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Ukraine and Russia began their meeting in Turkey on Friday in the first attempt at a ceasefire negotiation and a format that also includes representatives of US and Turkey. Attending the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington does not have high expectations for the Friday meeting outcome. “Frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President (Donald) Trump and President (Vladimir) Putin,” Rubio said.But until that point is reached, this is how the Friday agenda looks: Rubio has…

During the campaign in the do-over election, “The French ambassador has gone … through all regions of the country to convince businessmen to support my opponent, the mayor of Bucharest,” Simion said. Later in the interview, Simion compared France to Iran, saying it had become a country “where the ayatollahs decide who can run.” He claimed that France had lost its “relationship with God.” “You don’t know who you are anymore,” Simion said of France. “It’s time to go back to tradition, and stop mutilating your children with sex reassignment surgeries. You hurt yourself. France — as a European, Christian…

The vibrant dye spread through the water, colouring the stream and leaving geese and ducks with stained feathers. Several dead, blue-tinged fish were also found. Environmental teams from the São Paulo State Environmental Company (CETESB) are analysing the water to assess the level of contamination.Local and state authorities, along with NGOs, are working to rescue affected animals and mitigate further damage. Officials say the dye contains an organic compound based on acetic acid, a substance known to be corrosive and environmentally hazardous.

The final lineup for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest is set after Thursday evening’s second semi-final, with 26 countries set to compete in front of thousands of fans in Basel, Switserland in the grand final on Saturday.Those who made the cut include classically trained Austrian countertenor JJ, a bookies’ favourite with his over-the-top pop-opera song ‘Wasted Love’, and Israel’s Yuval Raphael, who will be performing the song ‘New Day Will Rise’.Also voted through to the final was Malta’s Miriana Conte, whose campy, diva-esque song ‘Serving’, performed on a set including a glitter ball and giant lips, is classic Eurovision.Performers from…

With Nigel Farage’s Reform UK muscling in to key parts of the country, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O’Sullivan speaks to politicians through the North of England, where Labour has an uphill battle to convince their heartlands they can be trusted. Sascha speaks to Labour MP Josh Simons, whose seat of Makerfield had one of the highest proportion of votes for Reform without actually voting in one of the party’s MP. Simons tells Sascha about his plans to convince his voters that Westminster – and the Labour Party – speak for them, and how finally building one road, first earmarked as…

“When somebody concentrates all power into their hands, then of course that person will be held responsible for their mistakes,” said one SPD politician, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters. In the past, Klingbeil could always blame the party’s failures on others — including Olaf Scholz’s unpopularity — said the parliamentarian. But now, the parliamentarian added, Klingbeil is “the one who has to deliver.” ‘On the edge of the cliff’ The son of a soldier and a retail clerk, Klingbeil grew up in the military town of Munster in northern Germany — home to one of…

Moscow also left it until the eleventh hour to provide any detail about who would be in its delegation. With Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov not included either, it was clear this would not be an empowered team. A further signal of that was the man chosen to lead the delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who served as an arch-patriotic culture minister from 2012 to 2020 and who oversaw the recent redrafting of official history school textbooks to advance the Kremlin’s dreary weaponization of historical memory.  All Putin was doing by sending a delegation was to offer the diplomatic bare minimum…

Friedrich Merz ist zehn Tage Kanzler – Zeit für eine Zwischenbilanz. Gemeinsam mit Veit Medick vom Stern analysiert Gordon Repinski: Was hat Merz rhetorisch gut gemacht, wo droht der Rückfall in Scholz’sche Ankündigungen? Außenpolitisch setzt er erste Akzente – vom Kiew-Telefonat mit Trump bis zum Schulterschluss mit Macron und Tusk. Doch ob die angekündigte Veränderung bis zum Sommer realistisch ist, bleibt fraglich. Auch die SPD steht vor entscheidenden Wochen: Bärbel Bas wächst zur Symbolfigur, Tim Klüssendorf muss sich als Generalsekretär beweisen – und Lars Klingbeil bekommt als Finanzminister die erste große Rechnung serviert. Intern ist die Kritik laut, der Parteitag…

The crown slips: How queen Ursula failed her transparency test – POLITICO Skip to main content

But more recent polls have shown the gap narrowing significantly as decision day gets closer. On Wednesday, a poll of 4,000 people by AtlasIntel put the two candidates level on 48 percent each. Crucially, AtlasIntel included a sample of the large Romanian diaspora population, among whom Simion is hugely popular.  Then, on Thursday, Dan took the lead in a poll for the first time, with 52 percent to Simion’s 48 percent. That survey, by independent research institute IRSOP, canvassed some 950 people.  Nicușor Dan, 55, has been the independent mayor of Romania’s capital, Bucharest, since 2020. | Robert Ghement/EFE via…