Tag • #europe

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Romania bans second far-right hopeful from presidential election re-run

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

Diana Șoșoacă’s exclusion follows expulsion of front-runner Călin Georgescu from race amid rising tension around poll

Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Șoșoacă, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May re-run of the poll.

Earlier in March, the electoral bureau barred Călin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40% before the re-run election.

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Keir Starmer: ‘Putin is dragging his feet over 30-day Ukraine ceasefire’

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

Prime minister tells a summit of 29 leaders that the Russian president cannot delay peace talks indefinitely

Keir Starmer accused Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet over agreeing to a ceasefire with Ukraine on Saturday as international pressure grew on the Russian president to enter talks.

The prime minister said there was a limit to the length of time Putin could prevaricate, after he convened a virtual summit with 29 other international leaders who agreed to take plans for a peacekeeping force to an “ operational phase”.

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The big question on Ukraine: is Trump ready to push Putin into peace?

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

Russian leader’s antagonism to Zelenskyy and lack of interest in a ceasefire leaves colossal task for US

David Lammy: Trump’s right, Putin can take the hard or easy way

On paper, everyone is in agreement: Donald Trump says he wants a ceasefire; Kyiv’s negotiating team has already agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal at marathon talks with the Americans in Jeddah; and Vladimir Putin says he accepts the idea , albeit with a few “nuances”.

But Putin’s so-called nuances are bigger than mere wrinkles, and at the end of an intense week of diplomacy around Russia’s war in Ukraine, a ceasefire – never mind a sustainable peace – still looks to be something of a distant prospect.

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Chris Riddell on ceasefire negotiations: Putin’s all for it as long as Russia’s bear isn’t muzzled – Cartoon

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

The Russian president has responded to a plan for a 30-day truce with Ukraine by issuing a set of tough conditions

• You can buy a copy of this cartoon

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Serbians stage huge protest in Belgrade against their president

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

Farmers and bikers join students in climax to movement that Aleksandar Vučić labels an ‘imported revolution’

A vast demonstration has been gathering in Belgrade, marking the climax of more than four months of student-led protests and the biggest challenge to President Aleksandar Vučić in the 11 years of his increasingly autocratic rule.

Vučić stoked tensions in the run-up to yesterday’s mass protest, suggesting there would be an attempt to overthrow him by force and calling it an “imported revolution” with the involvement of western intelligence agencies, but he provided no evidence for the claims. The demonstrations against government corruption and incompetence have so far been overwhelmingly peaceful.

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Trump’s right, Putin can take the hard or easy way on Ukraine. He has to prove he wants peace | David Lammy

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

The G7 meeting in Canada was a vital show of unity that put the ball firmly in Russia’s court. There’s not a shred of ambiguity about that

In diplomacy, focus is often on where we disagree. But Britain and our partners are stronger when we stand together. Last week’s G7 meeting made that clear .

We arrived in Canada with real momentum. Our Ukrainian and American friends deserve a lot of credit for the breakthrough at Jeddah – with British diplomacy, from the prime minister down, making a big difference behind the scenes.

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The honeymoon is over for Trump, whose every unwitting misstep brings chaos and strife | Simon Tisdall

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

After just a few weeks in the White House, the self-appointed peace-giver has stoked war, accelerated the nuclear arms race and alienated US allies

If Robert K Merton, the founding father of American sociology, were alive today, he’d be fascinated by the Donald Trump phenomenon. Scarcely more than 50 days into his second presidential term, hapless Trump provides daily proofs of Merton’s universal “law of unintended consequences”.

Rooted in ignorance, error, wilful blindness and self-defeating prediction, Trump’s rash actions produce contradictory, harmful and often opposite results to those he says he wants. The ensuing chaos characterises what may become the briefest honeymoon in White House history.

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Kant canned: Maltese singer rewrites Eurovision entry after C-word complaint

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

Miriana Conte retitles song and removes reference to kant after complaint about similarity to swearword

A Eurovision contestant has reworked her song after a word in the lyrics sounded like an English swearword.

Miriana Conte’s song was originally titled Kant, the Maltese word for singing.

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On this day of protest, Belgrade is a powder keg, but just as important is how the president reacts – now and tomorrow | Brent Sadler

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 15 March

Amid anger over dysfunctional politics and alleged corruption, Aleksandar Vučić faces a harsh spotlight, inside and outside Serbia

From the streets of Belgrade, the cracks in President Aleksandar Vučić’s near-decade-long authoritarian grip on power have become impossible to ignore. After more than four months of largely peaceful student-led protests, frustration with the regime appears to have reached breaking point.

The country is gearing up for a massive anti-government protest today, as thousands of students and citizens prepare to rally against the Serbian administration. Many residents describe the capital as feeling “under siege”, with the authorities implementing extreme measures that critics argue are designed to intimidate and prevent people from attending the demonstration.