20 h. ago Little Simz on breakthroughs, betrayal and becoming one of the UK’s best

Critics’ favourite and curator of this month’s Meltdown festival, the British artist is flying high. But a nasty legal battle with her closest collaborator and a crisis of confidence left her close to calling it quits. Instead, she put it all on the new albumIt’s an unseasonably warm spring afternoon and sunlight is beaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of a north London photo studio. When I arrive, Little Simz is out on the balcony. Wearing chunky sunglasses, a skirt and comfy cardigan, she sits on a chair with her back to the sun, eyes on the horizon, and pulls her legs up, wrapping her arms around her knees in a defensive position that’s verging on foetal.It’s curious body language for an artist at the top of her game. At 31, Simz is looking out at a city she can justifiably claim to have conquered since emerging as a teenage rapper more than a decade ago. But that’s not where she’s at right now. “I genuinely felt like I could disappoint everyone,” Simz says when I ask abo...

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4 d. ago Rattled Polish PM Donald Tusk calls confidence vote on his pro

Donald Tusk announced the ballot on Tuesday when his political ally, the liberal Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, lost the weekend election to conservative Karol Nawrocki.

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5 d. ago Donald Tusk will call vote of confidence after Polish election setback

Prime minister seeks to shore up his fragile coalition and vows not to back downDonald Tusk says he will call a vote of confidence in his government to try to shore up support for his coalition after a bruising setback in Poland’s presidential election.In his first public comments since Sunday’s election result was declared, the prime minister sought to regain momentum as he promised to “get to work” and submit a number of draft laws. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Poland’s presidential election result is a morale boost for Maga forces in Europe | Catherine De Vries

Karol Nawrocki’s win is a blow for prime minister Donald Tusk – and it symbolises a larger battle over the political narrativePolish voters returned to the polls on Sunday for the decisive round of a presidential election whose outcome reverberates far beyond Poland’s borders. The race was a showdown between two candidates who represent the country’s stark political and ideological divide: Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the far-right opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), and Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal and strongly pro-European mayor of Warsaw representing the Civic Platform (PO) party of the prime minister, Donald Tusk. The razor-thin victory for Nawrocki, who secured just over 50% of the vote, is a domestic setback for Tusk, but it also threatens wide and gloomy repercussions within the EU and beyond.Tusk’s return to power as prime minister in 2023, after previously serving from 2007 to 2014, was widely seen as a bid to re-anchor Poland within the Europea...

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5 d. ago Orbán and Le Pen cheer Karol Nawrocki’s election as Polish president

Far-right leaders congratulate nationalist candidate as result deals blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU agendaEurope live – latest updatesFar-right leaders in Europe have welcomed the victory of the nationalist opposition candidate, Karol Nawrocki, in Poland’s presidential elections, a result that deals a huge blow to the centre-right prime minister Donald Tusk’s reform and pro-EU agenda.Nawrocki, a conservative historian and former amateur boxer, won Sunday’s election with 50.89% of the vote, final figures showed on Monday, ahead of his rival, Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal Warsaw mayor and an ally of Tusk, who secured 49.11%. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Poland presidential election 2025: rightwing candidate Karol Nawrocki wins as Rafał Trzaskowski concedes election – live

Nawrocki’s victory over Warsaw mayor Trzaskowski is a blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU Polish governmentNawrocki wins presidential election runoff in blow to TuskAnalysis: Nawrocki win threatens Poland’s standing in EuropePresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said she expects “very good cooperation” to continue between the EU and Poland under the presidency of newly elected Karol Nawrocki.In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she said:I’m confident that the EU will continue its very good cooperation with Poland. We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home.I congratulate Karol Nawrocki on his election as Polish President. I believe that under his leadership, Poland will continue to develop its democratic and pro-western orientation and that our countries will continue mutually beneficial cooperation. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Eurosceptic nationalist Karol Nawrocki elected Poland president in tight election

Karol Nawrocki’s victory deals blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU coalition government

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5 d. ago Eurosceptic nationalist Rafal Trzaskowski elected Poland president in tight election

Karol Nawrocki’s victory deals blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU coalition government

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5 d. ago Poland presidential election 2025: rightwing candidate Karol Nawrocki wins, official results show – live

Nawrocki’s victory over Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski is a blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU Polish governmentPoland: rightwing candidate Karol Nawrocki ahead in presidential election runoffPresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said she expects “very good cooperation” to continue between the EU and Poland under the presidency of newly elected Karol Nawrocki.In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she said:I’m confident that the EU will continue its very good cooperation with Poland. We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home.I congratulate Karol Nawrocki on his election as Polish President. I believe that under his leadership, Poland will continue to develop its democratic and pro-western orientation and that our countries will continue mutually beneficial cooperation. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Eurosceptic nationalist Nawrocki elected Poland president in tight election

