Compound fracture of both tibia and fibula. All extension tendons destroyed. Evacuate."

Gladden didn’t lose his leg, but he spent the next three years in the hospital as doctors performed a series of surgeries, including tendon transplants, skin and bone grafts.

After the war, he married Marie Warne, an army driver he met in 1943, and spent 40 years working for Siemens and Pearl Insurance. He is survived by their daughter, Linda Durrant and her husband, Kenny.

Over the years, Gladden had regularly joined other old soldiers on trips to battlefields in Normandy and the Netherlands organized by the Taxi Charity for Military veterans.

"He had a wonderful gentle voice and loved nothing more than singing some of his favorite wartime songs,’’ said Dick Goodwin, the group’s honorary secretary. "Earlier this year, we had the joy of celebrating his 100 birthday in Haverhill and, testament to the man he was, the hall was packed with all those who knew and loved him.’’

Though he was happier talking about his family than reminiscing about the war, Gladden chronicled his wartime story in a scrapbook that includes a newspaper clipping about "the tanks that were built to fly," drawings of the glider landings and other memorabilia.

There’s also a scrap of parachute silk left behind by one of the paratroopers who landed in the orchard at Ranville. As he lay in the hospital recovering from his wounds, Gladden painstakingly stitched his unit’s shoulder insignia into the fabric.

The edges are frayed and discolored after eight decades, but "Royal Armoured Corps" still stands out in an arc of red lettering on a yellow background. Underneath is a silhouette of Pegasus, the flying horse, over the word "Airborne."

"These are the flashes we wore on our battledress blouses," reads the caption in Gladden’s neat block letters.

The same insignia decorated the top of his birthday cake in January as family and other guests belted out a round of "Happy Birthday to You."

But even then, Gladden was thinking about traveling back to Normandy to honor his comrades, especially the two soldiers he carried into that barn 80 years ago. They didn’t make it.

"He wanted to go to pay his respects,’′ his niece Kaye Thorpe's husband, Alan, told The Associated Press. ″I’d like to think he’s with them now. And that he’s paying his respects in person.’’

The bodies of 19 people were recovered Tuesday off the coast of Tunisia, one of the primary points of departure for those seeking to traverse the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

The Tunisian coast guard said in a statement that it had recovered the bodies near the port cities of Mahdia and Sfax, the country's second largest city where migrants have in recent weeks clashed with law enforcement.

Despite risks, migrants continue to attempt the treacherous voyage from North Africa to Europe, traveling in boats from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to Italy, Greece, Malta and Spain's Canary Islands.

TRAGEDY STRIKES AS 15 MIGRANTS FOUND DEAD OFF TUNISIA'S COAST, AND ALONG BORDER WITH ALGERIA

More than 49,000 people have come to Europe by sea this year, including more than 7,000 from Tunisia to Italy. Many more have attempted the journey, including thousands who have been intercepted by North African authorities and an estimated 473 believed to be dead or missing, according to the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.

Politicians on both sides of the Mediterranean have largely focused their migration policies on combating human trafficking and dismantling smuggling networks.

Tunisian authorities said on Tuesday that they had arrested five smugglers. Human trafficking charges typically carry lengthy sentences of up to 20 years.

Greece’s parliamentary speaker said that he would seek criminal charges against a lawmaker who allegedly punched a colleague during a debate on Wednesday.

The member of parliament, who hasn't been named, was suspended for 15 days after the fight, which occurred just outside the debate chamber and was witnessed by several colleagues.

"We can indict the perpetrator of this vile and barbaric attack, to charge him with a felony under a fast-track procedure," Speaker Constantine Tassoulas said.

NEW GREEK LAWMAKERS SWORN IN FOLLOWING ELECTION VICTORY FOR CONSERVATIVE PARTY

"Parliamentary immunity applies to misdemeanors, but not felonies," he said, adding that he had instructed parliament’s police department to escort the lawmaker to prosecuting authorities.

Separately, Greece’s Supreme Court later Wednesday excluded the small far-right Spartans from a list of political parties that fulfil the requirements to field candidates in the European Parliament election in June.

The court did not immediately explain the reasons why the party was left off the list. The decision followed a petition by three political parties to exclude the Spartans for alleged ties to the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, whose leading members were jailed in 2020 after being convicted of belonging to a criminal organization.

Ukraine continues to see an international windfall following the passage of a significant U.S. aid package as the United Kingdom follows suit with a pledge of its single-largest military aid package. 

"Defending Ukraine against Russia's brutal ambitions is vital for our security and for all of Europe," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said during a visit to Poland this week. "If Putin is allowed to succeed in this war of aggression, he will not stop at the Polish border." 

Sunak’s pledge of £500 million ($620 million) to Ukraine bolsters an already substantial £2.5 billion ($3.1 billion) allocated for this financial year, the BBC reported. The funds will mainly go toward producing drones made in the U.K. and scaling up "domestic defense supply chains." 

The British Ministry of Defense described the package as the "largest-ever single package of equipment from the U.K." that puts the country on "a war footing." Sunak has promised to spend an extra £75 billion ($93 billion) in defense spending over the next six years. 

