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  • In public letter, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls on Putin for direct negotiations in a neutral country

    In public letter, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls on Putin for direct negotiations in a neutral country

    In a historic, unprecedented public move that marks the first direct outreach from Kyiv to the Kremlin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a formal invitation Thursday for direct, in-person negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, framing the summit as a critical step to end a grinding conflict that has stretched into its third year. The public letter, addressed straight to Putin, is far more than a simple invitation for talks: it includes a sweeping rebuke of Putin’s 26-year tenure in power and lays out Ukraine’s assessment of Russia’s current strategic positioning on and off the battlefield.

    In the letter, Zelenskyy acknowledged the rapidly shifting priorities of global powers, noting that Kyiv cannot afford to idly wait for U.S. policy to refocus on the war amid Washington’s growing preoccupation with escalating tensions in Iran. “I am proposing a meeting,” Zelenskyy wrote plainly. The proposal quickly drew a response from U.S. President Donald Trump, who reacted positively to the prospect of direct talks. “It would be great” if the two leaders met, Trump told reporters. “They should get it done.” When pressed to share details of concessions he has reportedly pushed Russia to make to reach a settlement, Trump declined to elaborate but emphasized that both sides would need to meet halfway to reach a deal. “They’re going to both make compromises,” he said. “I suggested those compromises.”

    The outreach comes at a pivotal inflection point for the war, a moment when Kyiv has clawed back limited but meaningful battlefield leverage thanks to advances in its long-range strike capacity, which has disrupted Russian military advances and logistical lines across occupied and Russian territory. That small gain for Kyiv has been matched by a sharp escalation from Moscow, which has ramped up its devastating nationwide aerial campaign, capitalizing on Ukraine’s ongoing shortages of air defense systems and persistent vulnerability to Russian ballistic missile attacks.

    Zelenskyy proposed holding the summit in a neutral third-party country, ruling out venues in both Moscow and Kyiv, and named Switzerland, Turkey and various Arab states as suitable potential hosts. “It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be,” he wrote. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.”

    Drawing on Ukrainian intelligence assessments, Zelenskyy warned that Russia is actively planning to extend the full-scale war into 2027 and 2028, and is increasingly shifting to a strategy of sustained ballistic missile strikes to make gains that its underperforming ground campaign has been unable to secure. He also accused Moscow of moving to draw neighboring Belarus deeper into open conflict and working to destabilize the security situation around Transnistria, the Russia-backed breakaway region of Moldova.

    The Ukrainian leader argued that Russia is now feeling the mounting human and economic cost of its invasion, pointing to a steady stream of Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, widespread domestic economic strain, growing fuel shortages, rising consumer prices, and the repeated rounds of military mobilization the Kremlin has been forced to implement to sustain its campaign. Zelenskyy claimed Russian forces suffered more than 30,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded in the month of May alone, noting that Kyiv holds video evidence of these battlefield losses and that these steep casualty levels have remained consistent month after month. He added that while Ukraine has a far more favorable casualty ratio than Russia, Ukrainian forces and civilians continue to endure devastating, painful losses.

    To build trust ahead of any potential peace process, Zelenskyy put forward several immediate confidence-building steps: Ukraine is prepared to implement a full, nationwide ceasefire that would remain in place for the entire duration of negotiations, and he proposed an “all-for-all” prisoner exchange as an opening confidence-building measure. He also called for the immediate return of all Ukrainian civilians and children who have been forcibly deported to Russia since the invasion began. Closing his letter, Zelenskyy pushed back on the narrative that the international community has grown weary of supporting Ukraine: “The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with Russia,” he wrote.

  • EU invests in ocean monitoring as US cuts funding

    EU invests in ocean monitoring as US cuts funding

    As climate change accelerates ocean warming and amplifies extreme weather events worldwide, and the Trump administration moves forward with deep cuts to a critical U.S. ocean observation program, the European Union is stepping into the gap with a €92 million ($107 million) investment to expand its international ocean monitoring network. Named OceanEye, the new initiative was announced Wednesday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said the funding will position the EU at the forefront of global efforts to map and study Earth’s largely underexplored oceans.

