Poles begin voting for a new president in a pivotal runoff election

Poles begin voting for a new president in a pivotal runoff election

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poles began voting Sunday ina decisive presidential runoffthat could set the course for the nation's political future and its relations with the European Union. The contest pits Warsaw MayorRafał Trzaskowski, a liberal pro-EU figure, against Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historianbacked by the right-wing Law and Justice party. The outcome will determine whether Poland continues alonga nationalist pathor pivots more decisively toward liberal democratic norms. With conservative President Andrzej Duda completing his second and final term, the new president will have significant influence over whether Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist government can fulfill its centrist agenda, given the presidential power to veto laws. Voting began at 7 a.m. local time and will end at 9 p.m., when an Ipsos exit poll is expected. Final results are likely to be announced Monday. The runoff follows a tightly contested first round on May 18, in which Trzaskowski won just over 31% and Nawrocki nearly 30%, eliminating 11 other candidates. The campaign has highlighted stark ideological divides. Trzaskowski, 53, has promised to restore judicial independence, ease abortion restrictions, and promote constructive ties with European partners. Nawrocki, 42, has positioned himself as a defender of traditional Polish values, skeptical of the EU, and aligned with U.S. conservatives, includingPresident Donald Trump. Nawrocki's candidacy has been clouded by allegations of past connections to criminal figures and participation in a violent street battle. He denies the criminal links but acknowledges having taken part in "noble" fights. The revelations have not appeared to dent his support among right-wing voters, many of whom see the allegations as politically motivated. Amid rising security fears over Russia's war in neighboring Ukraine,both candidatessupport aid to Kyiv, though Nawrocki opposes NATO membership for Ukraine, while Trzaskowski supports it in the future. Nawrocki's campaign has echoed themes popular on the American right, including an emphasis on traditional values. His supporters feel that Trzaskowski, with his pro-EU views, would hand over control of key Polish affairs to larger European powers like France and Germany. Many European centrists are rooting for Trzaskowski, seeing in him someone who would defend democratic values under pressure from authoritarian forces across the globe.

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May 31, 2025

Poles begin voting for a new president in a pivotal runoff election

Poles begin voting for a new president in a pivotal runoff election WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poles began voting Sunday ina decisive presidentia...

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Top defense officials say Ukraine war has blurred lines, exposing global threats

Top defense officials say Ukraine war has blurred lines, exposing global threats

SINGAPORE (AP) — China and North Korea's support for Russia in itswar against Ukrainehas exposed how lines between regions have blurred, and the need for a global approach toward defense, top security officials said Sunday. North Korea has sent troops to fight on the front lines in Ukraine, while China has supported Russia economically and technologically while opposing international sanctions. Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premiere defense forum, that if Ukraine were to fall, it would have a ripple effect in Asia and suggested it could embolden China in its territorial claims on Taiwan and virtually the entire South China Sea. "If Russia prevails in Ukraine, it's not about Europe. It's not about one region," she said. "It will send a very clear signal also to smaller states here in Indo-Pacific that anyone can ignore their borders, that any fabricated excuse can justify invasion." The comments echoed those fromFrench President Emmanuel Macronas he opened the conference on Friday advocating for greater European engagement in the Indo-Pacific. On Saturday,U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethsuggested European countries should focus their defense efforts in their own region andleave the Indo-Pacific more to the U.S.,but Šakalienė said the regions were clearly intertwined. "It's not a secret that when we talk about the main perpetrators in cyber security against Japan it's China, Russia and North Korea," she said. "When we talk about main cyber security perpetrators against Lithuania it's Russia, China and Belarus — two out of the three are absolutely the same." She added that "the convergence of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea into an increasingly coordinated authoritarian axis," demands a unified response. Iran has been a key supplier of attack drones to Russia for its war effort. "In this context, the United States' strategic focus on Indo-Pacific is both justified and necessary, but this is not America's responsibility alone," she said. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told reporters on the sidelines that his main takeaway from the three-day conference, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, was the "real intent in the way in which European countries have engaged" in the debates. "It reflects the sense of connection, interconnectedness ... between Indo-Pacific on the one hand and the North Atlantic on the other," he said. China sent a lower-level delegation from its National Defense University this year to the conference, but its Foreign Ministry on Sunday responded to comments from Hegseth that Beijing was destabilizing the region and preparing to possibly seize Taiwan by force. "No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the U.S. itself, who is also the primary factor undermining the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific," it said, while reiterating its stance that the Taiwan issue was an internal Chinese matter. "The U.S. must neve play with fire on this question," the ministry said. Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr, whose country has been involved inincreasingly violent clashes with Chinaover competing claims in the South China Sea, scoffed at the idea that the U.S. was the problem. "What the Chinese government considers fair and just may stand in stark contrast to the norms and values accepted by the rest of the world, especially the smaller countries," he said. "To envision a China-led international order, we only need to look at how they treat their much smaller neighbors in the South China Sea." He also underscored the international implications of the tensions in the Indo-Pacific, noting that the South China Sea was one of several maritime routes that are "arteries of the global economy." "Disruption in any of these maritime corridors triggers ripple effects across continents, impacting trade flows, military deployments, and diplomatic posture," he said. Singapore's Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing said China missed an opportunity to have its voice heard by not sending its own defense minister, but it was still incumbent upon others to reach out to Beijing to try and build bridges and prevent misunderstandings. Singapore has close ties to both the U.S. and China, and is part of the regionally influential Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with the Philippines and others. "It is in the interest of all of us to work with China, and it is also in the interest of China to work with everyone else in the world," he said. "It is in the interest of all of us to have a deeper understanding of China's fears, concerns and aspirations, just as it is important for China to understand how the rest of the world perceives China."

