Albanian PM kneels for Meloni
As Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, strode down the red carpet laid out for leaders arriving in Tirana for the European Political Community Summit on Friday, Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, cast aside his umbrella and knelt down on one knee in the rain, his hands held in prayer position.
'Edi, no' Meloni said, smiling, as she approached him.
'He only does this to be as tall as me,' she then joked in English to the gathered journalists as he stood and they embraced.
Mr Rama, who is 6 foot 7 inches, towers over Ms Meloni, who at 5 foot 3 inches is one of the most petite European leaders.
But they are not only different in physical stature.
He is leader of the socialist party of Albania, while she is on the conservative Right end of Europe's political spectrum, yet there is apparent synergy.
Mr Rama made a similar public gesture in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, kneeling down in front of journalists and UAE delegates to hand her a gift box containing a scarf for her 48th birthday, and did the same in 2024 when meeting Ms Meloni for a summit in Azerbaijan.
'He is a gentleman and she has charm,' Germano Dottori, a member of the scientific advisor board of the Italian geopolitical magazine Limes said, when asked for comment on the photo.
Ms Meloni, who is separated from her long-time companion, famously charmed tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he is a fan of her policies, and was also pictured laughing and joking frequently with Rishi Sunak, the former prime minister. His spokesperson said they 'obviously get on', having been elected at a similar time.
But Mr Rama's gallantry may also be strategic. Italy has given large sums to host migrant centres in Albania and sponsors the country's integration into the EU.
Friday's meetings in Tirana set the stage for a flurry of diplomatic encounters in Rome as leaders and religious figures from around the world arrive in the Italian capital to attend Sunday's inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.
JD Vance, the US vice-president, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, both of whom are Catholic, will attend the inaugural Mass on Sunday marking the official start of the pontiff's papacy.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president plans to attend, as does Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, and Anthony Albanese, Australia's newly elected PM. Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, will represent King Charles, according to Buckingham Palace.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
19 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
This conversation is being recorded: Trump's hot mic moment is the latest in a long global list
LONDON (AP) — Behold the power of the humble hot mic. The magnifier of sound, a descendant of 150-year-old technology, on Monday added to its long history of cutting through the most scripted political spectacles when it captured more than two minutes of U.S. President Donald Trump and eight European leaders chit-chatting around a White House news conference on their talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine. The standout quote came from Trump himself to French President Emmanuel Macron even before anyone sat down. The American president, reflecting his comments after meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin: 'I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand, as crazy as it sounds.' How politics and diplomacy sound when the principals think no one is listening can reveal much about the character, humor and humanity of our leaders — for better and sometimes for worse. As public figures, they've long known what the rest of us are increasingly learning in the age of CCTV, Coldplay kiss cams and social media: In public, no one can realistically expect privacy. 'Whenever I hear about a hot mic moment, my first reaction is that this is what they really think, that it's not gone through the external communications filter,' said Bill McGowan, founder and CEO of Clarity Media Group in New York. 'That's why people love it so much: There is nothing more authentic than what people say on a hot mic.' Always assume the microphone — or camera — is turned on Hot mics, often leavened with video, have bedeviled aspiring and actual leaders long before social media. During a sound check for his weekly radio address in 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan famously joked about attacking the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. 'My fellow Americans," Reagan quipped, not realizing the practice run was being recorded. "I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.' The Soviet Union didn't find it funny and condemned it given the consequential subject at hand. Putin, too, has fallen prey to the perils of a live mic. In 2006, he was quoted in Russian media joking about Israel's president, who had been charged with and later was convicted of rape. The Kremlin said Putin was not joking about rape and his meaning had been lost in translation. Sometimes a hot mic moment involves no words at all. Presidential candidate Al Gore was widely parodied for issuing exasperated and very audible sighs during his debate with George W. Bush in 2000. In others, the words uttered for all to hear are profane. Bush was caught telling running mate Dick Cheney that a reporter for The New York Times was a 'major-league a--hole.' 'This is a big f———- deal,' then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden famously said, loudly enough to be picked up on a microphone, as President Barack Obama prepared to sign his signature Affordable Care Act in 2010. Obama was caught on camera in South Korea telling Dmitri Medvedev, then the Russian president, that he'll have 'more flexibility' to resolve sensitive issues — 'particularly with missile defense' — after the 2012 presidential election, his last. Republican Mitt Romney, Obama's rival that year, called the exchange 'bowing to the Kremlin.' 'Sometimes it's the unguarded moments that are the most revealing of all,' Romney said in a statement, dubbing the incident 'hot mic diplomacy.' Live mics have picked up name-calling and gossip aplenty even in the most mannerly circles. In 2022, Jacinda Ardern, then New Zealand's prime minister, known for her skill at debating and calm, measured responses, was caught on a hot mic tossing an aside in which she referred to a rival politician as 'such an arrogant pr—-' during Parliament Question Time. In 2005, Jacques Chirac, then president of France, was recorded airing his distaste for British food during a visit to Russia. Speaking to Putin and Gerhard Schroder, he was heard saying that worse food could only be found in Finland, according to widely reported accounts. Britain's King Charles III chose to deal with his hot mic moment with humor. In 2022, shortly after his coronation, Charles lost his patience with a leaky pen while signing a document on a live feed. He can be heard grousing: "Oh, God, I hate this!' and muttering, 'I can't bear this bloody thing … every stinking time.' It wasn't the first pen that had troubled him. The British ability to poke fun at oneself, he said in a speech the next year, is well known: 'Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year.' Trump owns perhaps the ultimate hot mic moment The American president is famously uncontrolled in public with a penchant for 'saying it like it is,' sometimes with profanity. That makes him popular among some supporters. But even he had trouble putting a lid on comments he made before he was a candidate to "Access Hollywood' in tapes that jeopardized his campaign in the final stretch of the 2016 presidential race. Trump did not appear to know the microphone was recording. Trump bragged about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women who were not his wife on recordings obtained by The Washington Post and NBC News and aired just two days before his debate with Hillary Clinton. The celebrity businessman boasted 'when you're a star, they let you do it,' in a conversation with Billy Bush, then a host of the television show. On Monday, though, the chatter on both ends of the East Room press conference gave observers a glimpse of the diplomatic game. Dismissed unceremoniously from the White House in March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now sat at the table with Trump and seven of his European peers: Macron, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump complimented Macron's tan. He said Stubb is a good golfer. He asked if anyone wanted to ask the press questions when the White House pool was admitted to the room — before it galloped inside. The European leaders smiled at the shouting and shuffling. Stubb asked Trump if he's 'been through this every day?' 'He loves it. He loves it, eh?" she said.