    Oceans cover more than 70% of the planet’s surface, underpinning global life systems by producing half the world’s oxygen and absorbing roughly 30% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions. But decades of greenhouse gas emissions have pushed ocean temperatures to record highs, with warming accelerating faster in recent decades than at any point in modern recorded history. This warming has supercharged tropical cyclones, extended drought conditions, bleached and killed 50% of the world’s coral reefs, and pushed thousands of marine species toward extinction — threats compounded by overfishing and industrial ocean pollution. Scientific projections warn that climate change will continue to increase the intensity of heatwaves and severe storms across Europe in the coming decades, making accurate ocean data more critical than ever for disaster preparedness and mitigation.

    Systematic, continuous ocean monitoring is the foundation of effective marine protection: it maps existing ecosystem damage, identifies emerging threats, and provides the empirical data needed to craft evidence-based regulations to halt biodiversity loss. “This is about using science and good governance to understand our ocean and secure our future,” von der Leyen emphasized in her announcement of the initiative.

    The EU’s investment comes at a moment of growing gap in global ocean observation capacity. In May of this year, the Trump administration signaled plans to eliminate funding for the U.S. Ocean Observatories Initiative, a 10-year-old network of more than 900 fixed and mobile ocean sensors that cost $386 million to build. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the initiative has collected free, real-time ocean data on everything from circulation patterns to marine ecosystem shifts, climate change trends and extreme weather activity. That open-source data has supported more than 500 peer-reviewed scientific studies, and the project was originally scheduled to operate for another 15 to 20 years before the funding cuts were proposed.

    Prior to the U.S. funding announcement, global ocean observation efforts were coordinated through the UN-affiliated Global Ocean Observing System, with the United States historically collecting more than half of all global ocean observation data, Europe contributing roughly 25%, and the remainder coming from Japan, Australia, India and China. EU officials and ocean scientists say the funding gap created by U.S. cuts makes increased European investment an urgent priority.

    “Europe needs to do more,” explained Pierre-Yves Le Traon, oceanographer and scientific director of Toulouse-based Mercator Ocean International. Under the OceanEye plan, the EU has set an ambitious target to take responsibility for 35% of global ocean monitoring by 2035, and to become the world’s leading provider of standardized “ocean intelligence” data for researchers, governments and private industries.

    Ocean observation data powers far more than just climate research. Data collected by underwater drones, robotic sensors and orbiting ocean-focused satellites is shared with shipping companies, commercial fisheries, emergency disaster response agencies, and research institutions. Mercator Ocean International is currently building the Digital Twin Ocean, a real-time interactive virtual reality replica of the world’s oceans that relies entirely on continuous observational input to model changes. Le Traon noted that this data is critical not just for climate adaptation, but for a wide range of coastal and maritime sectors including aquaculture, Arctic shipping, coastal tourism, agriculture, and even maritime security operations. “Knowledge is essential if we want to manage the ocean,” Le Traon said. “We really have to be very active for the monitoring and protecting of the ocean because the ocean matters to everyone: for life at sea, for life on Earth.”

    Odran Corcoran, a policy advisor for the marine conservation non-profit Oceana, added that systematic observation is particularly critical to filling gaps in existing scientific knowledge that hold back effective policy. Only by collecting consistent data from the deep ocean — which remains one of the least understood environments on Earth — can lawmakers craft evidence-based regulations for sustainable fisheries management, marine protected area expansion, and marine ecosystem restoration projects. “Europe does not just need more ocean data; it needs data that closes biodiversity and seabed knowledge gaps,” Corcoran said.

    Funding from the OceanEye initiative will go toward two core priorities: supporting private sector innovation incubators for ocean monitoring technology, and expanding the capacity of existing international coordination bodies including the Global Ocean Observing System. Of the EU’s 27 member states, 22 have coastal territories bordering the Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. France holds the bloc’s largest network of ocean science institutions and the most extensive maritime boundaries, stretching from Réunion in the South Pacific to Saint Martin in the Caribbean to the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean.

