Author: staff

The head of the company behind the journey said ‘the Italians began to change their minds’ on allowing the train into the country. The maiden voyage of a night train from Brussels to Venice didn’t make it to its final destination yesterday due to issues at the Italian border.Instead, the train stopped in Innsbruck in Austria, 313km short of its destination, and passengers were moved onto a different train to complete their journey to Venice. Train operator European Sleeper had called the route a “significant milestone” for the company, saying their “mission is to reconnect Europe’s cities by night, providing…

“I have a clear opinion on this as well — and I will share it with him: I do not approve of someone in Trump’s orbit attempting such direct interference in Germany’s elections,” he said.  Since the snap election campaign kicked off in December, Musk has openly supported the AfD, endorsing the party on X, hosting a livestream with leader Alice Weidel and criticizing traditional mainstream parties. The German government has accused him of election interference and normalizing extremism. Trade is another transatlantic flashpoint that is concerning Merz. Trump has repeatedly floated tariffs on European goods, and Merz made clear…

Janusz Wawrowski, a professor of music and a violinist, is using the only Stradivarius violin in Poland to showcase the works of composer Grażyna Bacewicz. There is only one Stradivarius violin in Poland, a rare example that survived the turmoil of the Second World War and returned to Polish hands. Now, Janusz Wawrowski, a violinist and professor at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, is using his musical talent and unique access to bring light to the talent of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz. Antonio Stradivari, a master Italian craftsman of string instruments from Cremona, left behind around 1,000 instruments,…

Subsequent infighting resulted in Sahra Wagenknecht breaking away from the party and establishing a rival, called BSW, which could carve away key voters. BSW’s platform, Elff said, is a “unique combination of ideological elements … combining traditional left-wing positions regarding the economy and the welfare state with an unambiguous opposition to immigration.” The European election of last June demonstrated the BSW’s popularity in the former East Germany, which is also where the Left Party and the AfD historically perform best. With this additional competition, the Left could be in for yet another nailbiter on election night. Finally, it’s distinctly possible…

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The country is witnessing protests against the Prime Minister Robert Fico. Today Radio Schuman speaks about opposition protests in Slovakia with vice-president of the European Parliament, the Slovak liberal Martin Hojsik.Mass protests are expected in towns and cities across Slovakia today, sparked by outrage over Prime Minister Robert Fico’s handshake with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a December visit to Moscow. Since reclaiming power in 2023, Fico’s eurosceptic agenda has raised alarm in Brussels over his stance on Ukraine and potential challenges to EU sanctions against Russia. His ongoing disputes with both the EU and Kyiv—especially over Ukraine’s move to…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists the incursion has been a success, and has hinted that Ukraine’s continued control of Russian territory might give Kyiv leverage in any peace negotiations with Moscow. The Ukrainian military also argues that the incursion has helped draw Russian troops away from the front line in Ukraine. | Genya Savilov/Getty Images “In the Kursk region, we are holding stable,” he told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday. “The Russians have suffered great losses there. Their Koreans are running away. I think they will not be able to push us out of this territory soon. And it is…

POLITICO’s weekly podcast lifting the curtain on how Westminster really works. By PATRICK BAKER Send ideas here | View in your browser Peter Mandelson, the new British ambassador to the United States, has finally taken up the daunting challenge of being the U.K.’s Trump whisperer. And it’s clear the man dubbed the prince of darkness will need to use every trick in his book to ensure the U.K. emerges unscathed – or even, perhaps, benefits – from Trump’s America First agenda.  This week on Westminster Insider, Patrick Baker speaks to some of Mandelson’s predecessors and those who know a thing…

In dieser Extra-Ausgabe spricht Gordon Repinski rund 45 Minuten mit dem Kanzleramtsminister über das Scheitern der Ampel, die Erfolge und Misserfolge der Koalition und unter anderem auch die Frage, ob die SPD tatsächlich Olaf Scholz überzeugen wollte auf eine weitere Kanzlerkandidatur zu verzichten.  Außerdem geht es um Schmidts eigene Ambitionen, darauf in den Bundestag einzuziehen. Was verspricht er sich von seiner Kandidatur in einem Wahlkreis, in dem für die SPD nicht allzu viel zu holen zu sein scheint? Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es morgens um 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team bringen euch jeden Morgen auf den…

In the U.K., today’s post-Brexit Conservatives bear no resemblance to the party that based itself in a patrician conservation of tradition after the war. Yes, during the 1980s, then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher shook that tree vigorously, but even she broadly adhered to the postwar consensus. That has long gone. Tories now see their very existence as under threat and are trying to emulate Reform UK — the party to their right. Likely, they’ll eventually either form a coalition with Nigel Farage’s party or be subsumed by it. Meanwhile, across European countries with proportional voting systems, it has become commonplace for…