Masinės Maskvos atakos prieš Kyjivą, surengtos ketvirtadienį, aukų skaičius padidėjo iki 27, pranešė pareigūnai.

Vilniuje penktadienį po dešimties metų pertraukos prasideda Lietuvos moksleivių dainų šventė, subursianti daugiau kaip 24 tūkst. dalyvių.

The latest barrage deployed the largest number of weapons on the capital and hit locations over a wide area.

Around 600,000 followers of the Society of Saint Pius X, a Catholic sect, are affected.

Wedding lists are being replaced by cash requests, but guests are divided over how much to give.

The government had initially said it would not relax licensing laws further for the World Cup.

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Despite all the backslapping and glad-handing, transatlantic tensions are never far from the surface at the annual gathering of NATO leaders. It’s unlikely to be any different when they gather in Ankara next week. Sharp differences ​over burden-sharing and defense spending, and U.S. complaints about its allies’ lack of ​involvement in re-opening the Strait of Hormuz, are likely to come to the fore.   EU leaders hope the summit will help steady transatlantic relations, but will President Trump be in listening mode when he arrives in Turkey? On this week’s Brussels Playbook Week Ender podcast, Peter Snowdon talks to Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, who is rapidly increasing his country’s defense budget and capabilities, while Anne McElvoy catches up with POLITICO’s NATO reporter Victor Jack, who has been finding out what’s happening behind the scenes at NATO headquarters. Questions? Comments? Send us a voice note or message us on WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29. **A message from Salesforce: This podcast is brought to you by Salesforce, the world's number one AI CRM. Salesforce's agentic AI helps businesses, governments, and institutions across Europe connect with customers and citizens in new innovative ways, building Agentic Enterprises where humans and trusted AI agents drive success together.**