    This reporting is supported by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, with The Associated Press retaining full editorial control over all content.

  • Dutch police investigate suspected drugging and sexual assault of multiple women

    Dutch police investigate suspected drugging and sexual assault of multiple women

    Dutch national law enforcement has opened a sweeping criminal investigation into a suspected coordinated ring that drugged dozens of women and recorded sexual assaults, resulting in four arrests so far with more expected to come. The probe was triggered after police received critical tip-offs from law enforcement agencies in both England and Germany, which pointed to a pattern of abuse committed by people in the immediate social circles of targeted victims.

    Investigators confirmed that the four arrested men, all part of a network first uncovered through secret private social media groups, regularly shared tactics for drugging potential targets and circulated explicit, non-consensual images of their assaults among group members. In late May, police executed search warrants at eight properties across the country, targeting male suspects ranging in age from 21 to 51 who were identified through their activity in these online groups. Four of the eight suspects were taken into custody immediately following the raids.

    Alongside digital devices including laptops, mobile phones, SD cards and USB storage drives seized for forensic analysis, law enforcement also recovered illegal drugs and weapons at multiple searched locations. The charges facing the suspects cover a range of criminal activity, from participating in the abusive private online groups, creating and distributing non-consensual sexual content, to aggravated assault by drugging, and charges of both completed and attempted rape.

    Milou van der Kolk, a lead investigator with Rotterdam’s specialized sexual crimes unit, noted that the full scope of the abuse remains unknown, as victims are often left unable to recall the events due to being drugged and unconscious during the attacks. “This is a case with an enormous impact,” van der Kolk explained. “As a victim, you may not know what happened to you, because you may have been drugged and were unconscious. The news that your partner or an acquaintance may have drugged you and perhaps even raped you or attempted to do so can turn your life completely upside down.”

    Local Dutch media outlets have drawn public comparisons between this alleged ring and the high-profile Gisèle Pelicot case in France, where a man drugged his own wife for decades and invited dozens of outside men to rape her at their home. Dutch police have cautioned that the investigation remains active, and additional arrests are likely as forensic teams continue to process the large volume of digital evidence recovered in the raids. Support services for survivors of sexual abuse and violence are being coordinated through international and local support lines, including the BBC Action Line.

  • House poised to pass Ukraine aid over the objections of Republican leaders

    House poised to pass Ukraine aid over the objections of Republican leaders

    The U.S. House of Representatives is moving forward toward a final vote on landmark legislation that would deliver new military and reconstruction support to Ukraine while imposing harsh new sanctions on core sectors of the Russian economy, a push that comes in open defiance of top Republican leaders who argue the measure will derail ongoing negotiations aimed at securing a more robust, comprehensive aid package.

    Drafted and sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, the legislation would codify U.S. backing for Kyiv by allocating more than $1 billion in direct security and rebuilding assistance. It also sets aside an additional $8 billion in defense support for Ukraine through a loan-based funding structure.

    This upcoming vote marks the second high-profile break between rank-and-file House members and former President Donald Trump on foreign policy in just a single week. It comes exactly 24 hours after the House passed a historic war powers resolution that aims to end unauthorized U.S. military engagement against Iran, a move that directly contradicted the administration’s policy priorities.

    The bill reached the floor thanks to a rarely used but increasingly deployed legislative tactic known as a discharge petition, which allows a simple majority of 218 House members to bypass stalled committee processes and party leadership opposition to force a floor vote. During this congressional session, the discharge petition tool has already been successfully used to advance bills demanding the public release of sealed federal documents related to the late Jeffrey Epstein, as well as a measure to extend Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies to millions of Americans — though the subsidy extension ultimately failed to advance in the Senate.

