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

Dominican court postpones hearing in deadly nightclub collapse case

10 reported dead after explosion in Dominican Republic

A Dominican court on Monday postponed until March a preliminary hearing against the owners of a nightclub that collapsed last year, killing more than 200 people.

The roof of the Jet Set nightclub collapsed in the early hours of April 8, 2025, during a concert by popular merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who died along with 235 other people.

Jet Set owner and manager Antonio Espaillat and his sister Maribel, who served as the club’s administrator, were arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter but were later released on bail after posting approximately $842,500.

Both appeared at the Palace of Justice, where they were met by a small protest from relatives and friends of the victims.

“Thirty years in prison is not enough” and “President, we want JUSTICE,” read signs held by demonstrators.

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The preliminary hearing determines whether there is sufficient evidence to send the case to trial. The court decided to reschedule the hearing for March 16.

“We don’t want money and we’re not demanding anything else, only justice for those who died,” said Secundino Pérez, a 75-year-old shopkeeper who lost 12 friends in the Jet Set tragedy.

“Antonio and his family celebrated Christmas sitting at a table, celebrating their freedom,” said Edgar Gómez, who lost his daughter in the collapse.

The Dominican Republic’s Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the defendants “significantly altered” the structure of the nightclub. Prosecutors filed formal charges in November and requested that the case proceed to trial.

The charge of involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of three months to two years in prison.

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“May your conscience never let you sleep. I lost my son,” a woman shouted through tears before the hearing, while others chanted, “Murderers, murderers, murderers.”

International

Venezuelan opposition leader dedicates Nobel Prize to Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he was “eager” to welcome the opposition leader, who left Venezuela clandestinely with U.S. assistance, to receive her Nobel Prize in Oslo.

Machado dedicated her Nobel Prize to Trump, who nevertheless showed a very cautious attitude toward including her in any potential political transition in Venezuela.

The opposition leader said on Monday, after an audience with Pope Leo XIV, that “the defeat of evil is closer” in Venezuela following the U.S. military operation that overthrew and removed President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from the country.

Trump has claimed that he is now in control of the South American nation, stating that the primary objective at this stage is to stabilize the country before considering elections.

Venezuelan oil is Washington’s main objective, Trump added after Maduro’s overthrow.

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International

Police hunt gunmen after fatal shooting in Corsica

A man was shot dead on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, local media reported. The victim was identified as Alain Orsoni, former president of local football club AC Ajaccio, according to sources close to the investigation cited by French news channel BFMTV.

Orsoni, 71, was killed in the town of Vero, near Ajaccio, the island’s capital, while attending his mother’s funeral.

He was also a former member of the National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC), a nationalist organization that has long sought independence for the island, reports said.

BFMTV reported that the gunmen fled the scene and remain at large. Local police have opened an investigation into the shooting.