Two MEPs have had their legal immunity lifted by European lawmakers, following a request by Belgian authorities investigating a corruption scandal that has rocked the European Parliament.
Italian Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian Marc Tarabella deny wrongdoing.
The Qatargate affair unfolded when a Greek lawmaker and three other suspects were arrested on suspicion of corruption and money-laundering.
One of the suspects then agreed to "tell all" as part of a plea deal.
Pier Antonio Panzeri is alleged to have led a network that took bribes from Qatar and Morocco in return for influencing the European Parliament. Some €1.5m (£1.3m) was recovered in cash in a series of raids in Brussels and Italy.
Qatar has denied allegations that it sought to gain influence over MEPs while Morocco has hit back at "judicial harassment" and "media attacks".
However, prosecutors have said Mr Panzeri has admitted "criminal responsibility".
Mr Tarabella's home was raided last month when Belgian police detained the four suspects. Prosecutors then asked the parliament to lift his immunity from prosecution as well as Mr Cozzolino's. Both men were members of the parliament's centre-left Socialists and Democrats grouping.
The votes happened with little ceremony in a matter of seconds when lawmakers began a session of the European Parliament on Thursday morning. MEPs simply raised their hands as the details were read out.
Marc Tarabella attended the vote himself, making his way through a scrum of reporters as he headed into the chamber. Afterwards he told me he had voted to waive his immunity in order to "be able to respond to the investigators' questions and help authorities shed light on this affair".
According to the parliament report on Mr Tarabella, he is suspected by investigators of backing "certain positions within the European Parliament in favour of a third country in return for cash payments" for two years. Testimony against him suggests several payments totalling €120,00-€140,000, the report adds.
"Of course I deny any wrong," he told the BBC. Asked if had ever taken money to influence proceedings in the European Parliament he said: "Never in my life!"
The parliament's report on his Italian colleague cites investigators alleging participation in a criminal organisation and money laundering. Mr Cozzolino's lawyers said last month that he was innocent and that he had carried out political activity in a "free and transparent way, having nothing to do with the crimes being investigated".
He resigned last month as head of the parliament's delegation that works with the Maghreb nations, including Morocco.
Last month prosecutors said Mr Panzeri, who is an Italian ex-MEP, had agreed to provide details about how the scandal worked and who was involved in return for a shorter sentence of a year in jail. He ran an NGO called Fight Impunity in Brussels.
His wife and daughter were freed from house arrest last week as part of the plea deal.
Three other suspects remain in jail on suspicion of corruption and money laundering:
Greek MEP Eva Kaili was stripped of her role as one of the 14 vice presidents of the parliament last month but denies involvement in the affair
Her partner, former parliamentary aide Francesco Giorgi, is reported to have partly confessed to his alleged role
Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, who runs an NGO from the same building as Mr Panzeri, has also denied all knowledge of the scandal.
Parliamentary immunity means MEPs cannot be subject to any form of inquiry, detention or legal proceedings because of opinions expressed or votes cast in their capacity as an MEP. But it can be waived, if requested by a national authority.
Ukraine's defence minister has said Russia is preparing a major new offensive, and warned that it could begin as soon as 24 February.
Oleksii Reznikov said Moscow had amassed thousands of troops and could "try something" to mark the anniversary of the initial invasion last year.
The attack would also mark Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day on 23 February, which celebrates the army.
Meanwhile, three people have died in an attack on the city of Kramatorsk.
Eight others were wounded in the city in Donetsk region after a Russian missile struck a residential building, the provincial governor said.
The toll is expected to rise as rescuers comb through the wreckage.
"The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it," Mr Zelensky wrote on social media about the attack. "By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles."
But Mr Reznikov suggested that the true figure recruited and deployed to Ukraine could be far higher.
"Officially they announced 300,000 but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more," he told the French BFM network. The BBC cannot independently verify this figure.
Russia has claimed recent gains in the eastern Donbas region and its forces say they are moving in on the front-line town of Bakhmut after a battle that has lasted months and led to heavy loss of life on both sides.
Last month, Russian mercenaries and regular soldiers seized the nearby town of Soledar and on Wednesday a Russian-appointed official, Yan Gagin, said Bakhmut was "operationally surrounded".
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) recently said that Moscow could seek to "undertake a decisive action" and launch a "big offensive" in the east.
Mr Reznikov said Ukraine's commanders would seek to "stabilise the front and prepare for a counter-offensive" ahead of the rumoured Russian advance.
"I have faith that the year 2023 can be the year of military victory," he said, adding that Ukraine's forces "cannot lose the initiative" they have achieved in recent months.
The defence minister was in France to strike a deal to purchase additional MG-200 air defence radars, which he said would "significantly increase the capacity of the armed forces to detect air targets, including winged and ballistic missiles, and drones of various types".