    An initial procedural test vote held Wednesday evening saw supporters clear the key hurdle to advance the bill by a vote margin of 218 to 204. Breaking with their party’s leadership, six Republican lawmakers joined an independent and every sitting Democratic representative in backing the measure’s progression.

    Meeks emphasized the symbolic and practical importance of the House’s action, saying the vote is critical to reassuring the Ukrainian people that the United States will not abandon their fight against Russian invasion. “The people of Ukraine need to know that the United States of America is not going turn its back on them, that we will stand with them against Russia,” Meeks said. “We can’t let them down.”

    Supporters of the measure say its passage in the House is designed to send a clear bipartisan message and apply public pressure on the Senate to take up the legislation. Even so, they acknowledge the bill is unlikely to advance in the upper chamber without an explicit public endorsement from Trump. “It’s probably not going to get 60 votes in the Senate, but it’s going to hopefully force the Senate to address the issue,” said Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, one of the GOP lawmakers who signed the discharge petition and backed the procedural vote. “It’s going to send a great message to the soldiers of Ukraine.”

    Fitzpatrick added that the vote also sends a clear signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that U.S. lawmakers remain committed to Ukraine’s defense. “It sends a message that we do have a pulse here, that we do care about Ukraine and that we are going to utilize our authority to help them,” he said.

    As the war enters its fifth year following Russia’s full-scale invasion, congressional supporters of additional Ukraine aid have faced growing difficulties moving new funding packages through the legislative process. To date, the U.S. has allocated roughly $195 billion in total emergency support for the Ukraine conflict, according to the latest quarterly inspector general report for Operation Atlantic Resolve. Approximately one quarter of that total has gone toward replenishing U.S. military weapons stockpiles that were drawn down to supply Kyiv’s forces. The last major standalone Ukraine aid legislation was passed back in April 2024, with only small incremental allocations included in annual federal spending bills since that time.

    Top House Republican leaders have mounted a concerted push to convince their caucus to reject the legislation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana noted that ongoing good-faith negotiations between congressional leadership and the White House are already underway to craft a larger Ukraine aid package, calling those discussions inherently complicated. “I think they are going to yield positive results, but you set that back if you pass legislation that doesn’t go as far as the negotiations are going,” Scalise argued.

    More than four years into the full-scale invasion, the war remains deadlocked with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have stepped up long-range missile strikes on key infrastructure and military targets in recent days in an attempt to gain strategic leverage. U.S.-led peace negotiations have collapsed after failing to make progress on core core territorial and security demands, with Washington’s foreign policy focus shifting in recent weeks to rising tensions with Iran. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accepted the unconditional ceasefire proposal put forward by Trump, Russian President Putin has refused to agree to the terms.

    In the Senate, efforts to advance a separate Ukraine-related measure centered on imposing sweeping tariffs and secondary sanctions on nations that purchase Russian oil, natural gas, uranium and other key export commodities that fund Moscow’s war effort have stalled, with the legislation remaining stuck in procedural limbo for weeks.

  • Former MI6 spy chief Alex Younger has died aged 62

    Former MI6 spy chief Alex Younger has died aged 62

    LONDON – Senior figures across Britain’s royal establishment and government have publicly honored Alex Younger, the former head of the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence agency MI6, who passed away this week at 62 following a cancer diagnosis.

    Younger led the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6’s official alternate name, from 2014 to 2020, and made history as one of the first holders of the agency’s top position—known by its traditional code name “C”—to be identified publicly when he took office. The UK government confirmed he died on Tuesday after a battle with cancer.

    Nick Robinson, a prominent BBC broadcaster and personal friend of Younger, shared that after receiving his cancer diagnosis, the former spy chief jokingly named his tumor “Putin” after Russia’s president.

    In a statement released Thursday, Prince William, heir to the British throne, recalled his 2019 work placement with Britain’s intelligence and security community, designed to help the future monarch build understanding of their critical national functions. The prince praised Younger as a paragon of the core values that define MI6: “integrity, courage, and an unwavering commitment to protecting this country and its people.”

