International

Europe receives Trump’s victory ready to collaborate and work for peace

The main European leaders received this Wednesday the victory of Republican Donald Trump in the elections in the United States with a willingness to collaborate to improve the transatlantic relationship and work together for peace.

The former president has attributed the victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris by obtaining good partial results and winning the popular vote, according to the preliminary scrutiny, although the final data have yet to be confirmed.

The first to congratulate Trump from Europe was the Prime Minister of Hungary, the ultra-nationalist Viktor Orbán, who said on his Facebook account that he had “big plans” with the likely new tenant of the White House.

Considered a leading leader of the world extreme right, Orbán is a close ally of Trump and already during the US election campaign he had made clear his preference for the Republican, about whom he has assured several times that if he returns to the White House he will bring peace to Ukraine in a few days.

Netanyahu highlights the great alliance between Israel and the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also chosen social networks, who has congratulated Trump for “the greatest comeback in history.”

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“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning to the United States and a return to commitment to the great alliance between Israel and the United States. It’s a great victory!”, the president wrote on the social network X.

Zelenski congratulates Trump on his “impressive victory”

Hoping to work for a “just peace” in Ukraine, its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, congratulated Trump on his “impressive victory” electoral.

“I appreciate Trump’s commitment to the principle of ‘peace through strength’ in international affairs. It is exactly the principle that can, in a practical way, bring us closer to a just peace in Ukraine,” Zelenski said on his social network account X.

The Ukrainian leader recalled “the great conversation” he had with Trump in New York in September, when the two spoke for the first time in person since the beginning of the Russian invasion about bilateral relations, the so-called Zelenski Victory Plan and the possible ways to end the war.

NATO “counts” on Trump’s leadership

From Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte held out to collaborate with Trump to promote peace.

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“Through NATO, the United States has 31 friends and allies who help promote US interests, multiply American power and keep Americans safe,” Rutte said.

The European Commission “warmly” congratulates the former president

Also from the community capital, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, “warmly” congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday, and invited him to work together on a transatlantic agenda that benefits the EU and the US. USA.

“I warmly congratulate Donald J. Trump The EU and the US. The US are more than just allies. We are united by a true partnership between our peoples, which unites 800 million citizens. So let’s work together on a solid transatlantic agenda that continues to provide results for them,” Von der Leyen wrote in a message on the social network X.

Macron and Scholz, “prepared” to work with Trump

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a brief reaction in X that “he is ready” to work with Trump as they knew how to do during the previous term of the Republican, each with their convictions, “with respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”

“From growth and security to innovation and technology, I know that the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for the coming years,” British Prime Minister, Labor Keir Starmer, also commented on X, congratulating Trump on “a historic electoral victory.”

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The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, also trusted when congratulating Trump that Germany and the United States will continue their “sussfue” working relationship to promote prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pedro Sánchez highlights the “strategic” relationship with the United States.

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, described relations with the United States as “strategic” when congratulating Trump in X, although the first Spanish political leader to congratulate the former president was the president of the far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal.

The “strategic” link was also underlined by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who assured that “Italy and the United States are ‘sister’ nations, united by an unwavering alliance, common values and a historical friendship.”

Among the conservative governments of Europe, the Dutch Dick Schoof, prime minister of a coalition government in the Netherlands that includes the radical right, and the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro, who advocated maintaining “close collaboration,” sent congratulatory messages to Trump.

Also the head of the Austrian government, Karl Nehammer, who hoped to expand transatlantic relations “to successfully face global challenges,” and the President of Serbia, the nationalist Aleksandar Vučić, who spoke of cooperating with the United States “for stability, prosperity and peace.”

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The first contact between European leaders to assess the results of the US elections will be this Thursday in Budapest (Hungary), where they will meet within the framework of the fifth summit of the European Political Community.

International

French Parliament Moves to Approve Social Media Age Limit for Minors

France’s Parliament is expected to approve legislation on Tuesday banning children under the age of 15 from accessing social media platforms, following an agreement reached Monday between lawmakers on the mechanism to enforce the measure.

The initiative is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s broader effort to strengthen online protections for minors and regulate children’s screen time before the end of his second presidential term in May 2027.

