He also announced that age verification will soon be imposed in France on sites selling knives online, similar to measures that currently apply to pornographic sites. “A 15-year-old will no longer be able to buy a knife online. That means we’re going to impose massive financial sanctions and bans,” he promised. Earlier, Prime Minister François … Read more
“We will have a presentation and first exchange of views among EU ambassadors (Coreper) still tonight,” said Ignacy Niemczycki, Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs, one of the top officials coordinating Warsaw’s six-month rotating presidency. “I am optimistic we can succeed.” Von der Leyen also said that a ban on imports of Russian crude … Read more
Nonetheless, Porter predicted: “I think what you’re going to get is a very untidy mix of recognizing changed circumstances while clinging on to the old world order.” What are the pinch points? The U.K. is heavily reliant on the U.S. for several key aspects of its defense network, including intelligence-sharing, the nuclear deterrent and F-35 … Read more
They argued that in some cases, the court “posed too many limitations on the states’ ability to decide whom to expel from their territories” and requested “a new and open minded conversation about the interpretation” of the court. Berset hit back at the group, saying in a statement that “upholding the independence and impartiality of … Read more
Desperate Dan While the opinion polls had started to tighten in the final week of the campaign, the 38-year-old Simion had been favored to win the run-off after winning the first round with 41 percent of the vote to Dan’s 21 percent. “After the first round, the people for our side felt a little bit … Read more
Trump’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff met with the families of Israeli hostages on Tuesday after having slammed Israel for prolonging the war the day before. Israeli negotiators head to Doha for peace talks on Wednesday, with Witkoff saying he’s optimistic that progress will be achieved, per local media. It’s not clear if Trump, who … Read more
Meanwhile, the main opposition party, the Democrats — who look to have secured around 52 seats in the parliament — blamed the outcome on what they called the Socialist Party’s entrenched grip on institutions and alleged efforts to sway voters. “If tens of thousands of people are employed in return for their vote … if the … Read more
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced Monday that it will disband and disarm, ending 40 years of conflict with Turkey. The announcement follows a February call by PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, for the group to hold a congress and formally dissolve. According to Öcalan, … Read more
The leaders from the four Kyiv allies had traveled to the Ukrainian capital together by train for a visit of more than nine hours with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The visit came shortly after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected calls for an extended ceasefire as long as the West doesn’t stop its military support for … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed readiness on Tuesday to engage in a direct dialogue with Ukraine, considering Zelenskyy’s proposal to halt strikes on civilian infrastructure. The FT reported Tuesday evening that Putin had offered to halt his country’s invasion of Ukraine along the current front lines, perhaps relinquishing its claims on some Ukrainian … Read more