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed those tributes, noting that Younger would be long remembered by current and former ministers, intelligence colleagues, loved ones, and friends for his profound dedication to British public service and national defense.

    Blaise Metreweli, Younger’s successor as the current head of MI6, highlighted that her predecessor perfectly embodied the agency’s core values of integrity, courage, creativity, and respect. She emphasized that Younger left an enduring, unique legacy that strengthened not only British national security, but global stability as well.

    A graduate of Scotland’s University of St Andrews, Younger began his public service career as a commissioned officer in the British Army before joining MI6 in 1991. He spent three decades with the espionage agency, with early career postings including a role in the Western Balkans during the 1990s Balkan conflicts. In a 2018 speech delivered at his alma mater, he described that posting as a period of late nights spent working through fragmented information over little-known local spirits, piecing together the warring factions’ strategic goals. He added that he took deep pride in knowing his work, alongside that of countless other intelligence and diplomatic officials, helped lay the groundwork for the eventual arrest and trial of war criminals responsible for the deaths and mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

    Younger also served in Afghanistan in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and led MI6’s counterterrorism division, where he oversaw intelligence planning and security support for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

    In an interview with the BBC last year, Younger opened up about the dual nature of a career in secret intelligence. He admitted that working behind the scenes on operations hidden from public view brought a unique thrill, saying “it [was] a kick to be in this play that no one knows is even going on.” But he also acknowledged the profound isolation that comes with a covert career, noting the weight of keeping even basic details of your work hidden from friends and family.

    Younger also reflected on the cultural impact of Britain’s most famous fictional spy, James Bond, arguing the iconic character has been a mixed blessing for the real MI6. In a 2016 speech, he noted that Bond had built an unrivaled global brand for MI6—even joking that as C, the real-life equivalent of Bond’s superior M, he had no trouble convincing anyone to accept a lunch invitation, and that foreign intelligence counterparts often envied the instant global recognition of the MI6 name. Still, he added with characteristic dry wit, if Bond applied to join the agency today, his reckless, rule-breaking lifestyle would not meet modern recruitment standards.

  • Slovenia’s parliament approves right-leaning government as Jansa returns as PM for a fourth time

    Slovenia’s parliament approves right-leaning government as Jansa returns as PM for a fourth time

    LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — In a decisive parliamentary vote that reshapes the political trajectory of this small Alpine European Union member state, Slovenia’s national legislature formally approved a new right-wing coalition government led by veteran populist leader Janez Jansa on Thursday.

    The 90-seat national assembly cast 49 votes in favor of the new administration and 30 against, clearing the threshold for Jansa’s fourth term as prime minister. The approval wraps up months of political deadlock that followed the country’s March parliamentary election, which delivered no party an outright governing majority. Former liberal prime minister Robert Golob’s Freedom Movement secured the largest share of seats in the vote, but failed to build a cross-party coalition to take power.

    Appointed prime minister-designate last month, the 67-year-old Jansa, leader of the populist Slovenian Democratic Party, negotiated a governing agreement with multiple other right-leaning parliamentary groups. His coalition also holds the backing of the non-establishment Truth party, a political faction that originated as an anti-vaccination protest movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    A longstanding ideological ally of former Hungarian populist prime minister Viktor Orbán — who suffered a landslide election defeat in April — and an open admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Jansa brings a well-documented conservative policy platform to the new administration. Like Orbán, Jansa took a hardline anti-immigration stance during the 2015 European migration crisis, and his 2020-2022 previous term was marked by widespread accusations that he undermined independent democratic institutions and restricted press freedom. Those controversies sparked large public protests across Slovenia and triggered formal scrutiny from EU institutional bodies.

    In his first public remarks after the parliamentary vote, Jansa struck an inclusive tone, framing his new 15-member cabinet as a government “for all of Slovenia and for all generations.” He highlighted the accumulated governing experience across his ministerial team, laid out a policy agenda focused on cutting taxes and rolling back what he called an “incredibly overblown bureaucracy” that he says bloats Slovenia’s public sector compared to other EU economies. Jansa also extended an invitation to opposition parties to participate in cross-party cooperation on key national issues.

