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☆ Kim Ki Nam: North Korean propaganda chief who served all three leaders dies
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Kim Ki Nam, one of the longest-serving North Korean officials who served all three generations of its leaders cementing their political legitimacy and heading the propaganda apparatus for the dynastic state, has died, official media said on Wednesday. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un visited the bier of Kim at 2 a.m. on Wednesday to pay tribute “with bitter grief over the loss of a veteran revolutionary who had remained boundlessly loyal” to the country until the very end, it said. Kim died on Tuesday at the age of 94, official KCNA news agency said. Kim exerted tremendous influence on policy and personnel and was a key architect of the ruling Workers’ Party’s political foundation, according to North Korea expert Michael Madden at the Stimson Center. He was particularly close to Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader who died in 2011, and was believed to be his “drinking buddy,” Madden said citing sources.

Persons: CNN — Kim Ki Nam, Kim Jong Un, Kim, ”, “, ” KCNA, Kim Dae, Kim Il, Michael Madden, Kim Jong, ” Madden Organizations: CNN, North Korean, North, South, Stimson Locations: North Korea, Pyongyang, Korea

But with Russian forces still inside the country and millions of Ukrainians displaced from their homes, fighting on the frontlines, or living overseas, there is no election in sight. Although Sunday is the day the constitution says Ukraine should be voting, it also does not allow it during wartime. He would have voted for Zelensky five years ago if he had had the chance and would vote for him now. Last August, President Zelensky was asked for his position in an interview on Ukrainian television and sounded sympathetic to holding a poll. As the United States Congress continues to dither over new military aid, elections in Ukraine became folded into the debate by some Republicans.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Viktor Yanukovych, Mykola Lyapin, Kateryna Bilokon, Yanukovych, ”, Jamie Oliver, ‘, ’, Oleksiy Koshel, Zelensky’s, Vivek Ramaswamy, Lindsey Graham, “, ” Zelenskiy, Valentyn Ogirenko, Graham, Ruslan Stefanchuk, ” Stefanchuk, disenfranchisement, Oleksandr Voitko, Valerii, Maria Kostenko, Victoria Butenko Organizations: CNN —, Republicans, Sunday, Putin, CNN, Zelensky, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Russia, United States Congress, Republican Party, South, 47th Brigade, “ Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv’s, Europe, United States, “, South Carolina, Kyiv, Russian, Avdiivka, Italy, Russia

☆ Attendees at Kansas G.O.P. Event Punch and Kick Mannequin Wearing a Biden Mask
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Anjali Huynh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kansas Republicans are coming under fire for holding a fund-raiser on Friday evening at which attendees physically assaulted an effigy resembling President Biden, according to video footage shared on social media over the weekend. A video of the event shows attendees hitting and kicking what appears to be a body opponent bag — a lifelike mannequin with a head and torso often used for self-defense training — with a mask resembling Mr. Biden’s face. The mannequin was dressed in a T-shirt that said “Let’s Go Brandon,” a phrase understood to be code for swearing at Mr. Biden. Attendees also appeared to hit karate breaking boards that had the same derogatory phrase. That footage, originally posted on the online video platform Rumble, according to The Star, has been taken down, but clips have been shared by accounts like “Republicans against Trump” on X.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s, Let’s Go Brandon, ” Organizations: Kansas Republicans, Republican Party, ’ Party, The Kansas City Star, The, Republicans, Trump ” Locations: Kansas, Overland, Kan, Johnson, The

☆ Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban lauds new phase with Sweden ahead of vote on its NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Jennifer Hauser | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his country had opened a new phase with Sweden during a joint press conference with Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson on Friday as Budapest prepares to ratify Stockholm’s long-delayed NATO bid. Orban, who said last week that the Hungarian Parliament would vote on ratification on Monday, met with Kristersson on Friday and announced at the press conference that Hungary had bought four fighter jets from Sweden. “Being members together in NATO we [will be] able to reconstruct the full trust towards each other,” Orban added later. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in 2022 and Finland joined NATO in April 2023 – doubling the alliance’s border with Russia. But Sweden’s bid was mired in challenges.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Ulf Kristersson, Orban, Kristersson, “, ” Orban, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Katalin Organizations: CNN, Swedish, Budapest, NATO, Russia, Gripen, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, European Union Locations: Hungarian, Sweden, Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Turkey

☆ Close US partners in the Middle East demand air defenses after Iranian drone attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US Congress has already asked DoD to develop a plan to equip the Peshmerga with air defenses. Iraqi Kurdistan expects the US to appreciate such stances and provide air defenses, given the high stakes for the autonomous region. Ceng Sagnic, chief of analysis of the geopolitical consultancy firm TAM-C Solutions, said “several considerations” are involved in supplying the Peshmerga air defenses. Turkey may not object to an American air defense provision to Iraqi Kurdistan under certain conditions. Advertisement“Using recent clashes as a reason to request additional US air defenses is likely to be viewed negatively in Ankara,” Ali Bakir, a Turkey expert and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program, told BI.

Persons: —, America’s, Masrour Barzani, ” Mohammed Salih, ” Salih, Ceng Sagnic, ” Sagnic, Mazlum Kobane, ” Ali Bakir Organizations: DoD, Service, Kurdistan’s, NBC News, Foreign Policy Research Institute, TAM, C, ISIS, ”, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Patriotic Union of, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, Reuters, US Locations: Kurdish, Syria, Turkey, Iraq’s Iran, United States, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Iran, Iraqi, Erbil, Jan, Washington, Iraq, American, Baghdad, Ankara, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Kurdistan

The Netherlands wants this cabinet and now Pieter Omtzigt is throwing in the towel while we were still in discussions until today. Since the election, Wilders’ Party for Freedom has since risen even further in polls, with some suggesting he could win 50 seats if new elections were held. “It is a total surprise to us that Pieter Omtzigt (NSC) has decided to leave the table and stop talking. The four parties that were involved in the talks hold a total of 88 seats — a comfortable majority in the lower house. Talks, however, have been tough, with Omtzigt voicing reservations from the outset about some of Wilders’ policies.

Persons: —, Geert Wilders, Pieter Omtzigt, Wilders, Omtzigt, ”, Ronald Plasterk, Plasterk, Mark Rutte, Caroline van der, “ I'm, Dilan Yeşilgöz, Zegerius, “, ” Van der Plas Organizations: New, Labor Party, Party, Freedom, NSC, People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, Farmer Citizen Locations: HAGUE, Netherlands

Here is a look at Sweden's complicated path toward NATO membership. Sweden has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years and long ruled out seeking NATO membership. But the Russian aggression caused a dramatic shift in both countries, with polls showing a surge in support for NATO membership. That leaves Hungary as the last hurdle for Sweden's NATO bid. Not surprisingly, Moscow reacted negatively to Sweden and Finland's decision to abandon nonalignment and seek NATO membership, and warned of unspecified countermeasures.

Persons: —, hasn’t, Nonalignment, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Viktor Orbán, Ulf Kristersson, ” Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO —, Nordic, NATO, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Kremlin, Swedish, ALLIANCE, Finns, RUSSIA, nonalignment Locations: NATO, Hungary, Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Baltic, U.S, Turkey, Turkish, Swedish, Kurdistan, Stockholm, Budapest, SWEDEN, St, Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Northern Europe

CNN —The Turkish parliament voted Tuesday to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid. Of the 346 members of parliament who voted, 287 were in favor of Sweden’s accession and 55 voted to reject it. However, on Tuesday, Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban said he had invited his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, to visit Hungary to negotiate the terms of Sweden’s accession. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year. Erdogan initially objected to Sweden’s membership bid, accusing Swedish officials of being too lenient on military groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Victor Orban, Ulf Kristersson, Erdogan, Ben Cardin Organizations: CNN, Turkish, NATO, Foreign Affairs Commission, Hungary’s, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Foreign Locations: Turkish, Hungary, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, United States

☆ Long a Bastion of Liberalism, the Netherlands Takes a Sharp Right Turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Netherlands, long regarded as one of Europe’s most socially liberal countries, woke up to a drastically changed political landscape on Thursday after a far-right party swept national elections in a result that has reverberated throughout Europe. Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom, which advocates banning the Quran, closing Islamic schools and entirely halting the acceptance of asylum seekers, won 37 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, making it by far the biggest party, in a clear rebuke of the country’s political establishment. The results, tabulated overnight after Wednesday’s voting, give Mr. Wilders enough support to try to form a governing coalition. Centrist and center-right parties long wary of the firebrand have left the door ajar to a possible partnership, giving Mr. Wilders a chance to become the Netherlands’ first far-right prime minister. While people across the political spectrum expressed surprise at the election outcome, and the Dutch reputation of liberalism persists, experts say that Mr. Wilders succeeded by tapping into a discontent with government that dates back at least two decades.