“Tomorrow, France will become the first country in Europe to establish a digital age of majority to better protect our children online,” Digital Affairs Minister Anne Le Hénanff said Monday in a post on X.

If approved, the government plans to implement the restriction in September, when students return to school after the summer holidays.

The United Kingdom has already passed similar legislation restricting social media access for users under the age of 16, although that measure is scheduled to take effect in early 2027.

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Both the National Assembly, France’s lower house of Parliament, and the Senate are expected to hold final votes on the legislation Tuesday after a joint committee of seven senators and seven lawmakers reached an agreement on the bill’s final wording.

Under the proposed law, children under 15 years old would be prohibited from accessing online social media services, with limited exceptions for certain platforms, including online encyclopedias.

The legislation would make France the first member of the European Union to introduce a nationwide minimum digital age for access to social media platforms, reflecting a growing international movement to strengthen online safeguards for children and teenagers.

International

WHO to Hold New Round of Talks After Slow Progress on Pandemic Accord

Member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) made limited progress during the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) tasked with finalizing a key annex to the global pandemic agreement, prompting negotiators to schedule another round of talks in September.

The session, which opened on July 6 and concluded last week at WHO headquarters in Geneva, focused on drafting and negotiating the annex covering the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) System, a central component of the pandemic accord.

Without the completion of the PABS annex, the global pandemic agreement cannot enter into force.

The annex had originally been expected to be finalized before May 2026, but negotiations have progressed more slowly than anticipated.

In a statement, the WHO said member states “advanced negotiations” on the PABS system while acknowledging that additional discussions are required to complete a framework capable of supporting a faster, more effective and more equitable response to future pandemics.

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The organization announced that an eighth round of negotiations will take place on September 14.

Despite the limited progress, delegates succeeded in streamlining the draft text and concentrating discussions on several technical issues.

According to the WHO, negotiators focused on the contractual arrangements underpinning the PABS mechanism, the laboratory networks responsible for handling and sharing pathogens and their genetic sequence data, as well as the framework for distributing the benefits generated through the sharing of those pathogens.

The PABS system is considered one of the most important elements of the future pandemic agreement, as it aims to ensure timely access to pathogens for scientific research while establishing fair mechanisms for sharing the benefits derived from vaccines, diagnostics and other medical countermeasures developed during future global health emergencies.

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International

Iran Says It Is in “Full-Scale War” as U.S. Launches Ninth Consecutive Night of Airstrikes

Iran declared on Monday that it is facing a “full-scale war” against the United States after Washington carried out another wave of overnight airstrikes, including attacks near a city that hosts one of the country’s nuclear facilities.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country must prepare for the consequences of the ongoing conflict, describing the situation as a broad military confrontation.

“The reality is that today the Islamic Republic of Iran is engaged in a full-scale war,” Pezeshkian said in a statement released by the presidency. “We must be realistic and accept the natural consequences of this resistance.”

The latest U.S. strikes marked the ninth consecutive night of military operations, according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which announced the attacks on X.

Since hostilities resumed on July 7, U.S. air operations have expanded well beyond southern Iran, reaching central and northwestern regions of the country, according to local sources.

Local authorities reported that one person was killed and several others injured in Tabriz, in northwestern Iran, more than 1,000 kilometers from the Persian Gulf.

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Additional casualties were reported in the nearby city of Urmia, where several people were wounded during separate strikes.

Washington said the attacks targeted military installations. However, Iranian officials accused the United States of striking populated areas, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s only operational nuclear power plant.

Iran also reported that the Darkhovin nuclear facility, which is still under construction, was among the sites hit during the latest attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the renewed military campaign was carried out in honor of American service members killed in recent days.

Two U.S. soldiers died on Friday during attacks on a military base in Jordan, while another service member was killed on Sunday during the controlled disposal of unexploded munitions from an Iranian drone in northern Iraq.

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According to U.S. figures, 17 American troops have been killed since the conflict began on February 28.

On the Iranian side, the latest official figures released on Friday reported 50 deaths and more than 500 injuries since fighting resumed earlier this month.

A memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the United States on June 17, which had been intended to pave the way for peace negotiations, collapsed after hostilities resumed over the strategic control of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.