Eurotopics.net

According to media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has attempted to dismiss Valerii Zaluzhnyi as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Several newspapers reported that Zelensky had offered the general the post of defence minister instead, but Zaluzhnyi refused. The Ministry of Defence and the Presidential Office have denied the allegations. Zaluzhnyi had warned of a deadlock on the front in November. The press takes a closer look.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague has called on Israel to better protect the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, but did not order an immediate end to the military offensive. The ICJ has not yet ruled on the claim of genocide brought by South Africa, but has declared that the matter does fall within its jurisdiction. Commentators debate the potential consequences for all the involved parties.

The French Constitutional Council has declared more than a third of the provisions in the country's new immigration law to be unconstitutional. Most had been added to the law at the behest of the conservative Les Républicains party. Three articles, including the planned immigration quotas, were rejected due to content, and 32 due to lacking reference to the original draft.

The US, Germany, France, the UK and other countries have suspended their funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after Israel presented information according to which twelve employees of the aid organisation were allegedly involved in the 7 October attack by Islamist terrorist organisation Hamas. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has promised a thorough investigation.

After the first round of voting on Sunday, two of the nine candidates seeking to succeed popular Sauli Niinistö as Finnish president have made it to the second round: former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who like Niinistö belongs to the conservative National Coalition Party, and the Green Party candidate Pekka Haavisto, who is running as an independent. Voters have thus already made two fundamental decisions, commentators note.