Denmark said Tuesday it believed “deliberate actions” by unknown perpetrators were behind big leaks, which seismologists said followed powerful explosions, in two natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. European leaders and experts pointed to possible sabotage amid the energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine. Although filled with gas, neither pipeline is currently supplying it to Europe. “It is the authorities’ clear assessment that these are deliberate actions -– not accidents,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. But she added that “there is no information indicating who could be behind it.” Frederiksen also rejected the suggestion that the incident was an attack on Denmark, saying the leaks occurred in international waters.

Giorgia Meloni scored a remarkable success in yesterday’s Italian election – and is all but certain to become prime minister. Her post-fascist Brothers of Italy party’s 26% of the vote makes it the largest party nationally. Overall, the rightwing coalition it now leads will have a considerable majority in both houses of parliament. Part of the explanation lies in the weakness of the opposition. The eclectic Five Star Movement (15%) and the centre-left Democrats (19%) did not join forces and, after years of failing to improve working-class living standards, were unable to rally the left’s historic base. Turnout was easily the lowest in the republic’s history, with only 64% of Italians voting.

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