June 10, 2022

*) British, Moroccan fighters captured in Ukraine sentenced to death Pro-Moscow separatists have sentenced to death two British fighters and a Moroccan, who were captured by Russian troops while fighting for Ukraine. A court in self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic ordered the death penalty after the three were accused of acting as mercenaries, Russian news agencies reported. The three men will appeal the decision. Ukraine has dismissed the proceedings as "placing propaganda interests above the law". *) US Capitol riot probe puts Trump at heart of 'attempted coup' A House panel investigating the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol has laid the blame firmly on Donald Trump. It said the assault was hardly spontaneous but an “attempted coup”, and a direct result of the defeated president's effort to overturn the 2020 election. Thursday's session and five subsequent hearings will focus on Trump's role in the multi-pronged effort to return him to the Oval Office by disenfranchising millions of voters. *) UN elects new council members including Japan, Switzerland UN member nations have elected five countries to join the powerful UN Security Council, which focuses on matters of international peace and security. Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland have made the cut in a secret ballot vote in the 193-member General Assembly. Their terms will start on January 1. They will join the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France — the five veto-wielding permanent members of the council. As well as five others elected last year. *) IAEA: Iran removal of monitoring cameras may scupper nuclear talks The UN atomic energy watchdog has said that Iran is removing 27 surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities, warning it could be a "fatal blow" to talks to revive a 2015 deal. Talks began last year to bring the US back into that nuclear deal, after then president Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. But dialogue has been stalled since March. An International Atomic Energy Agency resolutio