новини

TBILISI — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Georgia on Monday after having congratulated the ruling party on its victory in an election which the opposition says was marred by voting violations.  Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream won Saturday’s election with nearly 54% of the vote, but opposition parties disputed the results and called for protests.  The election results are a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast the vote as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe.  Orban congratulated Georgian Dream party on their …

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Ukraine’s military said Monday that Russian forces attacked overnight with 100 aerial drones targeting areas across the country.  The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 66 of the drones, with most of the intercepts taking place over the Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi and Kyiv regions.  Ukrainian air defense also downed drones over Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil and Zhytomyr.  Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that Russian attacks hit residential buildings in the city of Kherson, killing at least two people.    In Kharkiv, officials reported strikes from Russian guided bombs and shelling, including attacks that damaged an …

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VILNIUS — The opposition Social Democrats claimed victory in Lithuania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, which was dominated by frustration with the cost of living and worries over potential threats from neighboring Russia. The left-leaning grouping has pledged to maintain the Baltic state’s hefty defense spending program, while criticizing the center-right coalition government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte over raising taxes to fund it. Official government data showed the center-left grouping leading with 52 seats in the 141-member assembly, after 99% of the vote was counted. The ruling Homeland Union Party was on track to take second place with 28 seats. The …

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STOCKHOLM — Seven European countries have changed their laws to increase employee ownership in startups to rival the U.S. in attracting talent and investment, while other countries are lagging, a report by venture capital firm Index Ventures found. While stock options were integral to Silicon Valley’s success, Europe has been hampered by bureaucracy and by taxing employees too early, among other restrictions. The European Union needs a coordinated industrial policy, rapid decisions and massive investment if it wants to keep pace with the U.S. and China economically, Mario Draghi said in a long awaited report last month. Over 500 startup CEOs …

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Ukrainian officials said Monday that Russian aerial attacks overnight killed at least one person in Kherson and injured several people in Kharkiv. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that Russian shelling hit residential buildings in the city of Kherson. In Kharkiv, officials reported strikes from Russian guided bombs and shelling, including attacks that damaged an apartment building and a house. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram there were at least 13 people injured in the attacks that hit three districts of the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported Monday it destroyed 21 Ukrainian drones that were used in overnight …

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TBILISI — Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called on Sunday for people to take to the streets to protest the results of Saturday’s disputed parliamentary election, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.  The Georgian Dream party clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the result and vote monitors reported significant violations.  Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally turned fierce critic of the ruling party, said she did not recognize the results and referred to the vote as a “Russian special operation.” She did not clarify whether she believed Russia had a direct …

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WARNGAU, Germany — Farmers and their horses walked in a festive parade through the small Bavarian town of Warngau on Sunday to honor their patron saint, St. Leonhard. Their manes neatly combed, the massive horses were decorated with ribbons and greenery as they pulled the adorned carriages to a local church as part of the procession some 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Munich. Farmers donned colorful regional costumes and hats decorated with tufts of animal hair called Gamsbart, or chamois beards, as townspeople joined in amid the pounding of hooves. After the procession, the revelry traditionally turned to toasts with …

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Kyiv, Ukraine — Russian forces thwarted an attempt at another cross-border incursion by Ukraine into southwestern Russia, a local official reported Sunday, months after Kyiv staged a bold assault on its nuclear-armed enemy that Moscow is still struggling to halt. An “armed group” sought Sunday to breach the border between Ukraine and Russia’s Bryansk region, its governor, Aleksandr Bogomaz, said but was beaten back. Bogomaz did not clarify whether Ukrainian soldiers carried out the alleged attack but claimed on Sunday evening that the situation was “stable and under control” by the Russian military. There was no immediate acknowledgement or response from …

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VILNIUS, Lithuania — The opposition Social Democrats took an early lead in the second round of Lithuania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, with voters focusing on concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighboring Russia.  Official government data showed the center-left grouping leading with 33 seats after 64% of the vote was counted on top of 20 secured in the first round, in the 141-member assembly, ahead of the ruling Homeland Union Party which led in six constituencies in addition to 18 first-round wins.  The Baltic country of 2.9 million people has a hybrid voting system in which half …

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