Author: staff

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a working dinner on Wednesday night in Ankara, at a sensitive moment for both sides. At the meeting, held after the NATO summit in Ankara, von der Leyen will have to balance closer ties with Turkey against ongoing rule-of-law concerns and other disputes. They will be joined by European Council President António Costa, with the dinner expected to carry a degree of tension. At a public event in April, von der Leyen reportedly placed Turkey — an EU candidate country since 1999 — alongside Russia…

The European Union is in disagreement over whether the Commission should allow Serbia to progress in its membership process. The issue will come to a head at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels today. While the Commission argues that dangling accession in front of prospective members is a useful geopolitical tool that can prevent countries from turning towards rival powers, some countries in the bloc aren’t convinced. Zoya Sheftalovich and Kathryn Carlson unpack the debate. Also on the show, at the sidelines of the NATO summit happening in Ankara, our colleague Dasha Burns, host of POLITICO’s The Conversation podcast,…

Argentina made a major comeback in the final minutes of play against Egypt on Tuesday, narrowly securing a spot in the quarterfinals with a 3-2 finish. The defending champions trailed 2-0 against Egypt with 11 minutes remaining when Cristian Romero started the rally by scoring with a header in the 79th minute. Lionel Messi, who was in tears after the final whistle, scored his eighth goal of the tournament and record-extending 21st goal at the World Cup in the 83rd to level the score at 2-2 and Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback in stoppage time. For much of Tuesday’s game,…

A handful of billion-pound mobile app companies, from gaming to online dating to streaming music, want to change the conditions that made them successful in the first place, pulling up the ladder behind them. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is right to look at broadening the ways that developers can create new products and serve their customers. Regulators, however, must resist the call to completely reshape the structure of the widely successful mobile ecosystem. Greater flexibility for developers to serve their customers with new products, services and purchasing options could benefit small businesses. However, those benefits will only be…

Published on 08/07/2026 – 5:07 GMT+2 The US launched fresh strikes on Iran early on Wednesday, hitting more than 80 targets, according to US Central Command, which said the attacks were conducted in response to Tehran’s attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. “US forces struck Iranian defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait,” the US military said in a statement posted to X. The strikes came as US President Donald Trump was in Turkey for a summit…

Le Pen’s French presidential bid dashes EU hopes for a Meloni-like successor – POLITICO Skip to main content

Rodgers Oloo Magutha, known as Nairobi’s ‘Birdman’, has gained attention for rescuing injured birds and sharing his home with them. The video shows him collecting recyclable materials at a Nairobi dumpsite, caring for birds at home and feeding them. Black kites, ibises, pigeons and other birds move freely around him as he explains his mission to protect and release them when they are ready. Magutha says he has rescued more than 20 birds and wants to raise awareness about conservation through his unusual bond with wildlife. His videos have attracted attention online, but his close contact with wild birds has…

ANKARA — Le secrétaire général de l’Otan, Mark Rutte, a un message à adresser aux alliés à propos de Donald Trump : le président américain avait raison. Il avait raison de faire pression sur eux pour qu’ils augmentent leurs dépenses de défense, il avait raison de les inciter à moderniser leurs armées, et il avait raison de déclencher une guerre contre l’Iran, a considéré le Néerlandais auprès de POLITICO lors d’une interview pour le podcast The Conversation with Dasha Burns, enregistrée à l’occasion du sommet des dirigeants de l’Alliance cette semaine, dans la capitale turque. “C’est simplement que j’apprécie cet…

Instead of accepting the court’s ruling and hoping she could get her sentence knocked down to six months for good behavior, the 57-year-old took a major gamble: She announced on prime-time television that she would once again appeal, this time to France’s highest court. Le Pen argued that her decision would free her of the obligation to wear the bracelet, as appeals lift penalties under French criminal law. But the new trial before the the Cour de cassation could now take place in the middle of her presidential campaign. “My hands are clean … I will prove it,” Le Pen…

Published on 07/07/2026 – 23:44 GMT+2 Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have signed a new agreement aimed at expanding collaboration on drones, military technology and the defence industry, as European allies seek to draw more closely on Kyiv’s battlefield experience. The agreement, signed on Tuesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, will deepen cooperation between the Estonian and Ukrainian defence industries, including the exchange of expertise in drone technology, cybersecurity, information technology and military innovation. “Ukraine has developed one of the most competitive defence industries in the world” through its experience fighting…