Karol Nawrocki’s victory deals blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU coalition government

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6 d. ago Nationalist candidate takes narrow lead in Poland election, exit poll says

Karol Nawrocki inches towards victory over centre-right rival Rafał Trzaskowski backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk

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7 d. ago Polish presidential candidates neck and neck on eve of runoff vote

Polls show close-run contest after first round in which one rural municipality was decided by a single voterPoles will cast their votes on Sunday in the closest presidential runoff since the fall of communism, in an election that pits two different visions of the nation against each other. In Poland’s previous election in 2020, the conservative populist incumbent Andrzej Duda narrowly won the second-round vote against the pro-Europe mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, by 51% to 49%.This time it could be even closer. Polls show the difference between Trzaskowski and the nationalist rightwing historian Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS), which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023, to be within the margin of error. Continue reading...

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8 d. ago Presidential vote likely to determine Poland’s place on the EU stage

Close-run race between pro-EU and nationalist candidates pits liberal vision against a radical-right, EU-critical stancePoland’s presidential election runoff could have far-reaching implications for its place in Europe – either cementing the country’s hard-won seat at the EU’s top table, or heralding a return to altogether trickier times.The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, faces off against the historian Karol Nawrocki on Sunday in a neck-and-neck race, pitting a liberal vision of Poland at the heart of European policymaking against a nationalist, radical-right, EU-critical stance. Continue reading...

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9 d. ago EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Netflix stole my idea for erotic show, claims 'Queen of bling' Celia Sawyer

EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: 'I sent them a synopsis for a TV show called Kinky Rooms,' Sawyer, 58, tells me. Netflix said 'they were going to delete it'.

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1 week ago Member of UK Jewish body resigns over failure to call out Israel on Gaza

Daniel Grossman, one of 36 Board of Deputies members facing inquiry, says there is ‘huge shift’ among British JewsAn elected representative on the UK’s largest Jewish body has resigned, saying it had “failed to act morally and failed to represent the increasing diversity of opinion within the British Jewish community” amid growing horror at Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza.Daniel Grossman, one of 36 elected members of the Board of Deputies facing disciplinary proceedings over their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, told a meeting called by the board last weekend that he had “no confidence in the leadership”. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Mongolia PM expected to call vote of confidence in the face of protests

Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai is expected to call a vote of confidence this week after questions were raised over his family’s wealthThe political direction of mineral rich Mongolia is to be put to the test, with the country’s prime minister expected to call a vote of confidence in his premiership, amid claims that allegations swirling about his son’s lavish lifestyle are being exploited to push the country back to authoritarianism.Mongolia has been an outpost of parliamentary democracy since 1992, uneasily squeezed between superpowers Russia and China. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Polish presidential candidates hold rival rallies in Warsaw before runoff election

Candidates representing sharply divergent visions for nation’s future are neck-and-neck in pollsTens of thousands of people in Warsaw have taken part in duelling political marches, led by the two men vying for the Polish presidency in a 1 June runoff election, which is expected to be close and consequential. Many of those who joined Sunday’s marches had travelled from across Poland, a country of nearly 38 million people, not just to support a candidate but to rally behind sharply divergent visions for the nation’s future.At the head of one march was Rafał Trzaskowski, 53, the pro-EU mayor of Warsaw who supports abortion rights and LGBTQ+ inclusion. He is a close political ally of the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, who has led a centrist coalition government since late 2023. During a speech to a huge crowd, Trzaskowski laid out his vision for a Poland that is inclusive and vowed to work to help develop industry as the nation continues a economic transformation into a regional ec...

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2 w. ago EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Heartache for Queen superstar Roger Taylor as his daughter and her husband call it quits

'It's terribly sad,' one of their friends tells me. 'Despite her starry background, Rory is very down to earth. They are finding their split hard, particularly for their children.'

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2 w. ago Poland presidential debate puts Ukraine and Europe centre stage

Rafał Trzaskowski, from the governing pro-EU coalition, faces Eurosceptic populist rightwing historian Karol Nawrocki ahead of run-offPolish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge.During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, the centrist Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, from prime minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the populist rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS). Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Poland's Tusk says Russian hackers attacked party websites before election

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Russian hackers attacked the websites of parties in his ruling coalition just two days before a presidential election

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