Author: staff
Berlin says relations with Tehran are at ‘a low point’ after the German-Iranian prisoner was executed in Iran on terror charges Germany ordered the closure of all three Iranian consulates in the country on Thursday following Tehran’s execution of Iranian-German dual citizen Jamshid Sharmahd, who had spent four years in an Iranian prison on terror charges.Sharmahd, 69, a German citizen of Iranian descent and a US resident, was executed in Iran on Monday after being convicted of carrying out terrorist attacks, the Iranian judiciary said.He was one of several Iranian dissidents abroad either tricked or kidnapped back to Iran in…
Closeness between the two leaders began to build in 2016, when Viktor Orbán was the first European leader to call Trump “a better option” in the presidential race against Hillary Clinton. Their bromance further blossomed as they praised each other when they met at the White House in 2019. Even after Capitol Hill was stormed on Jan. 6, 2021, Orbán continued to call Trump his “good friend.” As Trump’s current campaign unfolded, Orbán adopted a modified version of his slogan for use during Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the European Union: “Make Europe Great Again.” Trump also publicly praised…
Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes are critical, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump aggressively campaigning in this key swing state where polls are currently tied. In this photo-finish race, one place has become a must-win prize for both candidates: the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.The fifth-most populous state offers 19 electoral votes and is the biggest of the seven swing states. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have campaigned here aggressively, visiting the state between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic more often than any other state.The stakes are particularly daunting for Harris. Since 1948, no Democrat has become president without carrying Pennsylvania.…
The Hungarian prime minister arrived in Vienna on Thursday, where he was received by parliamentary president Walter Rosenkranz in a meeting condemned by several Austrian political parties. Despite criticism from other political parties, Austria’s newly elected parliament president, Walter Rosenkranz of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Vienna as his first official guest. The controversial visit took place in the Austrian parliament’s reception room, with the entire leadership of the FPÖ, including leader Herbert Kickl, reportedly in attendance. After the meeting concluded, Orbán had a separate, private meeting with Kickl. However, nothing was initially revealed about…
Présidentielle américaine : quel que soit le vainqueur, l’Europe a déjà perdu – POLITICO Skip to main content
Greece and several other countries in Europe are struggling to deal with worsening wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change. Hundreds of seasonal firefighters in Greece protested on Thursday to demand permanent positions as their contracts expired following a brutal wildfire season.The protesters, who gathered outside the civil protection ministry in Athens, represent about 2,500 firefighters whose short-term contracts ended Thursday, leaving them unemployed until the next wildfire season begins in May. Union representatives say that climate change means the risk of wildfires in Greece has extended beyond the May-October period, requiring a year-round firefighting capability. While wildfires are common…
The closure will affect 32 consular staff members, according to an official from the Foreign Office in Berlin, who said Germany last took such “drastic, but appropriate” measures after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Iranian embassy in Berlin, however, will remain open, as will the German embassy in Tehran. According to the official from the foreign office, Berlin does not want to completely sever diplomatic ties. Jamshid Sharmahd, an opposition activist, was sentenced to death in 2020 by the regime in Tehran on terror charges. He was executed on Monday. | Koosha Mahshid Falahi/AFP via Getty Images…
State-owned carmaker SAIC Motor said it will take Brussels to the European Court of Justice to “protect its legitimate rights and interests,” as the ongoing trade row escalates into products like brandy, dairy products and chemicals. China’s SAIC Motor plans to take the European Commission to the European Court of Justice over 45% tariffs imposed on its electric vehicles, the carmaker said on Wednesday, further escalating global trade tensions.It comes after the Chinese government said it filed a lawsuit at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over an EU probe which the Commission says is “fact-based” and “anti-subsidy”.Brussels says Beijing is…
Georgia is not yet Belarus, but the direction of travel is ominously clear. The EU cannot afford to stand by and watch Georgia slip away under the Kremlin’s shadow, Dr Tinatin Akhvlediani writes. Last Saturday, Georgians went to the polls in a critical parliamentary election that President Salome Zourabichvili described as a referendum on the country’s European future. It is a future that Georgians have fervently supported through countless rallies and protests in recent years against the pro-Kremlin drift of the current ruling party, Georgian Dream (GD). This election, the first conducted under a fully proportional system, raised hopes of…
Demonstrators, some holding a banner declaring “WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE BOUGHT ELECTIONS,” gathered outside the presidency building in downtown Sofia on Tuesday and Wednesday evening to demand a new election. Others set fire to a fake ballot box emblazoned with Peevski’s name. The protesters pledged to gather again on Thursday. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Thursday called for an investigation into the allegations, which he described as “ugly practices.” “Bulgarian citizens have the right to know in whose interest their institutions are working and whether someone is infiltrating the National Assembly through vote-buying, threats and racketeering,” Radev said. “There can…