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Israeli elections: Arab surge leaves Netanyahu without a path to power

Based on the exit polls, Binyamin Netanyahu has no clear path to forming Israel’s next government. His bloc of right-wing and religious parties was projected to win only 50 seats in the 120-seat Knesset parliament.This represents a significant vote of no confidence from the Israeli public in the first election since the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7th, 2023. The outgoing Netanyahu bloc had 64 Knesset members.“The initial exit poll results indicate complete lack of trust in Netanyahu and the October 7th government by the Zionist majority and most Israeli citizens,” said Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main challenger. “If these are the final results, this is a victory for the Zionist-statist majority in Israel. I will act immediately to implement the will of the people, to replace Netanyahu’s government and establish a Zionist mobilisation government as soon as possible.”However, the anti-Netanyahu or change bloc was projected to win only…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 9 horas

The question gripping Brazil: Has Trump ally Flávio Bolsonaro fled to the US?

In the end, not even Brazil’s far right had the stomach to contest another election outcome. In the immediate aftermath of his defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, senator Flávio Bolsonaro said he would call for the results to be annulled. His argument centred on the two-hour extension to voting granted by the supreme court judge who previously served as Lula’s personal lawyer. The judge was responding to a demand by Lula’s Workers Party, which accused bolsonarista-controlled municipalities of restricting bus services in an effort to suppress its vote.The problem for Flávio was that his campaign had asked for its own extension because of heavy rain. Also, Brazil’s fully automated voting system, which is able to compute more than 128 million votes across a territory larger than the continental United States in just over two hours, is able to track when these are cast. So we…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 11 horas

‘We understand their decision’: Eurovision reacts to Netherlands pulling out of 2027 contest

The Eurovision Song Contest has said it is “deeply sorry” after the Netherlands withdrew from next year’s competition.The country’s public broadcaster NPO issued a statement saying it had taken a “step back” from Eurovision “due to the sensitivities surrounding the themes currently at play”.The Netherlands was one of five countries to boycott this year’s competition due to Israel’s participation.The NPO announced last month that the country would return for the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest.However, the national broadcaster has now confirmed it will not participate next year after discussions about its involvement failed to secure sufficient support.In a statement issued to the BBC, Jet de Ranitz, the chairwoman of the NPO, said: “In those discussions, we initially felt there was sufficient support to return.“Unfortunately, we were unable to find a suitable format for this. As a result, we must conclude that it is currently too early to participate in the Eurovision…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 14 horas

Irish man denied entry to Israel believes Irish passport viewed as ‘red flag’ at border

A European Parliament employee who was among three Irish citizens refused entry to Israel this weekend has said he believes authorities are “profiling” Irish nationals.Manus Carlisle, who works as a press officer for the parliament’s Left group, flew from Brussels to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv with the aim of taking part in an olive harvest with Palestinians in the West Bank with his Dutch partner.He said they were stopped for questioning at the border controls. “It was clear that we had some red flags on our profile, me and my partner, and one of them it looks like was the Irish passport,” Carlisle said.Carlisle said the border guards told him that “whenever they see Ireland, they see it as like an anti-Israel country”. “It was implied throughout the entire conversation that they knew exactly why we were coming. They mentioned that, you know, a lot of westerners are…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 18 horas

Could a Melania Trump-brokered truce for Oleshky help end the Russia-Ukraine war?

Kyiv and Moscow say their militaries began observing a US-backed ceasefire on Tuesday morning in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southeastern Ukraine. Under an agreement brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, the truce is supposed to lead to aid reaching Oleshky and residents being evacuated from Thursday. What is the background to the Oleshky crisis?The town on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river was occupied by Russian forces at the start of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.It sits across the water from Kherson city, the Kyiv-held capital of the region of the same name. When Ukrainian forces liberated the western part of Kherson region in autumn 2022, the river became the front line. About 24,000 people lived in Oleshky before the war, but less than 2,000 – including a few dozen children – are thought to be there now.There is no power, running water…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 18 horas

Más noticias

Trump says Brazil election looked ‘rigged’ as Bolsonaro’s party recognises Lula win

US president Donald Trump said on Monday that leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s surprise win in Brazil’s presidential vote “looked like another rigged election,” although the party of defeated right-winger Flavio Bolsonaro later acknowledged the result.The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat in Sunday’s presidential election, saying he would seek the annulment of Lula’s victory after the supreme court extended voting by two hours.Later on Monday, however, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party said it acknowledged the runoff result in a statement signed by the party’s head Valdemar Costa Neto.“We recognise the presidential election results,” Costa Neto said. “But we believe the issues raised need to be properly clarified.”Bolsonaro, who has not commented publicly since his party’s statement, said earlier on Monday he would comply with a federal police order to hand over ⁠his passports following a visit to his father, who is under…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 21 horas