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Top defense officials say Ukraine war has blurred lines, exposing global threats

Top defense officials say Ukraine war has blurred lines, exposing global threats SINGAPORE (AP) — China and North Korea's support for Ru...

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A new natural gas project off Senegal makes fishing communities feel threatened

A new natural gas project off Senegal makes fishing communities feel threatened

GUET NDAR, Senegal (AP) — It's impossible to miss the gas platform off the coast of northernSenegal. Its flare stack burns day and night above the rolling breakers. Thenatural gas project, a joint venture between British energy giant BP and U.S.-based Kosmos Energy, started operations on the final day of 2024. It is meant to bring jobs to the densely populated fishing community of Guet Ndar, just outside the old colonial capital of Saint Louis. The gas extraction plant, the deepest in Africa, is aimed at helping to transform Senegal's stagnant economy after the discovery just over a decade ago ofoil and gas off the country's coast. The first offshore oil project also began last year. Fishermen say the project is killing their livelihoods Mariam Sow, one of the few remaining sellers in the once-thriving fish market, said the decline began in 2020 when the platform started rising from the sea. "This market used to be full every day," Sow said, gesturing at the barren lot. The nearby beach is now occupied by hundreds of unused boats. Fishing is central to life in coastal Senegal. It employs over 600,000 people, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The country exported nearly half a billion dollars worth of fish in 2022, according to think tank Chatham House, citing international trade data. What's the gas project about? The Grand Tortue Ahmeyim project plans to extract gas off Senegal and neighboring Mauritania. According to BP, the field could produce 2.3 million tons of liquefied natural gas every year. Last year, Senegal electedPresident Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who ran on an anti-establishment platform. He pledged to maximize the country's natural resources, including by renegotiating what he called unfair contracts with foreign firms and distributing revenues to the population. "I will proceed with the disclosure of the effective ownership of extractive companies (and) with an audit of the mining, oil, and gas sector," he said in his first address. It was not clear whether contract renegotiation efforts had begun, or whether they would include the gas project. The fishermen of Guet Ndar say the benefits promised by both the project and Senegal's government have not materialized. The cost of living remains high, and the price of natural gas, a major cooking source in Senegal, is still rising. Lower gas prices had been a major selling point for the gas project. Mohamed Sow, a shopkeeper in Dakar, said his customers complain that a 12-liter gas canister has gone from 5,000 CFA ($8.50) to 8,000 CFA ($13.80) in the past few years. "It's impossible to keep raising the price," he said. Senegal's government did not respond to requests for comment. The fishing community near the project says it has noticed more signs of trouble. A leak that took weeks to fix Soon after the gas project's production began, fishermen said they noticed a large number of bubbles in the sea. BP cited a temporary gas leak that "had no immediate impact on ongoing production activities from the remaining wells." The leak took weeks to fix. BP did not say how much gas — largely methane — leaked into the ocean, or what caused a leak so early in the new project. In a response to written questions, BP said "the environmental impact of the release was assessed as negligible" considering the "low rate" of release. The environmental charity Greenpeace, however, called the effects of such spills on the environment significant. "The GTA field is home to the world's largest deep-water coral reef, a unique ecosystem. A single spill can wipe out decades of marine biodiversity, contaminate food chains and destroy habitat," it said in a statement. Sitting outside a BP-built and branded fish refrigeration unit meant to help community relations, Mamadou Sarr, the president of the Saint Louis fishermen's union, talked about the concerns. Sarr asserted that fish have become more scarce as they are attracted to the platform and away from several reefs that the people of Guet Ndar had fished for centuries. Drawing in the sand, he explained how the fish, drawn by the project's lights and underwater support structures, no longer visit their old "homes." Areas around the platforms are off-limits to fishermen. Sarr also said an artificial reef that BP is building lies in the path of ships that regularly visit the structures, keeping the fish away. A fisherman's life One fisherman, Abdou, showed off his catch after two days at sea: two insulated boxes full of fish, each about the size of an oil drum. A box of fish fetches 15,000 CFA, or $26. Prior to the gas project, he said, he would get four or five boxes per two-day trip. Now, getting two is a win. That worsens a problem already created byoverfishingby foreign vessels. BP stressed that face-to-face talks with members of the community about such issues are ongoing, and noted its community-facing projects such as microfinance and vocational training programs in the region. Sarr said that despite its promises, the government failed to consider his community when agreeing to the gas project. "This is our land and sea, why don't we get a voice?" he asked. He and others expressed irony that the refrigeration unit sitting next to them cannot be opened. The key is "somewhere in Dakar" Sarr said, and locals said they have never seen inside it. ___ For more on Africa and development:https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