    Notable appointments to the new cabinet include former Slovenian ambassador to the U.S. Tone Kajzer as foreign minister, and Jansa’s personal former lawyer Franci Matoz as interior minister — a pick that has already drawn public criticism from political and civil society groups. On foreign policy, Jansa, a staunch supporter of Israel, has repeatedly condemned the previous Golob government’s 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state, and the new administration is widely expected to repair the currently strained bilateral ties between Ljubljana and Jerusalem.

    The March 22 election that paved the way for Jansa’s return to power was itself marred by allegations of foreign interference and corrupt campaign practices. Slovenia, a nation of roughly 2 million people, remains deeply politically divided between liberal and conservative blocs, a split that is expected to shape domestic debate through Jansa’s new term.

  • More than 20,000 fish killed after river polluted

    More than 20,000 fish killed after river polluted

    A devastating ecological disaster has unfolded in the Republic of Ireland, where a toxic pollution incident in the River Glyde has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 fish across multiple species. The large-scale fish kill was first uncovered on Tuesday near the village of Tallanstown, located in County Louth, according to Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the state agency responsible for protecting Ireland’s inland fisheries resources.

    Post-mortem surveys of the affected waterway have found dead specimens spanning ecologically and commercially important species, including both mature and young Atlantic salmon, European eel, brown trout, and pike, alongside a range of common coarse fish. Ronan Matson, director of IFI’s eastern river basin district, confirmed in an interview with Irish public broadcaster RTÉ that the vast majority of the fatalities are minnows and sticklebacks, two small, widespread native freshwater species.

    Investigators have already zeroed in on a clear line of inquiry, with authorities suspecting the incident stems from illegal agricultural discharge that entered the river upstream of Tallanstown. Local government bodies have been notified of the ongoing investigation, and IFI has already collected water samples from the affected stretch of the river, which are currently undergoing laboratory testing to formally confirm the exact source and composition of the contaminant.

    On a walking survey of the riverbank, Matson noted that while a portion of the dead fish have already been washed downstream by currents, thousands of deceased fish remain visible concentrated in other sections of the waterway. While the harmful contamination itself is expected to flush out of the river system relatively quickly once the source is cut off, Matson warned that the ecosystem will not rebound overnight. It will likely take several years for affected fish populations to recover to their pre-pollution numbers, he said.

    Encouragingly, the pollution event appears to have occurred outside the river’s primary salmon and trout spawning grounds, meaning most existing egg stocks remain unharmed. Matson expressed cautious confidence that once the pollution source is fully contained – a step the agency says is already nearly complete – the river’s fish populations will be able to regenerate naturally over time.

  • Russian teenager Andreeva beats Kostyuk to reach final

    Russian teenager Andreeva beats Kostyuk to reach final

    At the 2026 French Open, 19-year-old Russian rising tennis star Mirra Andreeva delivered a clinical 6-1, 6-3 straight-sets victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk on Thursday to book her spot in the first Grand Slam singles final of her young career. The milestone makes Andreeva the youngest women’s singles Grand Slam finalist since American Coco Gauff reached the same stage of Roland Garros back in 2022, and the first player born after 2005 ever to advance to a major singles championship match.

    Already a semi-finalist at the Paris clay-court major in 2024, this run marks another major step forward for a player long marked as a future top competitor in women’s tennis. In the open era, Andreeva ranks as the fourth-youngest woman to reach the Roland Garros final in three decades, joining an elite club of former teenage contenders that includes Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters and Gauff. If she claims the title on Saturday, she will become the third-youngest first-time Grand Slam champion of the 21st century, trailing only Maria Sharapova and Emma Raducanu.