EUROPE MUST KEEP INCREASING AID TO UKRAINE AFTER US APPROVES NEW MILITARY HELP, GERMAN LEADER SAYS

The U.K. will also provide 400 vehicles, more than 1,600 missiles, 4 million rounds of ammunition and 60 boats to bolster the country’s defense. The U.K. will also deploy a Royal Air Force squadron to watch over Poland’s skies for NATO next year. 

"Ukraine’s armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support — and they need it now," Sunak said during a press conference. "[This] package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia."

"The United Kingdom will always play its part at the forefront of European security, defending our national interest and standing by our NATO allies," Sunak added, according to The Guardian. 

ZELENSKYY SHARES HIS THANKS AFTER CONGRESS PASSES FOREIGN AID BILL

Following his meeting with Polish President Donald Tusk, Sunak traveled to Berlin, where he met on Wednesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday advanced a $95 billion foreign aid package that included military aid for both Ukraine and Israel. The House passed the bill on Saturday, and both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ark., urged passage of the bill. 

Ukraine will receive $60 billion from that package, providing the beleaguered nation a much-needed shot in the arm to boost its defense against Russian invasion. 

ZELENSKYY SAYS RUSSIAN MISSILE STRIKE ON KHARKIV'S TV TOWER PART OF INTIMIDATION CAMPAIGN

President Biden on Wednesday said the package provides "vital support to America’s partner" and served as "an investment in all our security."

"When our allies are stronger, we are all stronger," Biden said during a press conference ahead of signing the bill. He stressed that "we need to move fast" to help Ukraine continue its defense against Russia’s invasion, which has lurched into its third year. 

"It’s amazing what they do against a larger military," Biden added, touting the territorial gains and naval victories Ukraine has made over the past two years. He laid out the support Russia has received from Iran and China in contrast to the aid the U.S. and other allies will send to Kyiv. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The European Union announced on Wednesday an investigation into whether China is using unfair methods to deprive companies in Europe of access to its market for medical devices ranging from hypodermic needles to high-tech scanners.

The probe launched by the European Commission — the EU’s executive branch as well as its trade and competition watchdog — is the latest attempt to help companies gain the kind of access to China’s vast markets that Chinese firms enjoy in Europe.

"Openness is vital for businesses to thrive, for consumers, and to spur innovation worldwide," commission trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said in a statement.

GERMAN LAWMAKER'S AIDE ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF SPYING FOR CHINA IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

"We are launching this investigation with China so that we can achieve a level playing field in our procurement markets for producers of medical devices, on both sides," he said. "Regrettably, our repeated discussions with China on this trade irritant have been fruitless."

Should it fail to resolve the issue, Brussels could restrict the access of Chinese buyers, goods and services to the EU market. It says Chinese exports of medical devices to Europe surged more than 100% between 2015 and 2023.

The commission said it has gathered evidence indicating that China’s market has gradually closed to European firms and products made in the EU. It asserts that measures introduced by China "unfairly differentiate" between local and foreign companies. It did not quantify the effects on European businesses.

France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are among the countries worst hit, the commission said, but it added that the medical device market is so big that many large companies and thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises around Europe might be suffering unfair treatment.

The first step in the investigation — which could take from nine to 14 months to complete — will be for the commission to send a list of questions to Chinese authorities.

The commission is hopeful that no action will be needed. It says the main aim is to win fair treatment for all sides. "Our expectation is that China’s market for public procurement will be as open to us as ours is to them. Simple. Nothing more, nothing less," spokesman Olof Gill told reporters.

But China’s foreign ministry said the EU move smacked of protectionism.

"The EU has always touted itself as the most open market worldwide, but what we see now is that it is gradually moving towards protectionism," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

"We urge the EU to adhere to its commitment to the open market and the principle of fair competition, abide by WTO (World Trade Organization) rules, and stop unwarrantedly suppressing and restricting Chinese companies on various pretexts," he said.

Ukraine received a new $1.6 billion tranche of financial support from the European Union on Wednesday and hopes to get another 10 billion euros later this year, officials said.

Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said the EU, which has provided Ukraine with 31 billion euros, had become the biggest donor of budget financing to Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022.

The United States, which has approved billions of dollars in a new aid package to Ukraine, is also an important donor.

EUROPE MUST KEEP INCREASING AID TO UKRAINE AFTER US APPROVES NEW MILITARY HELP, GERMAN LEADER SAYS

"International support is a key to ensure macroeconomic stability and build a foundation for economic growth," Marchenko said.

Ukraine faces a $37 billion budget deficit this year and relies heavily on financial aid from its Western partners to be able to finance its social and humanitarian spending.

Kyiv uses most of its state revenues to fund defense efforts as its troops fight a larger and better equipped Russian army.

First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the government looked forward to final approval of the EU's Ukraine Facility lending program worth 50 billion euros and hoped to receive three more tranches this year.

"In fact, we are one step away from the launch of the program and full regular funding under the program," said Svyrydenko.

She said that following the final approval, Kyiv would be able to receive 1.89 billion euros in June and two more tranches worth about 4 billion euros in September and November.

Ukraine will have to implement a number of reforms and meet other program indicators to be able to unlock the tranches.

The steps include measures to improve transparency, fight corruption, improve business environment, and bring the country's legislation closer to the EU.