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A new natural gas project off Senegal makes fishing communities feel threatened

A new natural gas project off Senegal makes fishing communities feel threatened GUET NDAR, Senegal (AP) — It's impossible to miss the ga...

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Trump officials are visiting Alaska to discuss a gas pipeline and oil drilling

Trump officials are visiting Alaska to discuss a gas pipeline and oil drilling

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration is sending three Cabinet members to Alaska this week as it pursues oil drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and reinvigorating anatural gas projectthat's languished for years. The visit by Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin comes after Trumpsigned an executive orderearlier this year aimed at boosting oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in Alaska. It also comes amidtariff talkswith Asian countries that are seen as possible leverage for the administration to secure investments in the proposed Alaska liquefied natural gas project. Their itinerary includes a meeting Sunday with resource development groups and U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski in Anchorage before heading to Utqiagvik, an Arctic town on the petroleum-rich North Slope where many Alaska Native leaders see oil development as economically vital to the region. The federal officials also plan to visit the Prudhoe Bay oil field Monday — near the coast of the Arctic Ocean and more than 850 miles (1,368 kilometers) north of Anchorage — and speak at Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy's annual energy conference Tuesday in Anchorage. While it's not unusual for U.S. officials to visit Alaska during warmer weather months, Dunleavy's office said the officials' visit is significant. Dunleavy,a Trump ally, said he is thankful for an administration that "recognizes Alaska's unique value." Government and industry representatives from a number of Asian countries, including Japan, are expected to participate in a portion of the trip, reflecting pressure from the U.S. to invest in the pipeline — despite skepticism and opposition from environmental groups. In Alaska, some environmentalists criticized the agenda for Dunleavy's conference. Highlighting fossil fuels alongside renewable or alternative energy make "energy sources of the past look more legitimate at a conference like this," said Andy Moderow, senior policy director with the Alaska Wilderness League. "I think we should be looking at climate solutions that work for Alaskans, not trying to open up places that industry is taking a pass on, namely the Arctic refuge," he said. A push for more drilling Trump has long taken credit for provisions of a 2017 tax law championed by Alaska's congressional delegation that called for two oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain by late 2024.The firstone remains the subject of ongoing litigation, with the main bidder a state corporation that saw itsseven leases later canceledby then-President Joe Biden's administration.A judge in Marchruled Biden's administration overstepped, and the Interior Department, in line with Trump's executive order, is working to reinstate the leases. There weren't any bids in the second sale, held under Biden andblasted by the stateas overly restrictive. Debate over drilling in the refuge — home to polar bears, musk ox, birds and other wildlife — has long been a flashpoint. Indigenous Gwich'in leaders consider the coastal plain sacred land, noting its importance to a caribou herd they rely upon. ManyNorth Slope Iñupiat leaderswho support drilling in the refuge felt their voices were not heard during the Biden era. During the Trump officials' visit, they also hope to make a case for additional development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which Trump has advocated, and for being included in planning decisions. Nagruk Harcharek, president of Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, an advocacy group whose members include leaders from the region, called the officials' visit "a step in the right direction." 'Gigantic natural gas pipeline' For years, the state has sought to develop its stores of North Slope natural gas as a way to provide affordable energy to more residents and bolster revenues via exports. But cost concerns,shifts in direction, competition from other projects and questions about economic feasibility have stymied progress. Oil companies have long reinjected gas that occurs with oil deposits on the slope to produce more oil, which remains Alaska's economic lifeblood. The latest gas proposal calls for a roughly 810-mile (1,300-kilometer) pipeline that would carry gas from the North Slope to port and a facility that would process and export liquefied natural gas to Asian countries. In a March speech to Congress, Trump touted his ongoing support of the "gigantic natural gas pipeline." He said countries like Japan and South Korea "want to be our partner, with investments of trillions of dollars each." No firm commitments from countries have been made. The company advancing the project — in partnership with a state corporation — is in a stage of refining cost estimates, previously pegged at around $44 billion for the pipeline and related infrastructure, before final decisions are made on whether to move forward with the project. Alaska in the spotlight While Dunleavy has likened Trump's friendly approach to energy development as "Christmas every day," Alaska's fortunes remain tightly linked to the volatility of oil prices, which are down sharply from a year ago, squeezing state revenues. State lawmakers across party lines overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging Congress to provide Alaska with 90% of royalty revenues for oil and gas leases in the Arctic refuge, arguing the U.S. government reneged on past promises for such a share. The resolution also asked for that to be extended to the petroleum reserve. Alaska's tax structure allows companies like ConocoPhillips Alaska — which is pursuing amassive oil project known as Willowin the reserve — to write off a portion of their development costs against production taxes they incur elsewhere on the North Slope. While lawmakers widely support Willow, they also have argued a change in federal royalty share would address a hit to state revenues created by production in the reserve.

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Trump officials are visiting Alaska to discuss a gas pipeline and oil drilling

Trump officials are visiting Alaska to discuss a gas pipeline and oil drilling JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration is sending thr...

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Putin’s tough stance on a Ukraine peace plan shows his resolve on Russia’s demands

Putin's tough stance on a Ukraine peace plan shows his resolve on Russia's demands

