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Lieberman Criticizes Netanyahu for Admitting Syria Strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
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Lieberman Criticizes Netanyahu for Admitting Syria Strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after confirming the last Israeli strike on an Iranian site in Syria.

"We are operating every day, including yesterday, against Iran and its attempts to establish its presence in the area," Netanyahu said in response to a journalist’s question before leaving for an international conference in Warsaw.

He added, “I can tell you unequivocally that the economic pressure is being felt and that we can see the economic crisis affecting also Iran’s attempts against us. We can see cuts of budgets, cuts of forces, withdrawal of forces, and we can see this in all areas around the world without exception.

“We see it in Syria, we see it in Lebanon, we see it also in Gaza and we also see it in very important weaponry systems that Iran is struggling to deploy because of, among other things, financial problems, and first of all because of Israel’s active military resistance.’’

He wondered if the countries in western Europe and the European Union are deliberately unseeing what Iran is doing. These states are simply disregarding the fact that Iran is sponsoring terrorist groups inside their territories, Netanyahu said.

But Lieberman considered the PM’s statement unnecessary after Netanyahu started to become increasingly open about carrying out air strikes in Syria with an election looming in April.

Sources close to the Israeli premier said that the change in policy has been initiated by outgoing Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot who claimed that Israel attacked Syria several times to prevent Iran from positioning militarily there.

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World

22 Migrants Die Off Greece after Six Days at Sea

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
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22 Migrants Die Off Greece after Six Days at Sea

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS

Twenty-two migrants hoping to reach Europe from North Africa have died off the coast of Greece after six days at sea in a rubber boat, survivors told the Greek coastguard Saturday.

The coastguard late Friday said 26 people, including a woman and a minor, were rescued by a European border agency vessel off the island of Crete.

The coastguard later told AFP that 21 Bangladeshis, four South Sudanese and a Chadian citizen had emerged from the ordeal alive.

Survivors said the bodies of those who had died were thrown into the Mediterranean Sea on the orders of one of the people smugglers aboard the ship.

Two survivors were taken to hospital in Heraklion on Crete, the coastguard said.

Based on survivor statements, the coastguard said the boat had left Tobruk, a port city in eastern Libya, on March 21, bound for Greece, the gateway for many migrants hoping for asylum in the European Union.

"During the journey, the passengers lost their bearings and remained at sea for six days without food or water," the coastguard stated.

The bodies of those who died "were thrown into the sea on the orders of one of the smugglers", it added.

The Greek authorities have arrested two South Sudanese men, aged 19 and 22, believed to be the smugglers.

They are now under investigation for "illegal entry into the country" and "negligent homicide".

The vessel carrying the group was 53 nautical miles south of Ierapetra, a town on southern Crete.

A coastguard spokesman told AFP that the craft had endured "unfavorable meteorological conditions" during their odyssey.

That, coupled with a shortage of food and water, had "led to the deaths through exhaustion of 22 people," the spokesman said.

"The bodies of these dead people were thrown into the sea on the orders of the two traffickers, who have been arrested, according to testimony by survivors," he added.

The number of migrants who have died trying to reach EU soil more than doubled in the first two months of 2026, compared with last year, the EU border agency Frontex said earlier this month.

"These tragedies highlight once more the urgency to intensify the work with partner countries along the migratory routes and redouble efforts in the fight against migrant smugglers, who are the ones responsible for these tragedies," an EU commission spokesperson said on Saturday.

According to data from the International Organization for Migration, 559 people died in the Mediterranean during January and February, compared with 287 for the same period last year.

In December, 17 migrants were found dead inside their boat, which was taking on water and had partially deflated, to the southwest of Crete.

Greek authorities found only two survivors, stating that a further 15 people had drowned.

Their bodies were never recovered.

In a bid to stem the crossings, the European Parliament on Thursday endorsed a major tightening of EU migration policy and approved the concept of "return hubs", designed to send migrants to non-EU third countries.

Those proposals have been criticized by rights groups as inhumane.

World

French Police Thwart a Suspected Bombing Outside a Bank of America Building in Paris

French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images
French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images
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French Police Thwart a Suspected Bombing Outside a Bank of America Building in Paris

French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images
French police arrested suspected militants in Marseille. Credit Gerard Julien/Agence France-Presse/File Photo-Getty Images

French police have thwarted a suspected bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris, authorities said Saturday. One suspect was detained and another escaped.

The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, or PNAT, told The Associated Press that it has opened an investigation into alleged terrorism-related offenses.

The suspected offenses include attempted damage by fire or by a dangerous means, the manufacture of an incendiary or explosive device, the possession and transport of such devices with the intent to prepare dangerous damage, and involvement in a terrorist criminal association.

A person was placed in police custody.

“Well done to the rapid intervention of a Paris police prefecture unit, which made it possible to thwart a violent act of a terrorist nature overnight in Paris,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.

“Vigilance remains at a very high level," Nuñez said. "I commend all security and intelligence forces, fully mobilized under my authority in the current international context."

RTL radio, citing police sources, reported that the incident took place early Saturday when police officers spotted two suspects carrying a shopping bag near the premises of the Bank of America in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital.

One of the suspects, holding a lighter, was attempting to ignite a device, RTL said, while the second suspect managed to escape.

World

Protesters March in London to Oppose the Rise of Political Right

A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
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Protesters March in London to Oppose the Rise of Political Right

A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
A large crowd of protesters holding up signs and banners. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of central London on Saturday for a "March to Stop the Far Right" with many demonstrators decrying the right-wing Reform UK party of Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, which is topping opinion polls.

Backed by trade unions and civil society groups, the Together Alliance demonstration looked set to be one of the biggest in the British capital in recent years with about 30,000 people expected to take part, according to a police official, Reuters reported.

As well as placards opposing Reform UK and its anti-immigration stance, some Iranian flags were held aloft along with pro-Palestinian flags and banners. The march was due to end close to the British parliament building.

Reform leads the Labour Party of Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as the other traditional British political parties, according to opinion polls. Zach Polanski, leader of the Green Party which is also challenging Labour, joined Saturday's march.