    Entering the semi-final clash, the narrative extended far beyond tennis, shaped by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022. Kostyuk has been a vocal critic of the war since its start, and has repeatedly condemned Russian athletes who have declined to speak out against the conflict. Sticking to the position Ukrainian players have maintained since the war began, Kostyuk declined to pose for the traditional pre-match handshake photo with Andreeva, and the two players did not shake hands following the conclusion of the contest.

    On the court, the form favored neither player on paper: Kostyuk entered the match riding an unbeatable 17-match clay-court winning streak this season, and had beaten Andreeva in both of their prior head-to-head meetings in 2026. But the Russian eighth seed turned the tables completely, producing one of her most mature performances to date even amid blustery on-court conditions. Andreeva’s statistics told the story of her dominance: she committed just 22 unforced errors, 12 fewer than Kostyuk’s 34, and held firm from the baseline while grinding out tough points in defence. Kostyuk, by contrast, could not replicate the high-energy form that carried her to an emotional quarter-final win over fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.

    Across her six matches to reach the final, Andreeva has dropped just one set – a second-round comeback win against Spain’s Marina Bassols Ribera. Heading into Saturday’s championship match, she will face either 25th seed Diana Shnaider, her compatriot, or Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska. As of 2026, Andreeva holds more tour-level wins on clay (21) and overall (35) than any other player on the WTA Tour, a statistic made more notable following the shock early exit of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka earlier this week.

    Speaking after her semi-final win, Andreeva opened up about the unprecedented emotions of reaching her first major final, admitting pre-match nerves remained a factor even after her deep run a year prior. “I am still very, very nervous. I was nervous coming into this match,” she said. “All of these feelings combined, it is amazing – I have never felt anything like this before.”

    Of her opponent, she praised Kostyuk’s impressive form leading into the clash, saying: “Until this match, she has not lost a match on clay. She is an amazing player and a very tough opponent, and I am super happy with the way I played today. I told myself to accept everything that happens on the court and no matter what happens, I am going to fight and give my best. With this kind of mindset, I ended up winning the match.”

    With her place in the final secured, Andreeva enters Saturday’s showpiece as the clear betting and form favorite, on the cusp of claiming the biggest title of her burgeoning career.

  • Kushner-backed luxury resort plan sparks protests in Albania

    Kushner-backed luxury resort plan sparks protests in Albania

    For an entire week, continuous demonstrations have occupied the sidewalk directly outside Albania’s prime ministerial office in central Tirana, turning a normally quiet government district into a hub of grassroots activism. While the small Balkan nation is no stranger to political rallies – the main opposition Democratic Party (PD) has staged them so frequently that locals joke they have become an unexpected landmark for visiting tourists – this week’s nightly gatherings are fundamentally different. Unlike the standard partisan protests that dominate Tirana’s streets, these demonstrations target both Prime Minister Edi Rama’s socialist government and a high-profile foreign investor: Jared Kushner, former US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and head of the investment firm Affinity Partners.

    At the heart of public anger lies a massive proposed luxury tourism development earmarked for Albania’s pristine northern Adriatic coast, spanning Sazan Island and a protected wetland site near the coastal city of Vlora in Zvernec. Affinity Partners is set to be one of the lead investors in the project, which Rama has embraced as a transformative opportunity for Albania’s growing tourism economy. But grassroots protesters have rejected the plan outright, and their movement diverges sharply from the country’s established partisan divides. In a break from opposition norms, many demonstrators have carried signs calling not just for Rama’s resignation but also for the imprisonment of Sali Berisha, PD leader who faces separate public corruption charges, making clear the movement is independent of mainstream political factions.

    Adopting a striking pink flamingo as their official emblem, the movement draws inspiration from the 2020s Serbian civic protest movement that used a giant yellow rubber duck as a unifying symbol. For Albanian protesters, the choice is deeply personal: the protected coastal wetlands targeted by the development are a critical habitat for the greater flamingo, a protected species whose survival in the region is already threatened. Beyond wildlife, the development puts dozens of other native plant and animal species that rely on the protected wetland ecosystem at risk, environmental activists argue.

