Author: staff

BUCHAREST — George Simion, the hard-right leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, is projected to win the first round of Romania’s presidential election, with more than 30 percent of the vote, according to three exit polls. It was not immediately clear which candidate would place second, with establishment figurehead Crin Antonescu and centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan battling to face Simion in the runoff. Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta is set to finish in fourth place, the exit polls say. The exit poll projections are not official results, which are expected to start coming in from Romania’s election…

“If the Chinese vampire can’t suck the American blood, it’s going to suck the U.K. blood and the EU blood,” Navarro told the Telegraph. “This is a very dangerous time for the world economies with respect to exposure to China.” Britain’s Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have both visited China in recent months as part of the Labour government’s “pragmatic re-engagement” with Beijing. Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein has also been eyeing London for its controversial IPO and Reeves recently said the British capital was the “natural home” for China’s money. “Beware of authoritarian mercantilist regimes bearing gifts,”…

British counterterrorism officers have taken several Iranian men into custody over a suspected plan to launch an attack at an unnamed site in London, the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Sunday.The arrests were made on Saturday across different parts of England, with five men between the ages of 29 and 46 held on suspicion of preparing “a terrorist act”.Four of those detained are Iranian nationals, while efforts to confirm the identity and nationality of the fifth individual are still ongoing.All five are currently being interviewed at police stations and have not been formally charged. Investigators are also carrying out searches at…

The Cybersecurity Directorate did not immediately respond to a request for more information. The hackers claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on their Telegram channel, listing the websites of the ministries for internal affairs and justice among the targets, Romanian TV channel Digi24 reported. The attack was through the distributed denial of service (DDoS) method, which overwhelms the target with a flood of internet traffic. The Cybersecurity Directorate said that all websites the hacker group listed were operational as of 2 p.m. local time, adding a Star Wars reference: “May the Force be with you,” according to a post on Facebook.…

A missile fired from Yemen has hit an area within the perimeter of Tel Aviv airport. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack, which has left four people lightly wounded.The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed the attack and said they were unable to intercept the ballistic missile that hit the Ben Gurion airport area.The army said it made several attempts to intercept the missile launched from Yemen.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed retribution for the strike: “Whoever harms us we will harm them sevenfold.”Last week, Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired a missile at northern Israel. Houthi rebels have been…

In the interview, Putin said there would be “no need” to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict. Responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russia, he said: “There has been no need to use those [nuclear] weapons … and I hope they will not be required.” In November, Putin signed a revamped version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which spelt out the circumstances under which he would use his atomic arsenal, the world’s biggest. The document lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks. On Monday, Putin announced a temporary three-day…

Three other men, all Iranian, were arrested in London on Saturday as part of a separate counterterror police probe. Police said the two cases are unconnected. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the force’s Counter Terrorism Command, said of the first operation that police are still working to establish a motive “as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public.” U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper praised the police after Saturday’s arrests. “Protecting national security is the first duty of the government and our police and security services have our strong support in their vital work,”…

“I do not rule out any possibility,” Bayrou added. The French government is looking to reduce the 2026 budget by €40 billion, largely through spending cuts. Bayrou said those savings should not come by imposing new taxes but via “greater efficiency” and “simplification” of public spending. “It’s a comprehensive plan I want to submit. It will demand efforts from everybody, and given its scale, it cannot succeed unless the French people support it,” Bayrou said. He ruled out “targeted sacrifices” — such as a previously mooted “tax raid” on pensioners. His budget would “be a substantial one … based on…

Three other men, all Iranian, were arrested in London on Saturday as part of a separate counterterror police probe. Police said the two cases are unconnected. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the force’s Counter Terrorism Command, said of the first operation that police are still working to establish a motive “as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public.” U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper praised the police after Saturday’s arrests. “Protecting national security is the first duty of the government and our police and security services have our strong support in their vital work,”…

A million Lady Gaga fans rocked up at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night to join the singer in what was the largest show of her career as of yet, and it was free.The Mother Monster, as she is known, kicked off the show at around 10:10 pm local time with her 2011 song “Bloody Mary.” Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder to shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Lady Gaga performed her classic hits, including “Poker Face” and “Alejandro,” switching between an array of dresses, including…