Mr Reznikov's comments come as Ukrainian intelligence alleges that President Putin has ordered his forces to seize the Donbas before the end of spring.
But speaking on Monday, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that there were no indications that Mr Putin had limited his military goals to seizing eastern regions of Ukraine.
"That they are actively acquiring new weapons, more ammunition, ramping up their own production, but also acquiring more weapons from other authoritarian states like Iran and North Korea," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"And most of all, we have seen no sign that President Putin has changed his overall goal of this invasion - that is to control a neighbour, to control Ukraine. So as long as this is the case, we need to be prepared for the long haul."
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said that intense fighting was continuing in the Donbas region, where Russian forces and Wagner Group mercenaries have been trying to take the town of Bakhmut.
She added that Moscow's troops were also trying to seize Lyman - the former Russian logistics hub that Ukrainian troops retook in October.
"Russian troops are actively trying to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Our soldiers defend every centimetre of Ukrainian land," she said.
Speaking on Wednesday night, Mr Zelensky warned that the situation on the front lines of the conflict was testing his forces.
"There is a certain increase in the occupiers' offensive actions at the front - in the east of our country, Mr Zelensky said. "The situation is becoming even more severe."
While the Wagner group has claimed it has been heavily involved in Russia's recent advances in the east, a former commander who fled to Norway has told Reuters that he witnessed the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners taken to Ukraine to fight for the group.
Andrei Medvedev made an unverified claim that in the four months he was with Wagner, he saw two people who didn't want to fight being shot.
About 80% of Wagner's personnel in Ukraine have been drawn from prisons, according to the US National Security Council.
But Mr Reznikov suggested that the true figure recruited and deployed to Ukraine could be far higher.
"Officially they announced 300,000 but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more," he told the French BFM network. The BBC cannot independently verify this figure.
Despite some heavy fighting in the eastern Donbas region, the war has entered something of a stalemate in recent months since Ukraine retook the southern city of Kherson.
But a Russian spring offensive - and a Ukrainian counter-offensive - has long been considered likely. The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) recently said that Moscow could seek to "undertake a decisive action" and launch a "big offensive" in the east.
Mr Reznikov said Ukraine's commanders would seek to "stabilise the front and prepare for a counter-offensive" ahead of the rumoured Russian advance.
"I have faith that the year 2023 can be the year of military victory," he said, adding that Ukraine's forces "cannot lose the initiative" they have achieved in recent months.
The defence minister was in France to strike a deal to purchase additional MG-200 air defence radars, which he said would "significantly increase the capacity of the armed forces to detect air targets, including winged and ballistic missiles, and drones of various types".
Mr Reznikov's comments come as Ukrainian intelligence alleges that President Putin has ordered his forces to seize the Donbas before the end of spring.
But speaking on Monday, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that there were no indications that Mr Putin had limited his military goals to seizing eastern regions of Ukraine.
"That they are actively acquiring new weapons, more ammunition, ramping up their own production, but also acquiring more weapons from other authoritarian states like Iran and North Korea," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"And most of all, we have seen no sign that President Putin has changed his overall goal of this invasion - that is to control a neighbour, to control Ukraine. So as long as this is the case, we need to be prepared for the long haul."
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said that intense fighting was continuing in the Donbas region, where Russian forces and Wagner Group mercenaries have been trying to take the town of Bakhmut.
She added that Moscow's troops were also trying to seize Lyman - the former Russian logistics hub that Ukrainian troops retook in October.
"Russian troops are actively trying to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Our soldiers defend every centimetre of Ukrainian land," she said.
Speaking on Wednesday night, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the situation on the front lines of the conflict was testing his forces.
"There is a certain increase in the occupiers' offensive actions at the front - in the east of our country, Mr Zelensky said. "The situation is becoming even more severe."
And in Kramatorsk - a city in the Donetsk region - two civilians were killed and seven more wounded after a Russian missile struck a residential building, the provincial governor said.
Rev Al Sharpton just devoted a good part of his eulogy to condemning the actions of the black officers who were seen beating Tyre Nichols, an encounter that ultimately led to his death.
The incident has been a particularly difficult pill to swallow among black police officers across the country - who I've been speaking to all day.
Historically, with low representation from African Americans among US police departments, violence toward unarmed black men has come at the hands of white police officers.
Sharpton said that half a century ago, Martin Luther King Jr came to Memphis to fight to get black men represented in the police force.
"There's nothing more insulting an offensive... than beating a brother to death", he says.
Black police officers I spoke to feel it is their duty to restore justice and fair treatment where they say historically it has been deprived.