Persons: Geert Wilders, Wilders Organizations: Party for Freedom Locations: Netherlands, Europe

☆ Spain’s Pedro Sanchez secures new term, ending four-month deadlock
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters —Spain’s parliament voted to make Pedro Sanchez prime minister for another term on Thursday, ending a protracted deadlock after an inconclusive general election in July. Sanchez had 179 votes in favor and 171 against, with no abstentions. It also represents a remarkable turnaround for Sanchez, who six months ago felt compelled to call a snap election after his party performed poorly in regional elections. Pedro Sanchez (L) is congratulated by Partido Popular leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo after winning a parliamentary vote to elect Spain's next premier, at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid on November 16. Feijoo described Sanchez as being “subject to a monthly contract with separatists” to be able to govern.

Persons: Reuters —, Pedro Sanchez, Sanchez, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Olaf Scholz, ” Scholz, “, Ursula von der Leyen, Volodymyr Zelensky, Rodrigo Jimenez, Javier, Vox, Santiago Abascal, Feijoo, Esteban Gonzalez Pons, ” Sanchez, Spain's, Javier Soriano, ”, Miriam Nogueras, Nadia Calvino Organizations: Reuters, Spanish Socialist Workers ’ Party, PSOE, People’s Party, EU, Ukrainian, Spanish Socialist Worker's Party, Deputies, European People’s Party, EPP, Partido Popular, Socialists, European Investment Bank Locations: Spain, Catalonia, Spanish, Madrid, Socialist

CNN —Sweden inched a step closer to joining NATO on Monday after Turkey’s president sent accession protocols to parliament. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted both Sweden and Finland to seek NATO membership but the former’s entry had been stymied by Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sign off on the accession protocols comes after months of delays but it is unclear how long the process will take. Since applying for membership, Sweden has tightened its anti-terror legislation and agreed to work more closely with Turkey on its security concerns. The United States welcomed the news that Erdogan had signed and sent Sweden’s NATO accession protocols to the Turkish parliament on Monday.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s, Erdogan, Jens Stoltenberg, Matt Miller, ” Organizations: CNN, NATO, Turkish, Sweden’s, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, European Union, The United, ”, Hungary’s, Reuters Locations: Sweden, Russia’s, Ukraine, Finland, Turkey, Turkish, The United States, NATO, Hungary

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish warplanes have carried out airstrikes on sites believed to be used by U.S.-backed Kurdish militant groups in northern Syria after the U.S. military shot down an armed Turkish drone that came within 500 meters (yards) of American troops. Turkey has been carrying out strikes on Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria following a suicide attack outside the Interior Ministry building in the Turkish capital earlier this week. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the two assailants had arrived from Syria, where they had been trained. He said PKK and YPG positions in Iraq and Syria had now become legitimate targets. Political Cartoons View All 1202 ImagesIn Washington, the Pentagon said Thursday that the Turkish drone bombed targets near the U.S. troops in Syria, forcing them to go to bunkers for safety.

Persons: Tal, Hakan Fidan, Patrick Ryder, “, Lloyd Austin, CQ Brown Organizations: Turkish, U.S, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, PKK, Kurdish, Interior Ministry, Washington, Pentagon, Air Force, NATO, Joint Chiefs, Islamic Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, U.S, Syria, Turkish, YPG, Iraq, State, Syrian, Homs, Dabik, United States

CNN —Turkish airstrikes killed at least 11 people in multiple Kurdish-controlled locations in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish Internal Security Force said Thursday, the latest response from Ankara’s forces following a bomb attack in Turkey’s capital claimed by Kurdish militants. “Eleven people were martyred, including five civilians and six members of the Internal Security Forces,” Asayish said. Eight civilians and two members of the Kurdish security forces were wounded, it added. Later Sunday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said its warplanes had destroyed 20 PKK targets in northern Iraq in response to the attack. According to Ankara, the PKK trains separatist fighters and launches attacks against Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq and Syria, where a PKK-affiliated Kurdish group controls large swaths of territory.

