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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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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.

Persons: Donald Trump, hasn’t, Trump, Andrzej Duda, David Cameron, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Taro Aso, It’s, Sen, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Biden, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Antony Blinken, Keir Starmer, Joe Biden, “ They’re, he’s, “, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, ” Biden, ”, Kim Jong Un, ” Trump, Brian Hughes, Viktor Orban, Putin, Javier Milei, Orban, Viktor Orbán, Orbán, Aso, Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Lindsey Graham, Salman, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Poland’s Duda, Duda, meanwhile, Cameron, Karen Pierce, Cameron’s, Pierce didn’t, Queen Elizabeth II Organizations: CNN, Air Force, British, Saudi Crown, Middle East, Republican, UK Labour Party, US State Department, Biden, Trump, NATO, Conservative Political, Japanese, White, Liberal Democratic Party, Saudi, New York Times, South Carolina Republican, Hamas, The New York Times, Trump Tower, Republicans, Democrats, UK Locations: House, huddling, Florida, New York, Lago, Manhattan, Japan, China, North Korea, Berlin, United Kingdom, Israel, Poland, Belarus, Munich, Europe, America, Ukraine, Korean, United States, Palm, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, American, Russia, British, Washington

☆ Giorgia Meloni Is Leading the Far-Right Takeover of Europe - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( David Broder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Yet for all the apocalyptic anger, this wasn’t a call to quit the European Union. In this project, they have a model: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy. Ms. Meloni is already an inspiration to the European far right. For the European far right, poised for an advance, Ms. Meloni is leading the way. Since coming to power in October 2022, Ms. Meloni has impressed many with her pragmatic approach and abandonment of her previous criticism of the European Union.

Persons: “ There’s, Marion Maréchal, sulfurously, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, “ Orban, Viktor Orban’s Organizations: L.G.B.T.Q, European Union, NATO, Ukrainian, European Commission Locations: Europe, European Europe, “, Italy, Brussels, Hungary, Ukraine

☆ ‘Canceled’ for Protesting Cancel Culture, Europe’s Right-Wingers Rejoice
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“This is what we are up against. We are up against a new form of communism,” declared Nigel Farage of Britain. Mr. Farage, a former member of the European Parliament and a champion of national sovereignty, who helped drive his country’s exit from the European Union, was getting ready to speak when the authorities arrived. “This is like the old Soviet Union. No alternative view allowed,” he said.

Persons: Viktor Orban of Hungary, Emir Kir, ”, Nigel Farage, Farage Organizations: Tuesday, Socialist Party, National Conservatism Conference, European Union Locations: Brussels, Europe, Britain, Soviet Union

☆ Belgium to investigate Russian interference in EU elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Luke Mcgee | Eve Brennan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Belgium will investigate suspected Russian meddling in European Parliament elections after the country’s intelligence services confirmed “pro-Russian interference networks,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday. “The cash payments did not take place in Belgium, but the interference does,” De Croo added. The next elections to the European Parliament will take place from June 6-9, according to the European Council. Far-right and populist parties, some of whom are considered sympathetic to the Kremlin, are expected to make gains at the European Parliament elections. European support for Ukraine has become increasingly important as US support for Kyiv has faltered in recent months.

Persons: Alexander De Croo, De Croo, ”, Viktor Orban –, Vladimir Putin –, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN, ”, EU, European Council, Russian, Kyiv Locations: Belgium, Russian, Ukraine, Europe, Moscow, Belgian, Russia, EU, Viktor Orban – Hungarian