LONDON — England is among the last 16 nations left in the World Cup after a tense win over the Democratic Republic of Congo, and hope is tentatively starting to spread that this tournament could finally end 60 years of hurt for the nation. This week’s Westminster Insider podcast explores the strange but powerful relationship between football and politics — and the unwritten rules politicians should follow if they want to use the unique emotional power of the beautiful game to their advantage. 1. Get your timing right It looks highly likely that Andy Burnham will become Britain’s new prime minister on July 20 — just one day after the World Cup final. If England were to lift the trophy, Burnham’s first day in office would coincide with a wave of national euphoria. History suggests this could be somewhat helpful to a new prime minister. Ten days before England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, then Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson had introduced an emergency package of tax rises and spending cuts as Britain grappled with inflation and economic pressure. Morale was low. Then came Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick and England’s glorious win over West Germany.  England’s victory at Wembley gave the country a huge psychological lift — and boosted the standing of the government. Richard Crossman, then leader of the House of Commons, said in his diaries there was “a big change in Harold’s personal position.” But if Burnham is hoping for a well-timed World Cup-inspired polling boost on arrival, he should be aware that there are obvious risks if England doesn’t go all the way. In 1970, Wilson had hoped another deep England run would help create a feel-good factor before a general election. Instead, England surrendered a two-goal lead to West Germany in the quarter-finals just four days before polling day. After canvassing between the result and polling day, then Home Secretary Roy Jenkins reported that voters were despondent — less about the economy or immigration — but about who was to blame for England’s defeat.  Wilson lost to Ted Heath’s Conservatives. The electoral impact of the 1970 World Cup disappointment is still the subject of debate, though an intriguing fact has only added to the folklore: English voters swung more towards the Conservatives than Scotland and Wales.  2. Be authentic No discussion of the potential peril of mixing football and politics is complete without mentioning David Cameron. The former prime minister — supposedly an Aston Villa supporter — famously claimed to support West Ham during the 2015 election campaign. He later blamed a “brain fade” — but the damage was done. Scarlett McGwire, political commentator and former Labour adviser, says authenticity is everything. “One of the reasons it’s so important for politicians to be authentic is there’s this myth that politicians always lie,” she says. “If they’re not authentic, people think: if they’re lying about this, they could be lying about everything.” England captain, Bobby Moore with strikers Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst after winning the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium. | BIPPA/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Football fans can smell performative fandom instantly. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage recently faced criticism after posting what appeared to be recycled football content from Euro 2024 during this World Cup. Writer and journalist Adrian Goldberg says when politicians are genuine fans “football can just be a little bridge between the electorate and the prime minister.” Although this didn’t seem to help genuine Arsenal supporter Keir Starmer. 3. Remember the home nations Navigating football loyalties across the United Kingdom is hard. McGwire recalls former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s advisers deciding he was “too Scottish.” “[They] decided to get the Daily Mail in and he had to cheer on the English team. It was completely set up. Nobody believed it,” she recalls. Scottish Labour backbench MP Brian Leishman — a long-suffering supporter of the Tartan Army — is less concerned about courting England fans. “It would be intolerable if England won the World Cup,” he says. “I would hate it.” That result could boost support for Scottish independence, he adds — only half-jokingly. 4. There is no single football audience Football teams are cheered on by a wide range of people — from younger fans to older traditionalists, England obsessives to club loyalists, politically engaged supporters to those who simply want politics kept out of the game. That makes targeting your desired crowd crucial. Chancellor Gordon Brown, who was later seen by his advisers as too Scottish, holds the original football from England’s 1966 World Cup victory with German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck in 2006. | Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Labour MP Kim Leadbeater sees football primarily as a force for connection. “It’s a powerful opportunity to show the kind of country we are,” she says. “The very best of people coming together.” But she warns against over-politicization. “Let’s use sport for good,” she says. For politicians, that balancing act is becoming harder as football increasingly overlaps with wider culture-war debates. Goldberg reckons the controversy over players “taking the knee” during the Black Lives Matter protests in the early 2020s left fans on the terraces divided.  “There were some fan bases where taking of the knee was booed, there were others where it was embraced and others where fans were kind of somewhere in the middle around that,” he says. “I’d say there was a substantial core of supporters who felt somehow uncomfortable about it,” he adds. Farage and his Reform UK party appear to be seeking the support of football fans with a campaign of turquoise football shirts, and visits to clubs like Ipswich Town. 5. It’s more than a game Football is never just football. Playwright James Graham, creator of the hit play and BBC TV series Dear England, argues politicians often underestimate football’s deeper social importance. He says that football matters not just every two or four years during major tournaments, but every single week, shaping people’s routines, their communities and even their identities. Amid the “hollowing out” of British civic life — declining high streets, weakened public spaces and fractured communities — the football stadium is one of the few places left where people still gather physically and collectively, he says. When people support their club, they are investing in something bigger than themselves: shared rituals, symbols, songs and belonging. “You have to turn up in person and in proximity with your physical community,” he says. Graham argues that politicians who understand this are more likely to connect to voters in what he sees as an age of growing disconnection, as people’s lives are increasingly shaped by AI, growth targets and digital life.  On whether Football’s Coming Home, Graham didn’t miss a beat: “Of course.”

Military command issues threat a day after Qatari mediators hailed 'positive progress' in indirect US-Iranian talks.

A rebel group of Roman Catholics has ordained its own bishops in direct defiance of Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican order.

Prime minister in waiting says he will stick by Labour’s manifesto promises on tax

Attack with 74 missiles and nearly 500 drones follows Zelenskyy’s warning that Moscow was preparing ‘massive strike’

Iran has warned the United States and Israel against any attack as the country prepares for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on the first day of the war. Authorities expect between 15 and 20 million people to attend in Tehran alone for this three-day tribute, which begins Saturday. Once it concludes, negotiations between Tehran and Washington will resume. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Dr. Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, journalist, author and President of PEN Ukraine. According to Dr Yermolenko, the war is not simply a military confrontation, Europe's future hangs in the balance. Speaking hours after a devastating missile attack on Kyiv, he juxtaposes the intimate experience of civilian vulnerability with a broader strategic analysis, arguing that Russia's continued attacks on residential areas reflect military frustration rather than momentum. He contends that Ukraine's comparative advantage lies in asymmetric warfare, technological innovation, and the mobilisation of civil society, while warning that European support is not merely an act of solidarity but a matter of continental self-preservation.

Voter turnout was low for the polls that were overshadowed by cost-of-living concerns and the exclusion of candidates critical of the government.

The institution in gang-controlled downtown Port-au-Prince plays a vital role in clinical training for young doctors.