Persons: ” Asayish, Hakan Fidan, Fidan, ” Fidan Organizations: CNN, Turkish, Kurdish Internal Security Force, Kurdish, Internal Security Forces, Turkey’s Defense Ministry, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, United Nations Charter, European Union, Ministry, Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkish Armed Forces, Group, Kurdistan Regional Government Locations: Syria, Kurdish, Turkey, Kurdistan, Ankara, United States, Turkey’s, Iraq, “, Turkish, Iran, Kordestan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Istanbul

☆ Drone attack on Syria military college leaves dozens of casualties
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Hamdi Alkhshali | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Drones laden with explosives hit a military college graduation ceremony in the western Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday, leading to dozens of casualties, Syria’s defense ministry said in a statement. The defense ministry blamed “terrorist organizations supported by well-known international parties.” No group has claimed responsibility yet. Located in the agricultural heartland of central Syria, the city had long been a transport and commercial hub of vital strategic importance. The road through Homs connects the capital, Damascus, in the south to Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, in the north. Turkey’s military has launched a series of airstrikes against Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq following a deadly bombing in the Turkish capital on Sunday.

Persons: ”, Bashar Al Assad, Asayish Organizations: CNN, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, European Union Locations: Syrian, Homs, Syria, Damascus, Syria’s, Aleppo, Turkish, Kurdish, Iraq, Ankara, Turkey, United States

Istanbul CNN —Turkey’s military carried out airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in northern Iraq on Sunday, just hours after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing in the capital in the latest attack of its nearly four-decade long insurgency. The ministry said in a statement that two attackers murdered a civilian and stole his vehicle ahead of the opening of parliament in Ankara. According to Ankara, the PKK trains separatist fighters and launches attacks against Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq and Syria, where a PKK-affiliated Kurdish group controls large swaths of territory. And in November last year, Ankara blamed the PKK for a bomb attack on a central pedestrian boulevard in Istanbul that killed six and injured dozens. In recent years, Turkey has carried out a steady stream of operations against the PKK domestically as well as cross-border operations into Syria.

Persons: Istanbul CNN —, ”, Ali Unal, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: Istanbul CNN, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Turkish Defense Ministry, United Nations Charter, European Union, Turkey’s, Ministry, Firat News Agency, Sunday, Group, Kurdistan Regional Government Locations: Istanbul, Iraq, Kurdistan, Metina, Gara, “, Turkey, United States, Ankara, Turkish, Iran, Kordestan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria, Kurdish

☆ Opinion | ‘A Perfect Storm for the Ambitious, Extreme Ideologue’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In this context, many partisan elites have political incentives to take, or at least refrain from pushing back on, relatively extreme partisan positions. Those I queried repeatedly cited the role of the two-party winner-take-all system in exacerbating polarization in this country. Iyengar cited two other “big differences between the U.S. and the other industrialized democracies”:The U.S. is the outlier, in the sense that we are the one case without a major public broadcaster. In other words, our democracy has always been contested and political polarization has often been intense. Foner shares the view that the two-party system fosters polarization, noting that “it may even be that the political system produces polarization, even though on many issues Americans may not be as divided as appears on the surface.”

Persons: ”, Malka, Shanto Iyengar, Iyengar, “, ” Eric Foner, —, Foner Organizations: Stanford, Coalition, U.S Locations: United States, Covid, U.S, ’, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Columbia

☆ This green armored train has carried the Kim family for decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In the background, women in dresses and traditional clothing can be seen cheering and waving the North Korean flag. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves before departing Pyongyang for Russia on September 11, 2023. Armored train of luxuryThe train has long been the subject of intrigue, carrying generations of the Kim family across the country and on rare overseas trips. The same train – green with yellow striping – was seen in footage from Russian state media when Kim Jong Il visited Russia in 2002. Information from inside the country slowed to a trickle, even more so in recent years under Kim Jong Un’s rule.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim, Vladimir Putin, Choe Sun Hui, Chol, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Konstantin Pulikovsky, Kim Jong Il’s, Pulikovsky, ” Pulikovsky, Xi Jinping, KCNA, KCNA Kim, Donald Trump, Putin Organizations: CNN, North, KCNA, Central Military Commission, Workers ’ Party, Reuters, Russian, Ministry, New York Times, Times, South, South Korean, Chosun Ilbo, Nuclear, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, North Korean, Yonhap Locations: North Korean, Russia, United States, Russia’s, Pyongyang, Korean, Switzerland, North Korea, Bordeaux, Burgundy, South, Korea, China, Beijing, Vietnam, Hanoi, Vladivostok, South Korean

It cited a “written drill order” issued by the military commission that stressed the “importance” of the North Korean exercise. A picture released by North Korea on September 3, 2023, shows what it says is a simulated "tactical nuclear attack" drill . “The nuclear force of [North Korea] will bolster its responsible combat counteraction posture in every way to deter war and preserve peace and stability,” it added. A picture released by North Korea on September 3, 2023, shows what it says is a simulated "tactical nuclear attack" drill . KCNA/ReutersThis week South Korea and the US began annual joint military drills aimed at improving their response to threats from Pyongyang.