Polestar’s more conventional 4 SUV is its most satisfying car yet

I’ve never been able to quite work out if it’s an insult to say that Polestar always makes me think of Saab. The dearly departed Saab was, of course, also a Swedish-based carmaker with foreign ownership (Saab by America’s General Motors; Polestar by China’s Geely) and it made quirky, interesting, often deliberately unusual cars seemingly aimed at a more intellectual sort of buyer. Ditto Polestar, although of course it may well be insulting to suggest that one is like the other, considering that Polestar was born from Volvo (originally it was Volvo’s in-house racing team and high-performance brand), which was Saab’s erstwhile local rival. Perhaps we shouldn’t be trying to rekindle the old Gothenburg versus Trollhatten rivalries. Still, though. Look at the current Polestar line-up. A compact saloon with, partially, the raised ride height of a crossover. A large SUV whose roof is lower and sleeker than that of some…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 22 horas

Israel goes to the polls with Netanyahu’s political survival on the line

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu faces a fight for political survival in Israel’s election on ‌Tuesday as voters go to the polls. People are weighing his leadership after the 2023 Hamas-led attacks, wars in Gaza and with Iran, and Israel’s deepening international isolation.Yet Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader with 19 years in office, remains a formidable survivor, with nationalist politics increasingly entrenched and Israel’s fragmented system potentially leaving him best placed to form a government.Opinion polls show a close race between Netanyahu’s Likud party and its right-wing allies and a rival alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and security hawk with backers on the right and in the centre.Voters began casting ballots after polling stations opened at 7am local time. The polls close at 10pm.Netanyahu has campaigned on his wartime leadership and his alliance with US president Donald Trump, who has endorsed him and joined Israel…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 23 horas

Some Gulf states are talking to Iran about a new regional security plan

As the drums of war get louder in Washington and Tel Aviv, the Saudis and their allies have been in Tehran. It could be a sign of things to come.Themselves aloneWhen defence and security chiefs from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey visited Tehran on Monday, it was as partners in the Mecca Pact, a tripartite mutual defence agreement they signed in August. The host was Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei and the other participants were Pakistan’s military leader Asim Munir, Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Saudi defence minister Khalid bin Salman. They discussed peace and security in the region, including the United States’ war on Iran, the Saudis’ conflict with the Houthis in Yemen and Israel’s war in Lebanon. The multilateral format offered the Saudis cover for asking the Iranians to intercede with the Houthis to stop attacking infrastructure in the kingdom, including Riyadh airport.The visitors expressed support for…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 23 horas

Ex-FBI chief James Comey faces third prosecution attempt by Trump justice department

The US ‌justice department is attempting to prosecute former FBI director James Comey for a third time.The latest ‌case accuses him of sharing sensitive national security information in 2016, according to court documents made public on Monday.The case was revealed in a court document known as a ‘criminal information’ that the justice department said it filed to stop the 10-year statute of limitations on the alleged offence from expiring earlier this month.The document filed in Washington federal court charges Comey with transmitting and conspiring to transmit national defence information. ⁠It alleges he shared classified information with a reporter from the New York ‌Times ‌in October 2016.Comey said in a video on Instagram that “they’re back again” and referenced the justice department, but did not provide further ⁠details. “I’m still innocent,” he added. Comey’s lawyers have already asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing it is legally improper.“I think he’s…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 23 horas

Oil slips 1% as Iran diplomacy eases supply fears

Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday, falling about 1 per cent as prospects for a resolution of the US-Israeli war on Iran kept supply fears at bay with talks in Tehran, despite renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.Brent crude futures were down $1, or 0.86 per cent, at $114.81 a barrel by 0418 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 88 cents, or 0.86 per cent, at $100.88. Both fell 1 per cent early in the session.Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held talks ⁠with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday aimed at easing tension in the Middle East.The four ‌countries ‌agreed to continue talks with a view to strengthening cooperation in peace and security, Iranian state media said.“Crude oil prices are witnessing profit-taking after surging to ⁠multi-month highs, as renewed diplomatic efforts in West Asia have raised hopes of a potential breakthrough in negotiations between the US and…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 23 horas

Binyamin Netanyahu posts AI image of nuclear explosion in advance of Israeli elections