"This is the behaviour we saw from the Ku Klux Klan," said retired New Jersey police sergeant De Lancy Davis. "It's shameful, inhumane and a poor representation."
A Romanian court has upheld the decision to extend the detention of controversial influencer Andrew Tate to 30 days.
The British-American national and his brother Tristan have been in custody since 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.
Andrew Tate, a professional kickboxer turned influencer, has lost his appeal at the Bucharest Court of Appeal against a judge's 20 January decision to extend his arrest a second time for 30 days, said Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania's anti-organized crime agency DIICOT.
The 36-year-old arrived at court handcuffed to his brother Tristan who is held in the same case along with two Romanian women.
It is alleged the Tates recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.
Prosecutors say the women were then forced to produce pornographic content under duress.
Andrew Tate is also accused of raping one of the victims in March 2022.
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All four deny the allegations.
The court has rejected all four of their appeals against extending their arrests for 30 days and they will remain in custody until 27 February as prosecutors continue investigating the case.
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As he left court on Wednesday, Andrew Tate said: "Ask them for evidence and they will give you none, because it doesn't exist. You'll find out the truth of this case soon."
A document seen by the Associated Press news agency explaining the 20 January decision said the judge took into account the "particular dangerousness of the defendants" and their capacity to identify victims "with an increased vulnerability, in search of better life opportunities".
Ioan Gliga, a lawyer representing the Tate brothers, said the defence presented "solid arguments" that the extended detention period "is not necessary".
Meanwhile, US lawyer Tina Glandian, who has joined the Tates' legal team, told a news conference on Wednesday there was a lack of evidence against the brothers.
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'Insufficient evidence against Andrew Tate'.
Both brothers took turns addressing the court during the latest hearing and were "very forthcoming", said Ms Glandian.
She said the lack of evidence was shown by the fact there were still no charges despite the brothers being in custody for a month and police investigating since April.
She called it a "violation of international human rights and the due process of law" and suggested "outside pressures" were keeping them locked up.
Ms Glandian said that Tristan Tate had also been unable to meet his new three-week-old child.
She also denied the brothers could flee Romania and suggested other measures such as removing passports or house arrest could be used.
Andrew Tate, who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.
He has claimed there is "zero evidence" against him in the case and alleged it is instead a political attack to silence him.
"My case is not criminal, it's political. It's not about justice or fairness. It's about attacking my influence on the world," read a post that appeared on his Twitter account which was reinstated in November.
After the Tates and the two women were arrested, Romania's anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, said in a statement that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion" and were sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.
The agency said victims were lured with pretenses of love, and later intimidated, surveilled and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for substantial financial gains.
Earlier in January, Romanian authorities descended on a compound near Bucharest where they towed away a fleet of luxury cars that included a blue Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari and a Porsche.
They reported seizing assets worth an estimated $3.9m (£3.2m).
Prosecutors have said that if they can prove the owners gained money through illicit activities such as human trafficking, the assets would be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and to compensate victims.
Tate also unsuccessfully appealed the asset seizure.
A radioactive capsule that fell off a truck in the Australian outback - sparking a radiation alert and a search of hundreds of miles of road - has been found.
Western Australia's emergency services minister said the silver capsule, which emits the isotope Caesium-137, had been located.
Authorities were hunting for the 6mm by 8mm capsule and retracing the truck's 870-mile (1,400km) route with radiation-scanning gear.
The military is checking the capsule and it will be taken to a secure facility in Perth.
Minister Stephen Dawson called it an "extraordinary result".
"When you consider the scope of the research area, locating this object was a monumental challenge, the search groups have quite literally found the needle in the haystack," he said.
The capsule was found when a vehicle with scanning equipment picked up radiation as it drove past at about 43mph (70kmh).
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People had been warned of potential radiation burns or sickness if they came close to the capsule.
Driving past it was described as much lower risk, similar to having an X-ray.
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Luckily, It was discovered far from any community and it was unlikely anyone would have been exposed to its radiation, said Western Australia's chief health officer Andrew Robertson.
The capsule is owned by mining firm Rio Tinto and is part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore.
Vibrations during transportation are believed to have caused screws and a bolt to come loose from the gauge, allowing it to fall out.
The search area was vast as the truck covered a distance longer than Britain on its journey from the Gudai-Darri mine to the Perth suburbs.
Police, the defence department and Australia's nuclear safety agency were all involved after the capsule was reported missing on 25 January.
They had been scouring the state's Great Northern Highway as well as other sections of the route used by the road train - a truck pulling multiple trailers.
Some 410 miles (660km) had been searched by Tuesday.
Rio Tinto, which gave the capsule to another company to transport, apologised for the "very concerning" incident and said it had launched its own investigation.
Authorities are doing their own probe and prosecutions could follow.