Persons: ”, ” KCNA, KCNA, …, hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Sunday, Central Military Commission of, Workers ’ Party of Korea, North, Reuters, South, US, . South Locations: Korea, United States, South Korea, ‘ Republic, North Korea, China, Pyongyang, Seoul

☆ Ecudor crisis: How gang warfare jumped from Ecuador's prisons to the open street
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Frantic purchases of ammunition, the daylight assassination of a mayor, and a growing body count inside Ecuador’s prisons signal that the country’s roiling security crisis is going from bad to worse. Violence has been most pronounced on Ecuador’s Pacific coast as criminal groups battle to control and distribute narcotics, primarily cocaine. The country has also lost control of its prisons, which are often ruled by the criminal gangs. Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso speaks during a meeting in the Carondelet Palace in Quito on November 10, 2021. The crisis has also affected the security and justice system with allegations of corruption swirling around some in courts and police.

Persons: Agustin Intriago, Ariana Chancay, Agustin Intriago's, Dolores Ochoa, Guillermo Lasso, Vicente Gaibor del Pino, Coronel Mario Pazmiño, CRISTINA VEGA RHOR, Lasso, ” Lasso, ”, Fausto Salinas, Luisa Gonzalez, Otto Sonnenholzner, Yaku Perez Organizations: CNN, Manta, Security, Authorities, Reuters, Ecuadorian Army, Getty, Public Security Council, Ecuadorian Locations: Ecuador’s, Guayaquil, Manta, Ecuador, South America, North America, Europe, Peru, Colombia, America, Bolivia, Carondelet, Quito, AFP, Manabi

☆ Spain has rejected the far right. But who governs next is still unclear
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Madrid CNN —The smiles on Spain’s election night told part of the story. “Spain has contained inflation and now it has contained the ultra-nationalist Vox party,” Andres Villena, a professor at Madrid’s Complutense University, told CNN Monday. Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, delivering a speech at his party's headquarters on July 23, 2023. Our priority is Catalonia, not the governability of the Spanish state.”But for Sanchez and Feijóo, running Spain is the priority. Sanchez, the incumbent leader, starts this coalition-building process after helping to successfully halt the advance of the far right.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez, Yolanda Diaz, Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, Santiago Abascal, Sanchez, Vox, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, Marcos del Mazo, ” Andres Villena, Giorgia Meloni, –, King Felipe VI, Vincent West, Feijóo, Villena, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Alejandro Martinez Velez, Junts, Miriam Nogueras, … Sanchez, ”, ’, Spain’s Organizations: Madrid CNN, Socialist, Popular Party, Vox, Feijóo’s, Spanish Socialist Workers ’ Party, PSOE, Madrid’s Complutense University, CNN, Reuters, Socialists, Basque Nationalist Party, Spanish, Europa Press, Socialist Party Locations: Madrid, Spanish, Spain, Italy, Finland, Catalonia, Basque, Kyiv, Sunday's, Barcelona

☆ Spain vote stalemate requires winner to drop out
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - After Sunday’s election, neither the conservative People’s Party nor the governing Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party are likely to have enough support to rule. But he could shorten the pain by declining to form a government, paving the way for another poll in the autumn. The snap election called by left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in May failed to deliver either bloc the 176 parliamentary seats needed to govern. Since Sánchez is also unlikely to muster enough support, that would give Spaniards another chance to choose a leader in cooler conditions. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Pedro Sánchez, King Felipe VI’s, Mariano Rajoy, Francesco Guerrera, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, People’s Party, Spanish Socialist Workers ’ Party, El, Vox, PSOE, Spanish, Twitter, Thomson Locations: “ El Gobierno, el aire, El Pais

☆ Analysis: President Joe Biden just secured a big win from his Europe trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —President Joe Biden has already secured a powerful deliverable from his Europe trip – one that will weaken Russia’s strategic position in another detrimental consequence of its invasion of Ukraine. Once Sweden finally joins NATO, it will bolster Biden’s reputation as a US leader who reinvigorated and expanded the bloc. Biden had said before leaving the US that Ukraine was not ready to join. Erdogan’s move was also a severe blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “This really isn’t about Sweden, this is about the United States and Turkey and Turkey’s role,” she told Jake Tapper.

