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☆ Falling birth rates are freaking countries out and spawning dubious fixes like tax breaks, cheaper cars, and free surgery
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewAs fertility rates decline across much of the world, countries are exploring innovative strategies to encourage women to have more babies. Trent MacNamara, a Texas A&M professor whose work has focused on fertility rates, told BI that the impact of financial incentives on fertility rates was uncertain and might lead to only modest gains. Subsidized fertility treatments and vasectomy reversalsCohen said that other strategies to increase fertility rates included countries like Israel offering free or heavily subsidized in vitro fertilization. However, a 2020 essay by Tan said the Japanese example showed that reproductive technologies were not a panacea for low fertility rates. Japan has the world's highest percentage of babies born through IVF, yet it has one of the lowest fertility rates, she said.

Persons: —, Sarah Harper, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán, ATTILA KISBENEDEK, Trent MacNamara, Poh Lin Tan, Philip N, Cohen, Antonio Marquez lanza, Tan, MacNamara Organizations: Service, Business, Bloomberg, Local, gerontology, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, BBC, Associated Press, National University of Singapore, University of Maryland, American Economic Association, Getty Locations: Singapore, South Korea, Soviet, Russian, Hungarian, Hungary, Texas, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Japan, Korea

☆ Hungary agrees not to veto NATO's deepening support for Ukraine in exchange for nonparticipation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Hungary will neither block nor participate in the military alliance's deepening support for Ukraine, as he looks to shore up support ahead of a key summit in Washington next month. "At the summit, I expect allies will agree a leading role for NATO in coordinating and providing security assistance and training for Ukraine. I also expect allies will agree long-term financial pledge to provide military support," Stoltenberg said Wednesday at a press briefing in Budapest, where he carried out a surprise visit. In exchange for these concessions, Hungary has agreed not to veto NATO's deepening military aid in support of Ukraine. And he has confirmed that Hungary will meet all of its NATO commitments in full," Stoltenberg said Wednesday.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Viktor, Orban Organizations: NATO, Ukraine, Associated Locations: Hungary, Washington, Budapest, Ukraine

☆ Here’s what we learned from the European elections as a far-right surge upends national politics
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Far-right parties across the continent had strong showings, but their momentum did not cause the center ground of European politics to cave in – as many had predicted. Those gains did materialize; far-right groups were expected to secure a record number of seats in the European Parliament, dealing a major blow to the continent’s establishment leaders. Most of the far-right gains were concentrated in countries that elect large numbers of seats: France, Italy and Germany. Several other far-right parties are among the non-aligned (NI) group, predicted to secure 45 seats. The center holdsDespite a far-right surge, the centrist European People’s Party (EPP) was the biggest single winner on Sunday night.

Persons: –, Maximilian Krah, Ursula von der Leyen, ”, Von der Leyen, ” Von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le, ” Macron, Marion Maréchal, Jordan Bardella, Alexander De Croo, ” De Croo, Meloni, Tusk, Giorgia Meloni, Brothers, Benito Mussolini, von der Leyen, Donald Tusk’s, Viktor Orbán, Bas Organizations: CNN, Green, Nazi, European People’s Party, EPP, Progressive Alliance of Socialists, Commission, Ukraine, Marine, Assembly, French, Ministry, Italy’s, Italy, Law and Justice, PiS, European, Fidesz, Greens, Bas Eickhout, EFA, European Green Party, European Commission Locations: –, France, Europe, Italy, Germany, Brussels, France’s, “, Ukraine, Poland

CNN —European allies of former US President Donald Trump have rallied around him in support following his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The conviction – which has been heralded as a somber moment for America with wide-reaching implications – has been painted by Trump’s allies in Europe as political persecution, aimed at derailing his bid to return to White House. Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called Trump’s conviction “judicial harassment” in a post on X, while Hungarian President Viktor Orban urged him to “keep on fighting” for the presidency. Meanwhile, Russia suggested there was a political conspiracy at play, despite Trump being convicted by a jury. “This is visible to the whole world with the naked eye.”Other countries, sticking to protocol, declined to comment on Trump’s conviction.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump’s, Matteo Salvini, Viktor Orban, “, ”, Trump, Salvini, Orbán, ” “, Vladimir Putin’s, Dmitry Peskov, Rishi Sunak, Christian Wagner Organizations: CNN, White, Trump, America, British Locations: –, Europe, Manhattan, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, Italy, Russia

☆ The far-right is set to make huge gains in European election. It could define the next five years of European politics
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

EU politics has always relied on awkward alliances between countries and political ideologies that represent vastly different electorates. Francois Greuez/SIPA/APThe European Parliament is the place where this is most visible at an EU level. Most of the lawmakers (known as MEPs) belong to a political party in their own country. ECR and ID are typical of European Parliament parties in that they are home to a pretty broad group of conservatives. The European Parliament can often seem like looks like a boring, bureaucratic blob, tediously grinding its way through process.

