Europe

Asking because I've seen it mention a few times recently and haven't really followed the German news.

What is the general situation? Are the polls giving any party favorite? Is it a topic widely discussed around you?

The Italian prime minister is the latest among leaders who have visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago since his November election win. She is also close to billionaire Elon Musk, who will play a key role in Trump's second term.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/51751381

https://archive.is/dzVZw

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/83948

The top diplomats from Germany and France were in Syria on Friday to send what the German minister called a clear signal that Europe and Syria can have a “political new beginning" after Islamist insurgents ousted Bashar Assad. For more, FRANCE 24's international affairs commentator, Douglas Herbert.

Choice of Thilo Mischke, author of Around the World In 80 Women, for ARD’s flagship arts show criticised

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/51482713

Pelicot edged out Trump and Macron after she waived her anonymity in a highly publicised rape trial of her ex-husband and dozens of other men, insisting that "shame should change sides".

Paywall? https://archive.is/RJYIE

geteilt von: https://discuss.online/post/14874363

Russian servicemen are instructing their soldiers positioned closer to the frontline to shoot and torture the local population, according to an investigation by the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU).

EU Commission von der Leyen has fallen ill with 'severe pneumonia' and has cancelled all her appointments for the next two weeks, her office has announced.

On the eve of the inauguration gala for the Polish Presidency of the EU, Polish farmers descended on the capital Warsaw to protest against European policies affecting the farming sector.

Hungary has been officially denied some $1 billion dollars in European Union funding that the bloc had frozen because of corruption allegations.

The move, confirmed in an EU statement late on December 31, was the first time that it had taken such a step against a bloc member.

Budapest made no immediate statement about the expired funds.

That amount was part of a larger sum -- 19 billion euros ($19.7 billion) -- that had been frozen, dating back to 2022, when Brussels began "conditionality" proceedings against Hungary.

Those proceedings blocked the disbursements of funds because of allegations that the Hungarian government had violated rules on public procurement as well as a lack of control and transparency.

Budapest made a number of reforms that allowed some funds to be unblocked, but the deadline for the release of the latest installment expired on December 31.

That meant that Hungary lost the funding, which amounted to 1.04 billion euros ($1.08 billion).

In a report released in July, the European Commission said that Hungary did not meet EU democratic standards, specifically regarding political financing, conflicts of interest, and media independence.

(...) Plans for online Musk-Weidel meeting

The spokesman for the leader of the AfD, Alice Weidel, said concrete plans were underway for an online meeting between her and Musk.

That came after Musk himself suggested a meeting between the two via X's Spaces chat feature. "Wait until Alice and I do an X Spaces conversation. They will lose their minds," he posted. (...)

"Elon Musk is equipped with billions and unbridled communication power," Habeck wrote on X. "His call for the AfD is systematic: He wants to weaken Europe. Power must be limited: no business model must destroy our democracy. Europe must now use its power consistently."

Concerns are also growing in the UK as Musk takes an increasingly close interest in Britain's political scene, aligning himself with hard-right lawmaker Nigel Farage.

Musk has busied himself with taking aim at the UK's center-left Labour government, launching a series of blistering comments against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.