Persons: Joe Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finland –, Ukraine –, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Biden, Erdogan’s, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Erdogan –, –, Russia’s, Erdogan, Jens Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, Jake Sullivan, Ulf Kristersson, “, ” Sullivan, Chuck Schumer, ”, Stoltenberg, Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez, National Intelligence Beth Sanner, Jake Tapper, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, NATO, European Union, Kremlin, West, East, NATO “, Swedish, New, New York Democrat, America, EU, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Senate Foreign Relations, The New, The New Jersey Democrat, “, National Intelligence Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Lithuania, Sweden, Turkey, Finland, George H.W ., Germany, Russia, United States, Washington, Syria, Madrid, Vilnius, ”, New York, Ankara, Eurasia, Turkish, Stockholm, Greece, The, The New Jersey, “ Turkey, Mariupol

☆ NATO: Comments from Biden and Erdogan threaten to overshadow summit -- and help Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

On Monday morning, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that Sweden’s membership of NATO should be linked to Turkey’s membership of the European Union. And the Turkish president, officials are aware, is very good at using any leverage he has to extract things he wants from his Western allies. Erdogan, European officials have repeatedly said, knew that he had Brussels over a barrel as he could effectively “flood” Europe with refugees at will. It is therefore a headache, but not a huge shock, that Erdogan is using a key international summit to play his best hand. NATO, remarkably, has remained united for most of the war and has gone beyond what most expected was possible.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ” Erdogan, Erdogan, Zelensky, Ozan, Putin, Christine Olsson, Joe Biden’s, “, ”, –, Biden – Organizations: CNN, NATO, European Union, West, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Kremlin, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, TT, Agency, AFP, Getty Locations: Lithuanian, Vilnius, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Brussels, Ankara, Turkish, Syria, geopolitically, Europe, Kremlin

CNN —NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that Turkey has agreed to back Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance. Erdoğan has stood in the path of Sweden joining NATO for more than a year over a multitude of concerns. Turkey had resisted Sweden’s bid to join NATO for a long time, giving multiple reasons – including accusations that Swedish officials have been complicit in Islamophobic demonstrations, such as the burning of the Quran. More importantly, Turkey claims that Sweden allows members of recognized Kurdish terror groups to operate, most notably the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). But Erdoğan had faced pressure to step out of the way of Sweden’s NATO bid from his European and American allies.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Erdoğan, Erdogan, ” Stoltenberg, Sweden’s, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden, Biden “, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Kyriakos, ” Biden, It’s Organizations: CNN, NATO, European Union, Grand, Assembly, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Air Force, White, Biden Locations: Turkey, Vilnius, Lithuania, Sweden, Lithuanian, Greece, “ Turkey, Mitsotakis

☆ Far-Right Parties Are Rising to Power Around Europe. Is Spain Next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Jason Horowitz | More About Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last month, after Spain’s conservative and hard-right parties crushed the left in local elections, the winners in Elche, a small southeastern town known for an ancient sculpture and shoe exports, signed an agreement with consequences for the future of Spain — and the rest of Europe. The candidate from the conservative Popular Party had a chance to govern, but he needed the hard-right Vox party, which, in return for its support during council votes, received the deputy mayor position and a new administrative body to defend the traditional family. They inked their deal under the cross of the local church. “This coalition model could be a good model for the whole of Spain,” said Pablo Ruz Villanueva, Elche’s new mayor, referring to upcoming national elections on July 23, which most polls suggest will oust the liberal prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party. The new deputy mayor from Vox, Aurora Rodil Martínez, went further: “My party will do everything that’s necessary to make that happen.”If Ms. Rodil’s wish comes true, with Vox joining a coalition with more moderate conservatives, it would become the first right-wing party since the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to enter the national government.

Persons: Spain —, ”, Pablo Ruz Villanueva, Elche’s, Pedro Sánchez, Aurora Rodil Martínez, Rodil’s, Francisco Franco Organizations: Popular Party, Vox, Spanish Socialist Workers ’ Party, Aurora Locations: Elche, Europe, “, Spain

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