☆ Opinion: The world rushes to court Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. Now, they’re urgently working on two fronts: seeking to Trump-proof their foreign policy and defense, and hoping to minimize the potential negative impact of a Trump victory. Making matters more unusual – and far more unethical – Trump has effectively launched his own shadow foreign policy, actively undermining Biden’s – America’s – policy. Not only is the former president leveraging his control of the Republican Party to block US aid to Ukraine ‑ Trump is interfering in US foreign policy elsewhere. Interfering in US foreign policy is bad enough, but there’s also an unseemly financial angle.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Fumio Kishida, David Cameron, Donald Trump, –, It’s, they’re, Putin, Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, Viktor Orban, ”, Orban, “, ’, Joe Biden’s, – Trump, Biden’s, Ukraine ‑ Trump, Richard Grenell, Grenell, Grennell, there’s, Jared Kushner, Aleksandar Vucic, ingratiate, Japan’s, Shinzo Abe, Ivanka Trump, —, Biden Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Washington , D.C, British, Trump, Ukraine –, NATO, European, Trump Heritage Foundation, ”, EU, Europe –, Republican Party, Serbian Locations: Washington ,, Japan, United States, Mar, Europe, Russia, European Union, Ukraine, EU, ” Russia, “, East, Guatemala, Washington, Serbia, New York

☆ Hungary’s Orban, a long-time Trump ally, rocked by major scandals ahead of European elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives to attend a European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 21, 2024. Sameer Al-doumy | Afp | Getty ImagesHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has run into political trouble ahead of European parliamentary elections in June, with his ruling party shaken by two political scandals within six weeks. Orban is a long-time ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump and widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest supporter in the European Union. The right-wing leader has led the central European country since 2010, making him the EU's longest-serving head of state. Yet two major scandals have recently rocked his dominance of Budapest's political landscape at a sensitive time when Hungary is poised to hold both local and European elections in early June.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Sameer Al, Orban, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin's, Peter Magyar, Janos Kummer, Zsuzsanna Vegh, Vegh, Magyar, Judit Varga —, Katalin Novak, Novak, Varga, William Shakespeare Organizations: Hungary's, EU, Afp, Getty, Hungarian, European Union, Eurasia Group, Fidesz, German Marshall Fund of, CNBC, Facebook, YouTube, Reuters, Lawyer Locations: Brussels, doumy, Hungary, Budapest, United States, Hungarian

☆ Melania Trump’s role in the 2024 campaign remains up in the air
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Sunlen Serfaty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“She’ll definitely have a role, but in terms of what that is, I don’t know,” a source close to the Trump campaign said. They assume Melania Trump will have some role – yet it has not been set. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump were there. That absence has only been heightened by her husband, who has been promising she’ll be on the campaign trail soon. “She loves our country very much,” Donald Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker in an interview in September.

Persons: Melania Trump, Trump, “ She’ll, ”, Donald Trump, – hasn’t, she’s, it’s, ” Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, –, “, Megyn Kelly, She’s, Jack Nicklaus, Viktor Orban, Barron, Rosalynn Carter, “ Melania, ‘, Donald, Jill Biden, Joe Biden, ’ ” Stephanie Grisham, Melania, Hillary Clinton ‘, NBC’s Kristen Welker, she’ll Organizations: CNN, Republican National Convention, Republican, Hungarian, National Archives, Justice Department, White, “ Locations: Largo, Florida, Mar, Washington , DC, Iowa

☆ Bolsonaro Faces New Legal Jeopardy After Stay at Hungarian Embassy
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Jack Nicas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to explain why he spent two nights at the Hungarian Embassy, and the Brazilian federal police began investigating whether the February stay violated earlier court orders, police and court officials have said. The moves from the Supreme Court and federal police add to mounting legal jeopardy for Brazil’s former leader and followed a New York Times investigation published on Monday that showed Mr. Bolsonaro hid at the Hungarian Embassy in Brasília days after the authorities confiscated his passport because he was under criminal investigation. The Times report, based on three days of footage from the embassy’s security cameras, showed that the former president had appeared to be seeking political asylum from Hungary, whose prime minister is a fellow hard-right leader, Viktor Orban.

Persons: Jair Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro, Viktor Orban Organizations: Hungarian Embassy, Supreme, New York Times, Times Locations: Brazil’s, Hungarian, Hungary

On Feb. 8, Brazil’s federal police confiscated former President Jair Bolsonaro’s passport and arrested a pair of his former aides on accusations that they had plotted a coup after Mr. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 presidential election. Four days later, Mr. Bolsonaro was at the entrance to the Hungarian Embassy in Brazil, waiting to be let in, according to the embassy’s security-camera footage, which was obtained by The New York Times. The former president appeared to stay at the embassy for the next two days, the footage showed, accompanied by two security guards and waited on by the Hungarian ambassador and staff members. Mr. Bolsonaro, a target of various criminal investigations, cannot be arrested at a foreign embassy that welcomes him, because they are legally off-limits to domestic authorities. The stay at the embassy suggests that the former president was seeking to leverage his friendship with a fellow far-right leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, into an attempt to evade the Brazilian justice system as he faces criminal investigations at home.

Persons: Jair, Bolsonaro, Viktor Orban of Hungary Organizations: Hungarian Embassy, The New York Times Locations: Hungarian, Brazil

☆ Opinion: Trump gives Biden one big lift
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Former President Donald Trump’s favorability ratings are only slightly better. The bipartisan legislation to control the flow of migrants across the southern border was blown up by opposition from Trump. One thing that is going right for Biden is Trump himself. “I want to vote for Donald Trump in November, wrote Marc A. Thiessen in the Washington Post. … Just like office holders have released their tax returns (up until former President Donald Trump), I would like to see more candidates release their physical and mental health assessments,” Schurman observed.

Persons: Oscar, ” Ramy Youssef, hungers, Max McCandles, Godwin Baxter, “, Frankenstein, Willem Dafoe, McCandles, Baxter, who’s, ”, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump’s, Biden, Clay Jones, Trump, Ruth Ben, Ghiat, “ Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Adolf Hitler, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong, Saddam Hussein, —, — Donald Trump, ‘, ” Ben, Donald Trump, Marc A, Thiessen, Will, that’s, Dana M, Peterson, Erik Lundh, Will RFK, Mary ’, Aaron Rodgers, Julian Zelizer, Kamala Harris, Andrey Spektor, Hunter Biden, Andrea Hailey, We’re, Frederick D, Dennis Aftergut, Bill Bramhall, Hilary Krieger, Gary Schmidt, ” Bradley Schurman, …, Schurman, Robert Hur, Jack Ohman, Patrick T, Brown, Hur, Republicans “, Biden’s, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Willis, Fani Willis, Willis ’, Nathan Wade, Wade, Norman Eisen, Danya Perry, Joshua Kolb, Scott McAfee, Wade’s, ” “, ’ Biden, ” Jose Antonio Vargas, “ It’s, ” Dana Summers, Garry Pierre, Pierre, Ariel Henry, Henry, America sneezes, Frida Ghitis, TikTok, ” Ghitis, Catherine, Princess, Kate, George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, ” Rosa Prince, Louis ’, William, ’, ” Prince, Ekaterina Kotrikadze, Jonathan I, Fareed Zakaria, Carrie Sheffield, Noah Berlatsky, Kristen Stewart’s, queerness, Doug Heye, MAGA Trump, Dean Obeidallah, Katie Britt’s, Amy Hanauer, Naomi Walker, Robert Downey Jr, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Arturo Holmes, Jeff Yang, Jack Palance, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, they’d, ” Yang, Cord Jefferson, Lily Gladstone, “ Gladstone, she’s, Leonardo, DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Emma Stone’s, Bella, ” Stone Organizations: CNN, Trump, Hamas, GOP, Washington Post, Mar, Hungarian, ”, Conference Board, Will RFK Jr, White House, American Enterprise Institute, Biden, Union, Republicans, Twitter, Pew Research Center, Content Agency Haiti, Haitian Times, Haitian, America, Kensington Palace, AP, Reuters, Agency, North, Hollywood Locations: Gaza, Israel, Ohio, Washington, Ukraine, Afghanistan, America, Georgia, Fulton County, Fulton, he’s, Florida, Texas, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Maryland, China, Wales, Kensington, North America, La, American

Look no further than the close and historically complicated relationship that American presidents and congressional leaders have negotiated with Israel leaders over the last 75 years. Obama declined to invite Netanyahu to the White House during the visit, with White House officials saying that holding such a visit so close to Israel's election would be inappropriate. The standard Obama set for a White House visit wasn't one Bill Clinton subscribed to years earlier. The bigger the ally's economy, the less likely American leaders are to meddle openly in its elections. “There are moments when American leaders want to and need to speak out and have their say.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Mitch McConnell, Schumer, ”, Mike Johnson, Benny Gantz, Netanyahu, Schumer's, Netanyahu —, “, —, Aaron David Miller, Donald Trump, John Boehner, Boehner, Barack Obama's, Obama, wasn't, Bill Clinton, Clinton, Shimon Peres, Peres, Edward Frantz, meddle, ” Frantz, November's, Donald Tusk, Tusk, Andrzej Duda, Johnson, Biden, Viktor Orbán, Orbán, Trump, David Pressman, Jake Sullivan, ” Sullivan, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, ” Miller Organizations: WASHINGTON, — Republicans, Democratic, Republican, Israel, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, U.S, White, Israeli, University of Indianapolis, November's Biden, Trump, NATO, Polish, Biden, Republican House, Hungarian, White House Locations: Gaza, Israel, East, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, U.S, Hungarian, ” Hungary, Budapest, Sinai, Suez

☆ Orban Endangers Hungary’s Status as an Ally, U.S. Diplomat Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Prime Minister Viktor Orban is jeopardizing Hungary’s position as a trusted NATO ally, the U.S. ambassador to Budapest warned on Thursday, with “its close and expanding relationship with Russia,” and with “dangerously unhinged anti-American messaging” in state-controlled media. The ambassador, David Pressman, has for months criticized Mr. Orban for effectively siding with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russa over the war in Ukraine, but his latest remarks sharply ratcheted up tensions and indicated that trust in Hungary among NATO allies had collapsed. Hungary is “an ally that behaves unlike any other” and is “alone on the defining issue of European security of the last quarter century, Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Mr. Pressman said in a speech in Budapest marking the 25th anniversary of Hungary’s admission to the Western military alliance. “We will have to decide how best to protect our security interests, which, as allies, should be our collective security interests,” he added.

Persons: Viktor Orban, “, David Pressman, Mr, Orban, Vladimir V, Putin, Russa, ” Mr, Pressman Organizations: NATO Locations: NATO, U.S, Budapest, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary

☆ Opinion: Trump’s praise of dictators tells us all we need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Opinion Ruth Ben-Ghiat | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Adolf Hitler, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un, Saddam Hussein: What do they have in common? Some of it is no doubt Trump airing his fantasies of the kind of authority he could exert as president. He praises Hitler, Chinese leader Xi, Russian President Putin and others because of their absolute power, not in spite of it. Thus Xi, in Trump’s telling, is “strong like granite. But Americans are the most important audience for the stream of praise he directs to autocrats.

Persons: Ruth Ben, Ghiat, Strongmen, Mussolini, CNN — Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Adolf Hitler, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong, Saddam Hussein, —, — Donald Trump, “, Jim Sciutto, Trump, Hitler, Xi, Putin, ”, ” Trump, Hussein, Erdogan, Kim, autocrats Organizations: New York University, CNN, GOP, Trump, Turkish, White Locations: Russian, Trump’s, Ukraine, Russia, Hollywood, Iowa, Turkey, cybercrime, Germany

☆ Hungary's leader claims Trump told him he would cut off U.S. military aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Vaughn Hillyard | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a new interview that former President Donald Trump told him he would cut off U.S. military aid to Ukraine in an effort to end its conflict with Russia. NBC News reached out to the Trump campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment for over 24 hours. That is why the war will end, because it is obvious that Ukraine cannot stand on its own feet," Orbán said. As Hungary's leader, Orbán has largely been critical of providing aid, including weapons to Ukraine, and has resisted the expansion of NATO. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has been waiting for Congress to approve legislation to provide additional aid to Ukraine.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Donald Trump, Orbán, Trump, he's, Viktor Orban, Biden, Mike Johnson Organizations: NBC, Beach, NATO, European Union, House Republican Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Ukrainian, Lago

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