3 d. ago Defeated Romanian ultranationalist ‘will ask court to annul election’

George Simion claims presidential election rerun was subject to foreign interference, like last year’s annulled ballotThe defeated ultranationalist candidate in Romania’s presidential election rerun has said he will ask the country’s top court to annul the vote on the same grounds – foreign interference – that led to the original ballot being cancelled last year.George Simion, who was defeated in Sunday’s runoff by the liberal mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, said on Tuesday he would ask the constitutional court to void the ballot “for the same reasons they annulled the elections” last year. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago The Guardian view on Romania’s presidential election upset: a vote for stability and the west | Editorial

A stunning comeback victory for the centrist mayor of Bucharest was also good news for Kyiv. But elsewhere in Europe, the far right continues to flourishAs Romanians voted on Sunday in arguably the most consequential election in the country’s post-communist history, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, will have been preparing to welcome a fellow disruptor to the European stage. The first round of a controversially re-run presidential contest had been handsomely won by George Simion, a Eurosceptic ultranationalist who views Donald Trump as a “natural ally” and opposes military aid to Ukraine. On the back of a 20-point lead, Mr Simion, a 38-year-old former football ultra with a taste for violent rhetoric, was so confident of winning that he made a confrontational visit to Brussels in the last days of his campaign.Those expectations were confounded in remarkable fashion at the weekend. In a dramatic reversal of fortunes, Nicușor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, benefited ...

Politics

5 d. ago Original Sin: book on Biden’s health decline reopens Democratic party’s wounds

The book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson presents a scathing account of a president cocooned from reality – and fuels questions about his role in the partyGeorge Clooney “felt a knot form in his stomach” as a frail and diminished Joe Biden approached him, apparently failing to recognise one of the most famous actors in the world. “George Clooney,” an aide eventually clarified for the US president. “Oh, yeah!” Biden said. “Hi, George!”The excruciating encounter at a glitzy Los Angeles fundraiser last June is one of several damning anecdotes contained in Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, an upcoming book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Former President George W. Bush draws inspiration close to his Dallas home in his latest paintings

Former President George W

Politics

9 d. ago My husband and son suffered strokes, 30 years apart. Shockingly little had changed

I was told my husband would never talk again, while physiotherapy was dismissed entirely. My son was failed in similar ways, but for the brilliance of some medical staff who refuse to believe a stroke is the endOn the night before the accident, John and I and our son Jay, who was then 26, lingered in the garden drinking wine and enjoying the mid-summer scent of jasmine and lilies. We talked about the Manet exhibition we had just seen at the National Gallery. We probably talked about how the end of the cold war might affect the chances of Bill Clinton winning the presidential election against George HW Bush in November. I know what John thought about that. I only wish I could recall his words.The next morning, 30 July 1992, John got up before me as he always did. In the kitchen I found the contents of the dishwasher – knives, forks, spoons, plates, mugs – jumbled together on the table. This was odd because unloading the dishwasher was the one domestic ritual he willingly performed. I...

Events

1 week ago Inside Donald Trump's £300bn 'palace in sky' as president defends gift from Qatar

President Donald Trump plans to use the Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as his new presidential plane amid delays on Boeing's replacement of two aircraft that had been in service since the presidency of George W. Bush

Politics

2 w. ago US politics live updates: majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s higher education approach, poll finds

Fifty-six percent of Americans said they disapprove of Trump’s approach to higher education, while about four in 10 express approval in new AP pollThe quote Trump is referring to from George HW Bush comes from the former president’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on 18 August 1988.And my opponent won’t rule out raising taxes. But I will. And the Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push again. And I’ll say to them: Read my lips. No new taxes.But Bush’s mistake was that he made that anti-tax pledge in the first place and stuck to it in the first part of his presidency. His courageous 1990 reversal on fiscal policy set the stage for a decade of economic growth that eventually achieved budget surpluses.The budget deal that Bush reached with congressional Democrats in 1990 may indeed have contributed to his failure to win re-election in 1992. There is no question that the timing was terrible. The m...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump feels tug of political gravity as economy falters and polls plunge

The president started his second term fast and furious with a flurry of activity – much of it legally dubious – but analysts say the honeymoon is over“Not just courageous” but “actually fearless” said Doug Burgum. The “first 100 days has far exceeded that of any other presidency in this country ever,” said Pam Bondi. “Most” of the presidents whose portraits adorn the Oval Office – which include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan – were mere “placeholders” who were not “men of action”, mused JD Vance.Before the TV cameras on Wednesday, top cabinet officials took turns drenching Donald Trump with praise that some critics found evocative of politics in North Korea. Yet beyond the walls of the White House, the mood was shifting. New data showed the economy is shrinking. The national security adviser was about to be ousted. Opinion polls told of a president whose unpopularity is historic. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago It is safe for me to write this article – and for you to read it. But globally, those rights are under grave threat | Antonio Zappulla

The act of labelling journalists ‘foreign agents’ is deliberately chilling. On World Press Freedom Day, be aware of the peril involved in seeking the truthLast month, Georgian president Mikheil Kavelashvili approved a new law inflicting criminal charges, including prison sentences and fines, on any organisation or individual who fails to comply with the country’s “foreign influence” bill.The news didn’t trouble the front pages of the international press and went largely unnoticed, but it marks a significant inflection point in the decline of global press freedom. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump orders funding cut for public broadcasters NPR and PBS in fresh attack on media – US politics live

President accuses radio and TV channel of bias and pulls taxpayer fundingFormer national security adviser John Bolton has called on defense secretary Pete Hegseth to step down, citing concerns for his personal safety.Speaking on CNN, Bolton – who also served as US ambassador to the United Nations under President George W Bush – was asked whether Hegseth should remain in his position. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Prince of Wales joins King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle reception for Victoria and George Cross recipients

Prince William, 42, is the President of the Victoria and George Cross Association that  represents all living holders of the UK's Victoria Cross and George Cross medals.

Politics