Persons: Francois Greuez, Angela Merkel, Christoph Reichwein, David Cameron, Georgia Meloni, Viktor Orban, Orban, Ursula von der Leyen, Giorgia Meloni, Hungary's Viktor Orban, –, Geert Wilders Organizations: CNN, European Union, National Rally, European, European People’s Party, EPP, European Conservatives, Politico, British, Brexit, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia EU, EU, SS, Nazi, Dursun, ERC, European Commission, Kremlin Locations: United States, South Africa, Mexico, Taiwan, Ukraine, China, EU, France, Belgian, Brussels, Hungary, Russia, Italian, Anadolu, United Kingdom, Germany, Europe, Netherlands, Europe’s

Two weeks after being shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia was released from the hospital on Thursday and taken to his home in Bratislava, the capital. Miriam Lapunikova, the director of the hospital in central Slovakia where Mr. Fico underwent several rounds of surgery, told the TV3 television station that the prime minister’s condition had stabilized sufficiently for him to continue treatment at his residence. Mr. Fico, a combative populist who took office in October after eking out a narrow victory in a parliamentary election, has not spoken publicly since he was shot on May 15 in the Slovak town of Handlova during a meeting with supporters. His return to Bratislava suggested that he would resume control of a government that opponents have accused of eroding democracy and of putting Slovakia on the same authoritarian path taken by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary.

Persons: Robert Fico, Miriam Lapunikova, Fico, eking, Viktor Orban Organizations: TV3 Locations: Slovakia, Bratislava, Slovak, Handlova, Hungary

☆ Opinion: To those world leaders privately rooting for Biden — now is your chance
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Opinion Arick Wierson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And among those watching most closely are world leaders near and far. Of course, world leaders have generally stayed mum on the issue of which man they prefer – although I would wager that most favor the status quo over a return to the raucous years of Trump’s presidency. Some world leaders have already signaled their aversion to another Trump presidency. But for these foreign leaders, coming out against Trump is a move that is chock full of risks. The stakes in this election are too high for global leaders to stay mum.

Persons: Michael Bloomberg, Read, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden “, ”, Trump, Trump’s, “, Hank Sheinkopf, Biden, Javier Milei, Israel’s Netanyahu, Victor Orbán, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, it’s, Justin Trudeau, isn’t, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, octogenarian Biden, “ Trump, Sheinkopf, Don’t, Team Biden, — Organizations: New York, CNN, Trump, NATO, “, Biden, Canadian, Worker’s Party, Team Trump, Team Locations: United States, Latin America, Africa, America, Asia, China, Argentina, Hungary, Brazilian, Gaza, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Washington

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russian-occupied territory comes under attack; Hungary accused of blocking Ukraine support
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivers his speech at the occasion of Hungary's Revolution and Independence Day outside the Hungarian National Museum on March 15, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. EU foreign ministers are increasingly frustrated with Hungary's frequent opposition to measures by the bloc that are meant to provide aid to Ukraine and kick start EU accession talks for Kyiv. Lithuania's foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis accused Budapest of implementing a "systematic approach towards any efforts by the EU to have any meaningful role in foreign affairs." The Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian territory of Luhansk came under attack overnight, Russian officials said, causing a fire and drawing emergency services to the scene. A senior Russian diplomat said he suspected the attack was followed by a second shelling of the area by Ukrainian forces.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Gabrielius Landsbergis Organizations: Hungarian National Museum, Kyiv, EU, CNBC Locations: Budapest, Hungary, Ukraine, Luhansk, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Putin's favorite NATO member wants to 'redefine' membership so it doesn't have to help Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Hungary's prime minister said officials are working to "redefine" his country's NATO membership. The aim is to not have to "take part in NATO actions outside NATO territory," Viktor Orbán said. The change would likely allow Hungary to avoid being involved in future NATO assistance to Ukraine. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe NATO member most aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to alter its membership in the Western military alliance so that it can avoid aiding Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion.