Just two days before Tuesday’s election, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader who turned 77 a few days ago, posted an AI-generated image depicting a nuclear explosion in Tel Aviv, warning the public that voting for anyone other than him could expose the country to the danger of a “second Holocaust”.In a separate interview on the same day, he warned that US aid to Israel wouldn’t continue for long, and due to an expected surge in international sanctions his country would be forced to trade using cryptocurrency, following the example of the world’s worst dictatorships.His doomsday scenarios painted a picture of a panic-stricken leader finding it difficult to come to terms with the polls that show his coalition of right-wing and religious parties will fall significantly short of the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.In fact, the polls have shown very little change at all during the election…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 24 horas

The Mary cake was the queen of all confections

Sir, – I strongly refute Frank McNally’s outrageous suggestion that Bewley’s Mary cake was “never perhaps as famous as the sticky bun or almond roll” (“Sweet and sour: Frank McNally on how Russian brutality brought the Mary cake to Ireland”, An Irish Diary, October 23rd).Admittedly, those were also fine confections, as was Bewley’s legendary brack – at the time, so full of fruit it could have been one of your “five a day”. But the queen of all Bewley confections was the Mary cake with chocolate fondant, topped with marzipan and surrounded by chocolate. It may have been a monument to cholesterol, but it was also an unforgettable childhood treat. – Yours, etc,GEOFF SCARGILL,Bray,Co Wicklow.

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 1 día

Victorian villa backing on to beautiful Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin

The owner of 2 Botanic Villas, in Glasnevin, Dublin 9, couldn’t believe how quiet it was when he moved from a busier road along Clontarf’s coast to this Victorian home that backs on to the Botanic Gardens. The redbrick terrace joins three others in a row tucked away off Botanic Road, and like those on neighbouring streets, is lucky to be a stone’s throw from the 20-hectare park. Since buying the home in 2014, the owner has tried to make the most of living so close to a Dublin gem by taking a stroll through the gardens as often as he can. Now that he has decided to move to a house with a bigger garden, where his grandchildren can have more space to play and where, as a keen musician, he can add a recording studio, he says he will miss the great location, as well as his neighbours…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 1 día

The Irish Times view on the Brazilian election: a dramatic win for Lula

The dramatic and unexpected re-election of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva to a record fourth term is a remarkable personal achievement for the outstanding South American political figure of his generation. Importantly, it will reverberate across the world, a demonstration that the line can be held against the wave of Trump-cloned autocrats who threaten western democracies.Lula ended an18-month string of seven consecutive victories for right-wing candidates across Latin America and his win complicates plans by US president Donald Trump for dominance in the region.The 81-year-old’s victory came after a lacklustre first round three weeks ago when he trailed far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro by two million votes. It was the product of a mass mobilisation, galvanised by social media, of stay-at-home voters which saw an extra five million flock to the polls. A record turnout gave Lula ten million more votes, a 52 to 48 per cent majority, the…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 1 día

Brazil’s electoral phenomenon Lula stages unprecedented comeback

Already the greatest electoral phenomenon in his country’s history, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva saved his best for last.Just two days shy of his 81st birthday, seeking a fourth mandate in his seventh presidential campaign, 37 years after his first run, the leftist veteran staged an unprecedented comeback win to defeat far right-senator Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday’s election.In doing so he breaks a string of victories in recent years for the hard right across Latin America and deals a blow to Donald Trump’s ambitions to exert greater influence over the region.Political leaders and governments from across the spectrum were quick to recognise Lula’s victory. Mexico’s leftwing president, Claudia Sheinbaum, tweeted: “Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won.” Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez wrote: “The global progressive resurgence has just begun.”British foreign secretary Ed Miliband called Lula’s victory “a historic win for the global progressive movement” and said…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 2 días

Israeli elections: what you need to know

Israelis vote on Tuesday in the first election since the October 7th, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel and the ensuing three years of war that have changed the face of the Middle East. Why it mattersPrime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, who has been in power for 19 of the last 30 years, is fighting for his political survival. His outgoing government, made up entirely of right-wing and religious parties, has done much to undermine Israel’s liberal democratic foundations, attacked the powers of the independent judiciary and emboldened messianic Jewish extremists who seek to annex the West Bank and Gaza and expel Palestinian residents. The ultra-Orthodox have succeeded in thwarting attempts to draft Haredi students into the army and wish to extend religious influence over many areas of life.Israel is at a critical crossroad. Another term for the outgoing coalition is likely to exacerbate the current trends, turning…

The Irish Times · Irlandahace 2 días