By making harsh, uncompromising demands inpeace talks with Ukrainewhile continuing to pummel it withwaves of missiles and drones,Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending a clear message: He will only accept a settlement on his terms and will keep fighting until they're met. At the same time, he has sought to avoid angering U.S.President Donald Trumpby praising his diplomacy and declaring Moscow's openness to peace talks — even as he set maximalist conditions that are rejected by Kyiv and the West. Trump, who once promised to end the3-year-old warin 24 hours, hasupended the U.S. policyof isolating Russia by holding calls with Putin and denigrating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the same time, however, Trump warned Putin against "tapping me along" and threatened Moscow with sanctions if it fails to back his peace proposals. Trump says Putin is 'playing with fire' In recent days, Trump signaled he was losing patience with Putin, declaring the Russian leader had gone "crazy" by stepping up aerial attacks on Ukraine. He also said: "What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He's playing with fire!" Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president who serves as deputy head of Putin's Security Council, fired back: "I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!" Fyodor Lukyanov, a Moscow-based analyst familiar with Kremlin thinking, said Putin is engaged in a "psychological game" with Trump, with both men thinking they understand each other well. "Putin's tactics is apparently based on an assumption that the issue has a lesser priority for his interlocutor, who wants to get rid of it one way or another, while for the Russian side, nothing compares to it in importance," Lukyanov wrote a commentary. "In this logic, the one who sees it as something of lesser importance will eventually make concessions." While Ukraine's European allies urge Trump to ramp up sanctions against Moscow to force it to accept a ceasefire, some fear that Trump may end up distancing the U.S. from the conflict. If the U.S. halts or reduces military aid to Kyiv, it would badly erode Ukraine's fighting capability. Growing Russian pressure Kyiv already is experiencing a weapons shortage, particularly air defense systems, leaving it increasingly vulnerable to Russian missile and drone attacks. Across the over 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line, the exhausted and outgunned Ukrainian troops are facing increasing Russian pressure. This month, Russian forces accelerated their slow push across the Donetsk region, the focus of Moscow's offensive, grinding through Ukrainian defenses at the quickest pace since last fall. Russia also expanded its attacks in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions following Putin's promise to create a buffer zone along the border. Many observers expect Russia to expand its offensive over the summer to try to capture more land and set even tougher conditions for peace. "Moscow thinks its leverage over Ukraine will build over time, and since Trump has strongly implied that he will withdraw from negotiations the Russian military is set to intensify its operations," said Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute in London. He predicted Russia would intensify efforts to take all of the Donetsk region while also pressing a bombing campaign. "The Kremlin will want to suggest a deteriorating situation as negotiations continue and to signal to Europe that the rear is not safe, to discourage European militaries from putting forces in country," Watling said in an analysis. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin, Moscow-based analyst, said the long-expected offensive hasn't yet begun in earnest as Russia is cautious not to anger Trump. "If Kyiv derails peace talks, the Russian army will start a big offensive," he said. Putin's conditions for peace Putin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully controlled. That demand had been rejected by Kyiv and its allies, but the Russian delegation reportedly repeated it during talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 16. Those talks, the first since botched negotiations in the opening weeks of the war, came after Putin effectively rejected a 30-day truce proposed by Trump that was accepted by Kyiv. Russia had linked such a ceasefire to a halt in Ukraine's mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies. Putin proposed talks to discuss conditions for a possible truce. Trump quickly prodded Kyiv to accept the offer, but the negotiations yielded no immediate progress except an agreementto exchange 1,000 prisonerseach. Russia offered to hold another round of talks Monday in Istanbul, where it said it will present a memorandum setting conditions for ending hostilities. It refused to share the document before the negotiations. Some observers see the talks as an attempt by Putin to assuage Trump's growing impatience. "Putin has devised a way to offer Trump an interim, tangible outcome from Washington's peace efforts without making any real concessions," said Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Facing Western accusations of stalling, the Kremlin responded that the conflict can't be resolved quickly and emphasized the need to address its "root causes." When Putin invaded Ukraine, he said the move was needed to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and protect Russian speakers in the country -– arguments strongly rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies as a cover for an unprovoked act of aggression. Along with those demands, Putin also wants limits on Ukraine's sovereignty, including the size of Ukraine's military, and for Kyiv to end what Moscow sees as glorification of Ukraine's World War II-era nationalist leaders, some of whom sided with the invading forces of Nazi Germany over the Soviet leadership in the Kremlin. A Kremlin negotiator who's been there before Seeking to underline that Moscow will press home its initial demands, Putin appointed his aide Vladimir Medinsky to lead the Russian delegation in Istanbul. He also led the Russian side in the 2022 talks. Kyiv reportedly has asked the U.S. to encourage Putin to replace him. The soft-spoken, 54-year-old career bureaucrat, who was born in Ukraine, ascended through the Kremlin ranks after writing a series of books exposing purported Western plots against Russia. In an interview with Russian state television after the May 16 talks, Medinsky pointed to Russia's 18th century war with Sweden that lasted 21 years, a signal that Moscow is prepared to fight for a long time until its demands are met. "History repeats itself in a remarkable way," he said.

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Putin’s tough stance on a Ukraine peace plan shows his resolve on Russia’s demands

Putin's tough stance on a Ukraine peace plan shows his resolve on Russia's demands By making harsh, uncompromising demands inpeace t...

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