Persons: Hungary's, Viktor Orbán, —, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine's Organizations: NATO, Service, Bloomberg, Business Locations: Hungary, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia cannot swallow the West whole, Orban says; G7 finance chiefs meet with Ukraine on agenda
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Governor of the Bank of Italy Fabio Panetta (L), Italy's Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti (R) and President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde pose on the sidelines of the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in Stresa on May 24, 2024. Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Sky News she saw the "possibility" that G7 nations could assist Ukraine with as much as $50 billion in loans linked to frozen Russian assets. "The Russian assets are not earning interest anymore, but they are generating returns for Euroclear. That alone could be given to Ukraine that would be repaid over several years by that flow of interest," Yellen added. It remains to be seen whether G7 nations can strike consensus on such a loan and what final sum will be extended to support Kyiv's military effort.

Persons: Bank of Italy Fabio Panetta, Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti, European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, Janet Yellen, Yellen Organizations: Bank of Italy, Italy's, Economy, Finance, European Central Bank, Ukraine, Treasury, Sky News, Euroclear Locations: Stresa, Italy, Ukraine

☆ Trump removes video referencing ‘unified Reich,’ but his Nazi allusions are long-standing
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Donald Trump dabbles in Nazi allusions too often for it to be a coincidence. But the term “Reich,” which means a kind of empire, is also synonymous with the later Third Reich of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Some of Trump’s rhetoric suggests an ignorance of history and his own self-obsession. Some of Trump’s rhetoric seems designed to get a rise from his opponents and the media. And as extreme as a second Trump term might be, the Nazi Germany comparison feels extreme.

Persons: Donald Trump dabbles, Reich, Adolf Hitler’s, Trump, Joe Biden, Hitler, Mein, hasn’t, Donald Trump’s, Donald J, Trump Trump, John Kelly, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Powers, ” Kelly, “, ’, ” Sciutto, Kelly, Steven Cheung, John Bolton, He’s, Biden, ”, Viktor Orbán, Vladimir Putin’s Organizations: CNN, GOP, Trump, Truth, White House, Nazi, Baby Boomers Locations: Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, Gestapo, United States, Charlottesville , Virginia, Boston, Nazi Germany, Hungarian, Russian, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Eastern Europe, Nazi, Normandy

☆ Opinion | The Authoritarians Have the Momentum
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The central struggle in the world right now is between liberalism and authoritarianism. In this contest, we liberals should be wiping the floor with those guys! Modi seems to be on the verge of re-election. Over the last two centuries liberalism has evolved into a system that respects human dignity and celebrates individual choice. As other moral systems, like religion, have withered in many people’s lives, liberalism itself has expanded to fill the hole in people’s souls.

Persons: Donald Trump, Viktor Orban, Narendra Modi, Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Trump, Modi, ” Alexandre Lefebvre, isn’t Locations: Iran, Russia

Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg and other European leaders are condemning the attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: "Shocked and appalled by the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family,” she said on X.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "The attack on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is appalling. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: "I learned with deep shock the news of the cowardly attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez: “Horrified and outraged at the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zuzana Caputova, Sergey Dolzhenko, NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg, Robert Fico, Jens Stoltenberg, Ursula von der, “, Fico, ”, state's, Zelensky, Viktor Orban, ” Orban, Giorgia, Pedro Sanchez, ” Sanchez Organizations: Slovak, NATO, European, Slovakia’s, Spanish, Slovak Prime Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungarian, Spain

☆ Who is Robert Fico, the Slovakian Prime Minister?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Fico, 59, has played a pivotal role in Slovakian politics in the years since it gained independence in 1993 and has served as prime minister longer than any other leader. The country gained independence amid the so-called Velvet Revolution, a series of popular and nonviolent protests against the Communist Party in what was at that time still Czechoslovakia. Mr. Fico, who had been a Communist Party member while it was in power, founded the Smer party in the late 1990s and began the first of his three terms as prime minister in 2006. The Smer party, which started out on the political left but has increasingly embraced right-wing views on immigration and cultural issues, has always governed as part of a coalition. Much of the international focus on Mr. Fico’s leadership in recent years has focused on his ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Slovakia’s southern neighbor.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, Vladimir Putin of, Viktor Orban of Hungary Organizations: Communist Party Locations: Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Vladimir Putin of Russia

☆ Robert Fico: Slovakia’s PM in life-threatening condition after being shot multiple times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition in hospital Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico attends a European Council summit in Brussels, on April 18, 2024. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images/FILEFico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family.”And Hungarian Prime Minister Orban added: “I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Persons: CNN —, Robert Fico, Fico, Zuzana Čaputová, “ I’m, Roberto Fico, ” Čaputová, upend, “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban, Kenzo Tribouillard, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Kuciak, Ursula von der Leyen, Orban Organizations: CNN, CNN — Slovakia’s, Facebook, Ukraine, NATO, Kremlin, Hungary’s, European Union, Slovakia's, Getty Locations: Handlova, Banska Bystrica, Bratislava, Slovak, Ukraine, Brussels, AFP, Hungarian

☆ Live Updates: Slovakia’s Prime Minister in ‘Life-Threatening’ Condition After Shooting
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Pavol Strba | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot and seriously wounded on Wednesday in what the government called an assassination attempt. A post on the prime minister’s official and verified Facebook page said that Mr. Fico was in “life-threatening condition” after sustaining “multiple” gunshot wounds. Local media reported that the attack unfolded in the central Slovak town of Handlova, where Mr. Fico, a veteran politician, had been meeting with supporters. Mr. Fico has aligned with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, in opposing aid to Ukraine and challenging mainstream opinions within the European Union. On Wednesday, Mr. Orban was quick to send well wishes to Mr. Fico, whom he called “my friend.”“We pray for his health and quick recovery,” Mr. Orban wrote on social media.

Persons: Robert Fico, Fico, “, Zuzana Caputova, ”, Caputova, Viktor Orban, Orban, Mr, Ursula von der Leyen Organizations: Local, Facebook, Reuters, European Union, European Commission Locations: Slovak, Handlova, Russia, Ukraine, United States

☆ China’s Xi Jinping highlights Europe’s divisions ahead of expected Putin visit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chinese state media played up the warm diplomacy, with headlines proclaiming China’s “ironclad” bond with Serbia and “golden friendship” with Hungary. Both are sure to closely watch any summit between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, expected to happen soon. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is welcomed at the airport in Belgrade on May 7 for his two-day state visit. Xi also marketed a shared worldview during his meeting with Orban in Hungary, which is a member of both the EU and NATO. Chinese leader Xi Jinping talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on May 9.

Persons: Xi, Peng Liyuan, Aleksandar Vucic, Viktor Orban, China’s, Vucic, Orban –, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der, Vladimir Putin, Orban, Hungary “, ’ ”, Philippe Le Corre, ”, Putin, Le Corre, Xi Jinping, Dimitrije Goll, Xi’s, Serbia’s Vucic, ” Vucic, Bruno Le Maire, BYD, Liu Dongshu, Vivien Cher Benko, Tamas Matura, Mark Rutte, Olaf Scholz, Matura, Von der, “ Orban, Gabor Scheiring Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Russia, Ukraine, China, Europe …, Asia Society, Center for, Forum, Anadolu, Getty, EU, NATO, ”, Xi, Hong Kong’s City University ., Hungarian, Central, Dutch, Georgetown University Locations: Hong Kong, France, Ukraine, China, Belgrade, Budapest, Paris, Serbian, Hungarian, Serbia, Hungary, Europe, Russia, Russian, ”, Europe … Hungary, Center for China, Beijing, United States, EU, Hong, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, Moscow, Qatar, “ Hungary

☆ Aiming for Rosier Ties, Xi Wraps Up Europe Visit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Andrew Higgins | Chris Buckley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, received a gift of fine cognac at the Élysée Palace in Paris and was cheered in Belgrade by Serbians waving Chinese flags, albeit most of them were bused-in government workers. And by the time he left Hungary on Friday at the end of a six-day European tour, the clouds over his country’s relations with the West looked much less dark, at least from China’s perspective. Mr. Xi told President Emmanuel Macron of France that relations would be “as vibrant and thriving as springtime.” At his next stop, he said the “tree of China-Serbia friendship will grow tall and sturdy.” In Hungary, Mr. Xi told Prime Minister Viktor Orban that their countries were poised to “embark on a golden voyage.”The Chinese state-run news media, never less than glowing about Mr. Xi, went to strenuous lengths to present his European meetings as a triumph.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi, Emmanuel Macron, Viktor Orban Locations: Paris, Belgrade, Hungary, France, China, Serbia

☆ In Budapest, Xi Hails a ‘Deep Friendship’ With Hungary
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Xi Jinping of China on Thursday found another safe zone in a continent increasingly wary of his country, meeting in Budapest with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, the European Union’s perennial odd-man-out as a vocal supporter of warm relations with both China and Russia. As happened at his previous stop in Serbia, Mr. Xi received a rapturous welcome and was spared from protesters, with his motorcade from the airport on Wednesday evening taking a roundabout route into the Hungarian capital, avoiding Tibetan protesters. Police banned a protest planned for Thursday in the center of Budapest and a large Tibetan flag that had been hoisted on a hill overlooking the venue of a welcome reception was covered with a Chinese one. In an article in Magyar Nemzet, which is controlled by Mr. Orban’s governing Fidesz party, Mr. Xi gushed about his “deep friendship” with Hungarian leaders and described Hungary as a trusted “traveling companion” on what he called a “golden voyage” that had taken relations to their “best period of history.” Hungary, he noted, was “the No. 1 target in the central Eastern European region for Chinese investment.”

Persons: Xi Jinping, Viktor Orban, Xi, Orban’s, Xi gushed, ” Organizations: Police, Fidesz, ” Locations: China, Budapest, Russia, Serbia, Magyar, Hungary, ” Hungary

☆ Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz shares the playbook he thinks Trump will use to stay in power if he wins a second term
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If former President Donald Trump wins a second term in the November election, expect him to try to stay in power beyond his allotted four years, says Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. Right now, a second Trump term is a real possibility. AdvertisementInstead, Trump is more likely to declare a state of emergency, Stiglitz said, in an attempt to delay or cancel elections. The executive branch has no power to move the date of elections, according to the National Constitution Center. AdvertisementChanging an election date via Congress would need the approval of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the two chambers would have to come up with a new election date, per the National Constitution Center.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joseph Stiglitz, Putin, Orbán, Bolsonaro, Stiglitz, Trump, Joe Biden, Brad Raffensperger, Mike Pence, I'm, Pence, Ronald Reagan Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, RealClearPolitics, Georgia, Capitol, Republican Senate, Congress, National Constitution Center, Senate, Representatives, Constitution Center, Congressional Research Service, CRS, :, Good Society Locations: Ohio

☆ Xi to Head for Friendly Ports in an Eastern Europe Disenchanted With China
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That vessel has since sunk, scuppered by China’s support for Russia in the war in Ukraine and bitter disappointment over projects that never materialized. Also capsized are many of the high hopes that took hold across Eastern and Central Europe for a bonanza of Chinese money. So when Mr. Xi returns to the region this week, after a visit to France, he will travel to Serbia and Hungary, two countries whose long-serving authoritarian leaders still offer a haven for China in increasingly turbulent political and economic waters. “The Czechs, the Poles and nearly everyone else are really pissed at China because of the war,” said Tamas Matura, a foreign relations scholar at Corvinus University of Budapest. “But in Hungary that is not a problem, at least not for the government” of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Mr. Matura said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Europe’s, Xi, ”, Tamas Matura, Viktor Orban, Matura Organizations: Corvinus University of Budapest Locations: Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Eastern, Central Europe, France, Serbia, Hungary, China, “

☆ China’s Xi is visiting Europe for the first time in five years – his goodwill tour will be an uphill struggle
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Major breakthroughs with China’s toughest critics will be hard to come by unless Xi is ready to make surprise concessions. And the trip could instead serve to underscore divisions – not only between Europe and China – but those within Europe that could play to China’s favor, analysts say. Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a garden in Guangdong during Macron's state visit to China last April. Putin has said he plans to visit China this month, according to Russian state media. Xi may also look to highlight Chinese investments in both Belgrade and Budapest in a message to the rest of Europe.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Andrea Bocelli, –, Xi, China –, ”, Noah Barkin, Hungary –, Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Von der Leyen, Olaf Scholz, Chong Ja Ian, “, Chong, Jacques Witt, China’s, Macron, Russia …, Wang Yiwei, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Aleksandar Vučić, Viktor Orban – Organizations: CNN, European Union, Ukraine, German Marshall Fund of, EU, “, National University of Singapore, Getty, Beijing’s Renmin University, NATO, Reuters, EV Locations: China, Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, “ China, Europe, Berlin, United States, Serbia, Hungary, Beijing, Paris, “ France, North America, Guangdong, Ukraine, Switzerland, Barkin, “, Belgrade, Budapest, Balkans, Balkan

☆ Georgia rocked by protests as government pushes Putin-style ‘foreign agent’ bill
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —After spending his days making wine in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, Tsotne Jafaridze returns home to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, and begins his new routine. Jafaridze, who also owns a travel business and says he receives 95% of his income from foreign sources, says he would “immediately” be listed as a foreign agent under the broadly-written law. But the government reintroduced the same bill in March and appears determined to force it through, despite protests that grow fiercer every week. Despite recent Russian aggression against Georgia, Georgian Dream has long been accused of harboring pro-Russian sympathies and its billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, made his fortune in the Soviet Union. Bidzina Ivanishvili addresses a rally in support of the "foreign agent" law in Tbilisi, April 29, 2024.

Persons: Jafaridze, ”, Vladimir Putin, “, Giorgi Arjevanidze, isn’t, ” Natalie Sabanadze, –, Levan Khabeishvili, Khabeishvili, Bidzina Ivanishvili, ” Buziashvili, Ivanishvili, Bidzina, Shakh, Sabanandze, Irakli Kobakhidze, Kobakhidze, ” Sabanadze, Viktor Orban, Europe’s, Matthew Miller, Washington, Georgia “, Irakli Gedenidze, Viktor Yanukovych, doesn’t Organizations: CNN, European Union, Getty, EU, United National Movement, National Security Council, Soviet Army, Soviet Union, Belarus ’, Party, Georgian, Conservative Political, United, State Department, Protesters, Reuters Locations: Caucasus, Tbilisi, Georgia’s, Russia, Georgian, Russian, Soviet, AFP, Brussels, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Hungary, Hungarian, United States, stoke, ”

The American right’s growing embrace of Orbán builds upon millions of dollars that his government has spent on lobbying in the US, and new connections between Hungarian and American conservative think tanks. “Make America great again, make Europe great again!” Orbán declared in English, before continuing in Hungarian: “Go Donald Trump! Conservatives from around the US, Europe and beyond traveled to Budapest for the two-day event, which was organized by a Hungarian government-funded think tank. Two American nonprofits that are actively planning policies for a second Trump term have shown an interest in Hungary and Orbán’s model. But some of the American conservatives who flew into the country for CPAC seemed more focused on the optics of Budapest than on democratic rights.

Persons: crackdowns, “, Viktor Orbán, Orbán, Donald Trump’s, ” Orbán, Donald Trump !, ” Trump, ”, Trump, Steve Bannon, President Trump, Gladden Pappin, Szilard Koszticsak, White, ” Pappin, “ saviors, Bannon, Kari Lake, Mark Meadows, Andy Harris, Zoltan Mathe, Paul Gosar, Christopher Rufo, István, Ron DeSantis, Trumpists, Kim Lane Scheppele, Orbán’s, Zsuzsanna Szelényi, ” Szelényi, Márton Gulyás, influencers strode, Joey Mannarino, ” Kyung Lah, Anna, Maja Rappard, Casey Tolan, Curt Devine Organizations: Hungary CNN —, Republican, Conservative, Trump, European Union, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, Conservative Political, “ Conservative, White House, ”, Republican Arizona, CNN, Department of Justice, Southern Poverty Law, Heritage Foundation, America, Policy Institute, Institute, Florida Gov, Princeton Locations: Budapest, Hungary, American, Europe, Lago, Dallas, America, Hungarian, Arizona, United States, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Florida, “ Hungary, marveled, New York, Washington

☆ Trump meets with foreign leaders looking to boost their relationships with GOP leader ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Alayna Treene | Steve Contorno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In recent weeks, Trump, seizing the role of both an erstwhile diplomat and ascending opposition party leader, has extended welcomes to a series of foreign leaders at his homes in Florida and New York. It’s not unusual for foreign leaders to meet with the leader of the party that doesn’t control the White House – especially one with a serious chance of becoming commander in chief. Biden and his top envoys have also met and spoken with opposition leaders, something that has been a longstanding practice for US officials. Last week, Trump met with Poland’s Duda at Trump Tower, where the two discussed NATO spending over dinner. Trump, both while president and during his 2024 campaign, has called on NATO countries to spend more on defense.

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