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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday called an early general election for July 23 in a surprise move after his Socialist party took a serious battering in local and regional elections. Prior to Sunday's debacle, Sánchez had insisted that he would ride out his four-year term with leftist government coalition partner United We Can, indicating that a election would be held in December. But the outcome of the local and regional votes quickly changed things. "I have taken this decision given the results of the elections held yesterday," Sánchez said Monday from the Moncloa presidential palace. The woes for Sánchez and his PSOE party come as Spain is due to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1. Sánchez said he had spoken to King Felipe VI and would hold a special Cabinet meeting later Monday to dissolve parliament. The date chosen for the early election comes in the middle of Spain's summer holiday period, with many people likely to be away from their voting areas. The local and regional elections on Sunday saw Spain taking a major swing to the right and made the leading opposition conservative Popular Party, or PP, the main political force in the country. "This is unexpected," said Ignacio Jurado, a political scientist at Madrid's Carlos III University. "Sánchez is trying to short circuit the PP's rise as soon as possible." In the municipal vote, the Popular Party, or PP, won 31.5% of votes compared with 28.2% for the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, or PSOE. This was a 1.2 percentage point decrease for PSOE on 2019, but almost a nine point increase for the PP, which benefited from the collapse of the centrist Citizens party. The PP, which is led by Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, won in seven of the 12 regions contested and dominated in several regions previously won by PSOE including Valencia, Aragon and La Rioja. It remains to be seen how much the PP will be forced to rely on far-right party Vox to form local and regional governments. PP also won an absolute majority in the region and capital of Madrid, with Isabel Díaz Ayuso being reelected as Madrid's regional president. Spain's regional governments have enormous power and budgetary discretion over education, health, housing and policing Sánchez said that although the elections Sunday were local and regional, the trend in the vote sent a message. "I take full responsibility for the results and I think it is necessary to provide an answer and put our democratic mandate to the people," he said. The poor showing by both by the Socialists and United We Can was immediately taken as a dire assessment of public feeling towards the ruling leftist coalition. The new leftist group Sumar, headed by Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, also failed to live up to expectations. "Sánchez reacts to a shock with another shock," Spanish political expert Sandra León said. "He also avoids deterioration of his party in two ways: the costs of internal division in the government until December and the division with PSOE party barons in the regions." She said the announcement will force the parties to the left of the Socialists — United We Can and Sumar — to regroup fast. Although the coalition government has shepherded Spain out of the COVID-19 pandemic, made the economy among the fastest growing in the EU and introduced several ground-breaking laws, something was sorely lacking. "The message received last night was clear: Things have to be done differently," Díaz tweeted. Feijóo has capitalized on criticizing the coalition's reliance to stay in power through support from separatist parties such as the Republican Left in Catalonia and the Basque region's EH Bildu. Sánchez has been in office since 2018, when he brought and won a no-confidence vote against the PP prime minister at the time, Mariano Rajoy. He then led the Socialists to a general election victory in 2019.  

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared anew this weekend after Kosovo's police raided Serb-dominated areas in the region's north and seized local municipality buildings. There have been violent clashes between Kosovo's police and local Serbs, leaving several people injured on both sides. Serbia raised combat readiness of its troops stationed near the border and warned it won't stand by if Serbs in Kosovo are attacked again. The situation has again fueled fears of a renewal of the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo that claimed more than 10,000 lives and left more than 1 million homeless. Why are Serbia and Kosovo at odds? Kosovo is a mainly ethnic Albanian populated territory that was formerly a province of Serbia. It declared independence in 2008. Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo's statehood and still considers it part of Serbia, even though it has no formal control there. Kosovo's independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States. Russia, China and five European Union nations have sided with Serbia. The deadlock has kept tensions simmering and prevented full stabilization of the Balkan region after the bloody wars in the 1990s. What's the latest flare-up about? After Serbs boycotted last month's local elections held in northern Kosovo, where Serbs represent a majority, newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors moved into their offices with the help of Kosovo's riot police last Friday. Serbs tried to prevent them from taking over the premises, but the police fired tear gas to disperse them. On Monday, Serbs staged a protest in front of the municipality buildings, triggering a tense standoff. The election boycott followed a collective resignation by Serb officials from the area, including administrative staff, judges, and police officers, in November 2022. How deep is the ethnic conflict in Kosovo? The dispute over Kosovo is centuries-old. Serbia cherishes the region as the heart of its statehood and religion. Numerous medieval Serb Orthodox Christian monasteries are in Kosovo. Serb nationalists view a 1389 battle against Ottoman Turks there as a symbol of its national struggle. Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians view Kosovo as their country and accuse Serbia of occupation and repression. Ethnic Albanian rebels launched a rebellion in 1998 to rid the country of Serbian rule. Belgrade's brutal response prompted a NATO intervention in 1999, which forced Serbia to pull out and cede control to international peacekeepers. What is the situation locally? There are constant tensions between the Kosovo government and the Serbs who live mainly in the north of the country and keep close ties with Belgrade. Attempts by the central government to impose more control in the Serb-dominated north are usually met with resistance from Serbs. Mitrovica, the main town in the north, has been effectively divided into an ethnic Albanian part and a Serb-held part, and the two sides rarely mix. There are also smaller Serb-populated enclaves in the south of Kosovo, while tens of thousands of Kosovo Serbs live in central Serbia, where they fled together with the withdrawing Serb troops in 1999. Have there been attempts to resolve the dispute? There have been constant international efforts to find common ground between the two former wartime foes, but there has been no final comprehensive agreement so far. EU officials have mediated negotiations designed to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Numerous agreements have been reached during the negotiations, but were rarely implemented on the ground. Some areas have seen results, like introducing freedom of movement within the country. An idea has been floated for border changes and land swaps as the way forward, but this was rejected by many EU countries out of fears that it could cause a chain reaction in other ethnically mixed areas in the Balkans and trigger more trouble in the region that went through bloody wars in the 1990s. Who are the main players? Both Kosovo and Serbia are led by nationalist leaders who haven't shown readiness for a compromise. In Kosovo, Albin Kurti, a former student protest leader and prisoner in Serbia, leads the government and is the main negotiator in EU-mediated talks. He was also known as a fierce supporter of Kosovo's unification with Albania and is against any compromise with Serbia. Serbia is led by populist President Aleksandar Vucic, who was information minister during the war in Kosovo. The former ultranationalist insists that any solution must be a compromise in order to last and says the country won't settle unless it gains something. What happens next? International officials are hoping to speed up negotiations and reach a solution in the coming months. Both nations must normalize ties if they want to advance toward EU membership. No major breakthrough would mean prolonged instability, economic decline and constant potential for clashes. Any Serbian military intervention in Kosovo would mean a clash with NATO peacekeepers stationed there. Belgrade controls Kosovo's Serbs, and Kosovo can't become a member of the U.N. and a functional state without resolving the dispute with Serbia.  

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a mandate to rule until 2028, securing five more years as leader of a country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia that plays a key role in NATO. He must now confront skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis and rebuild in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people. Erdogan secured more than 52% of the vote in Sunday’s presidential runoff, two weeks after he fell short of scoring an outright victory in the first round. His opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had sought to reverse Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian leanings, promising to return to democratic norms, adopt more conventional economic policies and improve ties with the West. But in the end, voters chose the man they see as a strong, proven leader. Erdogan thanked the nation for entrusting him with the presidency again in two speeches he delivered in Istanbul and Ankara. “The only winner today is Turkey,” Erdogan said outside the presidential palace in Ankara, promising to work hard for Turkey’s second century, which he called the “Turkish century.” The country marks its centennial this year. Kilicdaroglu said the election was “the most unjust ever,” with all state resources mobilized for Erdogan. “We will continue to be at the forefront of this struggle until real democracy comes to our country,” he said in Ankara. Supporters of Erdogan, a divisive populist and masterful orator, took to the streets to celebrate, waving Turkish or ruling party flags, honking car horns and chanting his name. Celebratory gunfire was heard in several Istanbul neighborhoods. Leaders across the world sent their congratulations, highlighting Turkey’s, and Erdogan’s, enlarged role in global politics. His next term is certain to include more delicate maneuvering with fellow NATO members over the future of the alliance and the war in Ukraine. Western politicians said they are ready to continue working with Erdogan despite years of sometimes tense relations. Most imminently, Turkey holds the cards for Sweden’s hopes to join NATO. The bid aims to strengthen the military alliance against Russia. Turkey is also central to the continuity of a deal to allow Ukrainian grain shipments and avert a global food crisis. In his victory remarks, Erdogan said rebuilding the quake-struck cities would be his priority. He also said a million Syrian refugees would go back to Turkish-controlled “safe zones” in Syria as part of a resettlement project being run with Qatar. Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam’s profile in Turkey, which was founded on secular principles, and raising the country’s influence in international politics. Erdogan’s rival was a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. The opposition took months to unite behind Kilicdaroglu. He and his party have not won any elections in which Erdogan ran. In a frantic outreach effort to nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu had vowed to send back refugees and ruled out peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he was elected. Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with “terrorists” and supporting what they described as “deviant” LGBTQ rights. In his victory speech, Erdogan repeated those themes, saying LGBTQ people cannot “infiltrate” his ruling party or its nationalist allies. Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Turkey’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014 and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency. Erdogan is now serving his second term as president under the executive presidency. He could run again for another term if parliament — where his ruling party and allies hold a majority — calls early elections. The number of terms was a point of contention ahead of the elections when critics argued Erdogan would be ineligible to run again since he had also held the office before the system change but he pointed to the constitutional amendments that brought in the executive presidency as justification. The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms allowing the country to begin talks to join the European Union, as well as economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his own hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Turkey says was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.

