Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Two Belgian activists who targeted Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” painting in a climate protest last week were sentenced Wednesday to two months in prison, with prosecutors saying their action “crossed a line” of acceptable protest.

Half of the sentence was suspended by a judge in The Hague, meaning the men will serve one month. A third suspect is due in court Friday. Their identities were not released, in line with Dutch privacy rules.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Diplomatic efforts salvaged a wartime agreement that allowed Ukrainian grain and other commodities to reach world markets, with Russia saying Wednesday it would stick to the deal after Ukraine pledged not to use a designated Black Sea corridor to attack Russian forces.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow reserves the right to withdraw again from the agreement if Kyiv breaks its word.

02 Nov 2022; MEMO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the states participating in the 31st Arab League Summit, which started in Algeria on Tuesday, to consider the necessity of establishing a "multipolar" world order. In a letter published by Russia Today, Putin said that the process of forming such an order in international relations is "gaining momentum".

01 Nov 2022; MEMO: A senior Israeli army officer should be investigated by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, an NGO has demanded. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) said that the Israel Defence Forces' former West Bank legal adviser, Eyal Toledano, "was responsible for the legal planning and approval of all IDF policies that violate international humanitarian law."

MOSCOW, November 1./TASS/: As many as 300,000 people were drafted within the framework of the partial mobilization campaign in Russia, which ended on October 28. All drawbacks seen at the initial stage were remedied, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"A total of 300,000 people were drafted in the course of the partial mobilization in line with the president’s decree of September 21," Shoigu said.

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/: Russian businessmen Oleg Tinkov and Nikolay Storonsky are entitled to the right to renounce Russian citizenship as they are doing practically no business in Russia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"It is their right," he said. "As a matter of fact, they do practically no business here, as far as I know. In other words, they are taking practically no part in economic activities in our country."

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/: Only Russia’s complete and definitive victory in Ukraine will guarantee protection from a global conflict, to which the West is pushing the world, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.

"Let's call a spade a spade. Western countries are pushing the world to a global war. Only the complete and final victory of Russia will be a safeguard against a world conflict," he said in response to the Western countries’ frequent speculations to the effect "Russia cannot be allowed to win the war."

GROZNY, November 1. /TASS/: Russia has begun investigating the causes of the explosions at Nord Stream, at the moment there are no official results of the investigation, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters.

"There are no official documents yet. The inspection is still in progress," he said.

"Of course, Gazprom management receives reports in real time. I believe there is some information, but I can’t tell you, because this is an ongoing process, they have just started working," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

HELSINKI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Tuesday urged Hungary and Turkey to swiftly approve the Swedish and Finnish applications for membership of the NATO defence alliance.

Hungary and Turkey are the only two remaining NATO members to not yet have ratified the applications.

"All eyes are now on Hungary and Turkey. We are waiting for these countries to ratify our applications. I think it would be important that this would happen preferably sooner than later," Marin told a joint news conference with other Nordic leaders.

ROME, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Galeazzo Bignami, a lawmaker of the rightist Brothers of Italy party who sparked outrage in 2016 after a newspaper published a picture of him wearing a Nazi swastika on his left arm, was named junior infrastructure minister on Monday.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who personally announced Bignami's appointment at a news conference, is the leader of Brothers of Italy, a group which traces its roots to the post-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI).