After attending school in Finland and later the U.S., Belgium and the U.K., Stubb entered politics in 2004 as a member of the European Parliament. He hit the Finnish big time in 2008 when — to his own surprise — he was named foreign minister. Praised by allies for his high-energy approach to politics, he was …
Demands and priorities Britain is providing the executive an extra £3.3 billion to start patching holes in services and pay long-delayed wage hikes that just triggered the biggest public sector strike in Northern Ireland’s history. The trouble is, the head of Northern Ireland’s civil service, Jayne Brady, has already told the new leaders that these eye-watering sums are still …
TAIPEI — On December 21, Taiwan’s authorities arrested an online journalist called Lin Hsien-yuan, working for a fringe outlet called Fingermedia over a poll that — for the first time — showed the Beijing-friendly candidate on track to win the presidential election on January 13. Taiwanese prosecutors zeroed in on the suspect polls under the …
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. BRUSSELS — Western leaders are grappling with how to handle two era-defining wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine. But there’s another issue, one far closer to home, that’s derailing governments in Europe and America: migration. In recent days, U.S. President Joe Biden, …
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — With one shock hire and one brutal sacking, Rishi Sunak has re-established his Conservative credentials. Just not the type many in his party wanted to see. On one level, the British prime minister’s dramatic Cabinet reshuffle — executed Monday after a weekend …
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. SARCELLES, France — In the usually lively “Little Jerusalem” neighborhood of Sarcelles, the only people loitering are gun-toting French soldiers on patrol. Since Hamas’ deadly assault against Israel on October 7, this largely Jewish enclave in the northern suburbs of Paris has gone eerily …
Israel expanded its military operations in Gaza in the “second stage” of what will be a “long and difficult” war with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Saturday. The stepped-up offensive includes heavy bombardments that cut off communications and internet connections in the Gaza Strip, as military officials suggested an anticipated ground assault …
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the war Russian President Vladimir Putin is waging on Ukraine won’t be over any time soon. “Most wars last longer than expected when they first begin,” Stoltenberg in an interview with Germany’s Funke media group published Sunday. “Therefore we must prepare ourselves for a long war in Ukraine.” “We …
Western blockbuster movies fly in the face of Russian values and aren’t worth showing in the country’s cinemas, Moscow’s Ministry of Culture has insisted, amid calls for the government to allow bootleg screenings in spite of a Hollywood embargo. The vice-speaker of Russia’s parliament, Vladislav Davankov, wrote to officials asking them to launch a pilot …
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. WREXHAM, Wales — Sitting in the Royal Oak, a narrow but implausibly long pub in Wrexham’s town center, Gary Tipping is reflecting on the rollercoaster fortunes of his favorite football team. Wrexham Association Football Club (A.F.C.) — a lower-league team barely recognizable since it …