The attacks come at night, when most in Kyiv are sound asleep. The sirens wail across the Ukrainian capital, rousing bleary-eyed residents, who, after 15 months of war, have customized individual routines to cope with Russia’s latest air campaign. In the recent escalation of Russian attacks, Olha Bukhno, 65, a cleaner, says a prayer every night. “Please,” she asks, closing her eyes and addressing the heavens, “Let it be quiet.” By her bedside is a bag packed full of essentials: documents, dry foods and water. At the sound of the alarm, she dashes downstairs to her building’s basement and takes shelter. Nearly two weeks ago, debris from a shot-down missile landed on the roof of a building next to hers in Kyiv’s Darnytsia district, causing a large fire. “Every night, we are afraid,” she said, tearing up. When the alarm blares, some in the city are consumed by fear, imagining the worst-case scenarios that could unfold; displacement, being trapped under rubble, being killed. Others embrace apathy, lying awake in bed, as the sounds of explosions ricochet across the skies. But in the past month, when Russian air attacks escalated to near-nightly raids, most people are complaining of sleeplessness. In the war-defying bustle of Kyiv’s cafes, restaurants and salons, business goes on despite the ongoing war, but everyone has a story about how tired they feel. “What is there to say? Everyone is exhausted,” said Oleksandr Chubienko, a pharmacist in Darnytsia, describing the recent temper of his customers. Russia launched another wave of attacks on Kyiv in the early hours of Monday using a combination of drones and cruise missiles. More than 40 air targets were brought down in what was the 15th nighttime attack on the capital in May, head of the Kyiv Military Administration Serhii Popko said in a Telegram update. Falling debris broke through the roof of a residential building in the Podlisk district but there were no immediate reports of casualties “One more difficult night for the capital,” said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Often the explosions are the sounds of Ukraine’s air defense systems successfully targeting the deadly cocktail of missiles and drones Russia has sent into Ukraine. On May 16, Russia launched an exceptionally intense bombardment, sending 18 missiles Ukraine’s way, 14 of which targeted Kyiv according to Ukraine’s air force spokesman. Ukraine said it shot down six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that night, a capability it did not have last year. On Saturday night, local officials in Kyiv said that Ukraine’s capital was subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia’s war. At least one person was killed. It came on the eve of Kyiv Day, which marks the anniversary of the city's founding. The increasingly regular series of strikes are part of a new Russian air campaign targeting Ukrainian counteroffensive capabilities, experts and Ukrainian officials said. The uptick was noticed after April 19, right after Ukraine announced it had received American-made Patriot missiles, a long-sought new shield against Russian airstrikes. Observers said the renewed intensity of Russian attacks appears to be aiming to overwhelm and target these new systems. The May 16 attack caused “minor” damage to one Patriot air defense system near Kyiv, U.S. officials said, adding that it was still operational. The latest string of attacks also come after a previous winter-time escalation in air raids this year targeted critical infrastructure, including power stations and military logistics facilities. Ukrainian forces have become more effective in shooting down Russian missiles compared to earlier in the year, with many crediting the American systems. But the defense systems can’t shield civilians from every harm. The debris from destroyed Russian missiles have rained down on civilians, causing fires and injuries. For many in the city, the sound of the air raid alarm is accompanied by the constant ring of Telegram, the preferred app in Ukraine for sharing updates about the airstrikes. With every update — “Another coming from East,” “More launched from sea! Take cover!” — people respond with an emoji expressing expletives. But the calculations that civilians make about what to do next is often very different across all walks of life, with some staying at home, resigned to their fate and others speeding toward safer spaces. In Darnitsya, leftover debris from the fire was piled inside a large garbage can. Charred pieces of wood and insulation lie under the springtime sun, as parents stroll by with their children and neighbors exchange the latest gossip. Pavlo Chervinskyi, 45, tells his 4-year-old daughter that it’s all a game when their apartment windows rattle with the distant boom of the nighttime explosions. Every time there is an air raid, he carries her to the corridor and waits for the all-clear. With every bang, he tells her “Putin is making a racket again,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It’s better than to try to explain to her what is really going on, he said, watching her make sand castles in the family’s neighbourhood playground. It’s not exactly a lie, he explained. “We are being subjected to a game of Russian roulette every night.” But still, it’s better to avoid telling his child the whole truth. “It’s better that it’s a joke between us,” he said. “Now she is used to it, and she isn’t afraid.” She slept right through the weekend attacks, the businessman said. “At least someone is getting rest,” he added, with a weary smile. Mariana Yavolina, a physical therapist, had the misfortune of moving to the residential compound in Darnitsya the day of the attack. She returned to her new apartment after midnight that night. The air raid alarm was blazing, but Yavolina had had enough. She lay on her sofa and looked up at the ceiling; her first moment’s rest from the long day. In the distance, explosions resounded. One, then another. She looked at her Telegram app for updates. “I try not to take it so seriously,” Yavolina said. “It’s so annoying, and if you want to live yourself you can’t be consumed by it all the time.” Bit by bit that night, she convinced herself that it was ok to sleep. The next blast shook the entire apartment, jolting her awake. