LESBOS, Greece, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Over two dozen aid workers involved in refugee rescues in Greece were acquitted of migrant smuggling charges in a multi-year case that rights groups said was a baseless attempt to ban aid for refugees heading to Europe.

European Union countries, including Greece - where more than one million people came ashore during Europe's refugee crisis in 2015-16 - are tightening rules on migration as right-wing parties gain ground across the bloc.

By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Israel is grappling with a dramatic increase in post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among its troops after its two-year assault on Gaza, precipitated by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Recent reports by the Defence Ministry and by health providers have detailed the military's mental health crisis, which comes as fighting persists in Gaza and Lebanon and as tensions flare with Iran.

Mouayed Zabtia shoots most scenes for his latest movie in a studio he built at his Tripoli home. For the filmmaker, it is one way to overcome the obstacles he faces in a country where cinema once nearly vanished.

Before a 1969 coup that brought Moamer Kadhafi to power, Libya's capital Tripoli was home to more than 20 movie theatres.

"Today we have none," Zabtia told AFP.

Kadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011, and though the censorship of his era has declined, its effects are still deeply felt through underinvestment and public disinterest.

Jan 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale to Peru of $1.5 billion in equipment and services to support the country's efforts to shift its main naval base in the city of Callao, the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday, so it can expand a neighboring seaport.

The Peruvian government plans to relocate its naval base at Callao, on the coast just west of the capital Lima, a few kilometers away.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a Gaza "board of peace," a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.

"It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that the members of the body will be announced "shortly."

"I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place," Trump said.

Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is backing "a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government" in Gaza.

"As Chairman of the Board of Peace, I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, supported by the Board's High Representative, to govern Gaza during its transition," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "These Palestinian leaders are unwaveringly committed to a PEACEFUL future!"

(Reporting by Christian Martinez; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has made a series of controversial moves that have shaken up the world order, including a military raid that toppled Venezuela's leader and renewed threats to annex Greenland.

Trump, who campaigned on what was seen as an isolationist "America First" platform, defends his policies as advancing U.S. economic and security interests. But to many experts, his moves echo the actions of 19th-century colonial powers.

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The United States stands by the “brave people of Iran,” and President Donald Trump "has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands of people have been reported killed in a crackdown on the unrest against clerical rule.

A senior UN official warned on Thursday that threats of military action against Iran, like those made by US President Donald Trump, increased "volatility" in the protest-torn country.

Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished in the face of repression and a week-long internet blackout.

A Greek court on Thursday acquitted Syrian competitive swimmer and activist Sarah Mardini, whose rescue of her sister inspired a hit Netflix film, and 23 others of migrant trafficking in a decision applauded by top rights groups.

The verdict came almost a month after the start of their trial at a court on Lesbos, ending a legal ordeal for the activists since 2018.

They had been charged in the Greek island with "forming a criminal organisation" and "illegally facilitating the entry of third-country nationals into Greece".