USA Today
19 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump's push for peace
Hello!Rebecca Morin here. It feels like a fall day in DC, but I'm not ready for summer to be over! A mad dash toward peace It was a much different meeting than the one in February. There were laughs, a handshake and a lot of 'thank yous' from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. Trump expressed optimism of peace between Russia and Ukraine after meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders. By the end of the meetings, Trump told Zelenskyy the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war. Trump in a social media post later said he called Russian President Vladimir Putin to start arranging face-to-face talks between Russia's leader and Zelenskyy, in a location to be determined. Takeaways from Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy. Will a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting happen? Trump said after a proposed meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, Trump would join the two leaders for a discussion aimed at pushing the warring sides closer together. However, Phillips O'Brien, a historian and professor of strategic war studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, said the meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy "may or may not happen." What to know about the proposed summit. No troops on the ground: Trump on Tuesday said U.S. troops won't be involved in any peacekeeping effort in Ukraine after the war. Trump on Monday had said European nations are the "first line of defense" but added "we're going to help them out also. We'll be involved." What assurances is Ukraine looking for. Overnight attacks: Russia attacked the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk with drones overnight, just a day after Trump's meeting Zelenskyy and European leaders. The city's mayor, Vitalii Maletskyi, said the attack was a sign Putin does not want peace. A politics pit stop Epstein files being turned over to lawmakers The Justice Department in four days will begin sending some of the so-called 'Epstein files' from its sex trafficking investigation into the disgraced late financier to the House Oversight Committee, committee Chairman James Comer said Monday. Comer earlier this month issued a subpoena to the DOJ for records related to Epstein, the longtime Trump friend who died by suicide in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. What to know about the committee's investigation into Epstein. 'Like a horror movie' Exhausting, terrifying and like something out of a horror movie. That's how Jeremy Atherton Lin described the recent appeal that seeks to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 10-year-old Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States. Experts like Kenneth Gordon, a marital and family lawyer in Florida, say the potential to overturn Obergefell is a "long shot." Obergefell is sound, from a legal perspective, Gordon said, and same-sex marriage is widely accepted by the general public. If Obergefell was overturned, same-sex marriages would likely remain protected due to the Respect for Marriage Act into law by former President Joe Biden. How the LGBTQ+ community feels about the appeal. Got a burning question, or comment, for On Politics?You can submit them here or send me an email atrdmorin@
Buzz Feed
19 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
Emmanuel Macron Reacts To Donald Trump's Hot Mic Comment On Vladimir Putin
French President Emmanuel Macron shared his reaction to Donald Trump 's declaration that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to strike a deal to end his war in Ukraine because of him, during a conversation between the two men caught on a hot mic Monday. European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, descended on Washington, D.C., a few days after the Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, to present a united front in support of Ukraine and make sure Kyiv does not get pressured into an unfavorable agreement that rewards Putin's aggression. During the impromptu defense summit at the White House, Trump was caught on a hot mic, telling Macron: 'I think [Putin] wants to make a deal for me. Do you understand? As crazy as it sounds.' Trump on a hot mic on Putin: "I think he wants to make a deal for me. Do you understand? As crazy as it sounds." — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 18, 2025 @atrupar/X / Via In an interview with NBC's Kristen Welker, Macron said it was 'great' hearing Trump be optimistic about his ability to broker peace between Moscow and Kyiv. 'Your president, indeed, is very confident about the capacity he has to get this deal done, which is a good news for all of us,' Macron said. Still, Macron said he was not convinced that Putin is ready to end the conflict prompted by his full-scale invasion of Ukraine over three years ago, expressing skepticism about the Russian president's intentions. 'As far as I'm concerned, when I look at the situation and the facts, I don't see President Putin really willing to get peace now, but perhaps I'm, I'm too pessimistic,' Macron said. 'I think at a point of time, probably we will have to increase the pressure on Russia to be sure they want peace, because as long as President Putin and his people will consider they can win this war and get a better result by force, they will not negotiate,' he continued. Trump, though, does not seem to share Macron's reservations about Putin, even though the Russian dictator has made no concrete concessions indicating his commitment to peace. 'This gentleman wants it to end, and Vladimir Putin wants it to end,' Trump said speaking alongside Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. 'I think the whole world is tired of it, and we're going to get it ended,' Trump added.
