ITALY

Ukrainian held over Nord Stream blasts

A Ukrainian suspect has been arrested in Italy over the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe, German prosecutors said on Thursday. The suspect, partially named as Serhii K., is accused of being part of a group "who placed explosive devices on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines", the prosecutors said. He is "believed to have been one of the coordinators of the operation", they added. The Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea were damaged in September 2022 by huge underwater explosions, believed to be an act of sabotage. Serhii K. was arrested in the early hours of Thursday in the Italian province of Rimini, the German prosecutors said.

UNITED STATES

Texas OKs electoral map that aids GOP

The Texas legislature's lower chamber passed a contentious new electoral map on Wednesday that aims to help President Donald Trump's Republican Party retain its razor-thin US House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. The vote had been delayed by two weeks after Democratic legislators fled the state to halt the redistricting drive, which carves out five new Republican-friendly districts. The Democrats returned this week, but not before their protest had set off a national map-drawing war, with Trump pressuring his party's state-level officials to do everything they can to protect the majority in the US House of Representatives.