    Protesters have also raised sharp questions about the lack of transparency surrounding the deal, noting that negotiations between Affinity Partners and the Albanian government began as early as 2024 without meaningful public input. Many signs carried at the rallies declare “Albania is not for sale,” reflecting widespread anger over the concession of ecologically sensitive public land to foreign developers. While the Albanian government claims all land involved is privately owned and acquired through fully transparent legal procedures, legacy issues from Albania’s 20th-century political history complicate that narrative. After 45 years of total state nationalisation under Communist rule, the post-1990 privatisation process left overlapping, unresolved property claims across much of the country, leaving open questions about the legitimacy of the land transfer.

    For the mostly young cohort of demonstrators, however, environmental protection remains the core motivating force. Joni Vorpsi, an ecologist with PPNEA-BirdLife Albania, explained that the proposed development is far more expansive than the government has acknowledged. “This is not a small eco-resort – it would be a new tourist city with around 10,000 accommodation rooms,” Vorpsi said. “It would completely destroy that wild, untouched region. We are demanding all construction halts immediately, and all heavy machinery be removed from the protected area.”

    The project has already faced disruption, with police deploying water cannons to disperse demonstrators at one recent rally, escalating tensions between protesters and authorities. Rama has struck a defiant tone in response, appearing openly exasperated by the sustained demonstrations. He has characterised protesters as “well-meaning but misinformed” about the project’s environmental safeguards, arguing that the €4 billion investment would deliver widespread economic benefits, including thousands of new jobs and upgrades to local infrastructure. Going further, Rama has framed the protests as a “hybrid war” driven by economic competition from rival Mediterranean tourism powers, accusing regional actors of sabotaging Albania’s growing tourism sector. That thinly veiled jab at Greece has spilled into public view, with Rama publishing an open rebuke of former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras over alleged involvement in stoking unrest.

    For Kushner, the backlash is not an unfamiliar experience in the Balkans. Earlier this year, he pulled out of a planned Trump International Hotel development in Belgrade, Serbia, after sustained local opposition and the arrest of a senior government minister on corruption charges linked to the project. Backed by the firm, Kushner’s business partner Asher Abehsera has defended the Albanian project’s integrity, stressing that the development prioritises “responsible stewardship” of the coastal environment. “Our focus remains on responsible stewardship, environmental enhancement, job creation, and creating long-term value for local communities,” Abehsera said, echoing the firm’s public commitment to sustainable development.

    But with protesters dismissing these assurances and vowing to continue demonstrations until the project is scrapped entirely, the pink flamingo emblem is likely to remain a permanent fixture outside the prime minister’s office for the foreseeable future.

  • Fifa bans all water bottles from World Cup games

    Fifa bans all water bottles from World Cup games

    A controversial new policy from Fifa ahead of this summer’s highly anticipated World Cup has drawn sharp criticism, after public health advocates raised urgent warnings that the governing body’s total ban on water bottles inside match venues could put thousands of attending fans in danger.

    The sweeping restriction, which applies to all outside water bottles brought into stadiums during World Cup games, marks an unexpected shift in event security protocols for the tournament. While Fifa has not yet publicly elaborated on the full reasoning behind the ban, it aligns with broader security measures often implemented for large-scale global sporting events to restrict outside items entering venues.

    However, health experts and fan advocacy groups have pushed back hard against the measure, warning that summer tournament conditions in the host nation bring high temperatures and prolonged periods of exposure to heat during matches. Without access to personal water bottles, fans may struggle to stay properly hydrated throughout games, increasing their risk of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and other heat-related health complications that could require emergency medical intervention.

    As of the latest update, Fifa has not issued a formal response addressing the health warnings, leaving fans and public health officials waiting for clarification on whether the policy will be adjusted ahead of the tournament’s opening match. The debate has already sparked widespread discussion among soccer supporters around the world, many of whom have voiced concerns about balancing event security with basic fan health and comfort during the month-long competition.