Romania's Political Elite Loses Support Before Presidential Vote
Romania's ruling parties lost ground ahead of a re-scheduled presidential ballot, with the latest poll showing support for the front-runner far-right candidate as well as the independent mayor of the capital.
Calin Georgescu, the fringe pro-Russian candidate who shocked the political establishment last year by winning the first round of the now-annulled presidential election, would get 37% of the votes, according to a CURS poll published on Tuesday.
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Elon will lose fight with Trump, Musk's father tells Russia
Credit: Tsargrad TV Elon Musk will lose his fight with Donald Trump and made a 'mistake' by challenging him, his father has said. Speaking at a political conference in Moscow, Errol Musk claimed his billionaire son was suffering 'PTSD from the White House' and blamed his row with the US president on 'stress'. 'Trump will prevail – he's the president, he was elected as the president. So, you know, Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed,' he told Russian media. Last week, Elon Musk and Mr Trump traded insults after the Tesla chief executive denounced the president's sweeping new tax and spending Bill as 'a disgusting abomination'. He also called for the president's impeachment and claimed the Republican was 'in the Epstein files' – US government intelligence documents on Jeffrey Epstein, the late paedophile financier. In response, Mr Trump threatened to cancel US government contracts with Mr Musk's companies, which include SpaceX. Errol Musk told Izvestia, a Russian daily newspaper: 'You know they have been under a lot of stress for five months – you know – give them a break. 'They are very tired and stressed, so you can expect something like this.' Despite the pair's war of words, Mr Musk said he still believed his son's relationship with the president could be mended, describing the row as 'just a small thing' that would 'be over tomorrow'. He made the comments during an appearance at Future Forum 2050, a conference attended by Kremlin heavyweights and led by Alexander Dugin, a Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher often described as Vladimir Putin's 'brain'. Errol Musk was also pictured sitting next to Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister. At one point he praised Putin as a 'very stable and pleasant man' and blamed Western media for projecting 'nonsense' about Russia. It came as Stephen Bannon, Mr Trump's former chief strategist, claimed that in April Elon Musk had a physical altercation with Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, down the corridor from the Oval Office. Mr Bannon said: 'President Trump heard about it and said: 'This is too much,'' according to The Washington Post. A source told the newspaper that concerns were also raised over Mr Musk's alleged drug use. Mr Musk, the world's richest man, helped bankroll Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. He was then hired to head the new Department of Government Efficiency, controversially tasked with downsizing the federal workforce and slashing spending. The tech entrepreneur stepped back from the role late last month, ending a turbulent 130-day stint in the administration. On Saturday, the US president said his relationship with Mr Musk was over, and warned there would be 'serious consequences' if Mr Musk switched his allegiance to the Democrats and funded rival candidates. Credit: Reuters Delighting in the row, Russian MPs have offered political asylum to the South African-born businessman. Last week, Dmitry Novikov, the deputy chairman of the state Duma committee on international affairs, said Moscow would welcome him to the country 'if he needs it'. Senior Putin allies have also mockingly offered to help mediate between the two men. 'We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment. Don't fight, guys!' said Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, referring to Mr Musk's satellite internet network. 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.
Yahoo
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Train service between Moscow and North Korea's Pyongyang to resume this month, says Russia
(Reuters) -Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on Monday. Russian Railways said it had agreed with North Korea's railways ministry to resume a twice-monthly service between the two capitals on June 17, a journey it said took eight days and which, at over 10,000 km (6,213 miles), was the longest direct rail journey in the world. Another service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city close to China's northeastern border, will restart two days later. The services will be operated by Korean State Railway, the state operator, and in the case of the Moscow-Pyongyang route will see a North Korean passenger railcar hitched to the regular Moscow-Vladivostok service and then re-attached to another train. Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Moscow and Pyongyang have since ratcheted up cooperation, including in the military sphere since President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last year. North Korea confirmed in late April that it had sent more than 10,000 troops and weapons to Russia to assist in its war in Ukraine, aid which proved crucial for Moscow in recapturing Russia's western Kursk region from Ukraine. The two countries already operate a passenger rail service between Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and Rason, a North Korean port city. The nations are also linked by freight rail networks, although Russia does not disclose the size of the cargo traffic.
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Western guests including Elon Musk's father to speak at pro-Putin oligarch's Moscow forum
A pro-Putin Russian oligarch is hosting a two-day conference in Moscow on Monday, featuring a lineup of western speakers, including Elon Musk's father, Errol, the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and the British politician George Galloway. The conference, titled Future Forum 2050, is organised by Konstantin Malofeev – an influential ultra-nationalist tycoon close to the Kremlin and under western sanctions – and appears to mark Moscow's latest effort to court western figures. Other foreign guests include the American economist Jeffrey Sachs and the Briton Matthew Groves, a former East Surrey councillor the organisers mistakenly describe as a 'Conservative group deputy leader'. The conference will also feature several prominent Russian officials, including Sergei Lavrov, Russia's longtime foreign minister, and Sergei Mironov, a veteran hawkish politician who adopted a two-year-old child seized by Moscow from a Ukrainian children's home. According to the organisers, the event will cover topics such as 'foreign policy and national priorities', 'culture and traditional values' and a panel titled 'Maga in Russia'. Once seen as fringe figures, Malofeev and the ultranationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin, who is co-organising the conference, have gained increasing influence in Moscow since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent aggressive nationalist turn. The pair have also worked to cultivate ties with influencers abroad who could help shape opinion in Donald Trump's America. It was not immediately clear whether the western speakers would travel to Russia or appear via video. However, before of the conference, Errol Musk was photographed in Moscow, where he downplayed the dispute between his son Elon, the world's richest man, and Trump during an interview with Russian media. 'You know they have been under a lot of stress for five months, you know, give them a break,' Musk Sr told the Russian state-run Izvestia newspaper. 'They are very tired and stressed so you can expect something like this. 'Trump will prevail – he's the president, he was elected as the president. So, you know, Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed.' Errol Musk also suggested the row 'was just a small thing' and would 'be over tomorrow'. The 79-year-old has previously voiced admiration for Vladimir Putin, claiming in an interview this year that his entire family was 'a little bit in awe' of him. Elon Musk has become one of the most vocal critics of US support for Ukraine, and is reported to have held secret talks with Putin during the continuing war.
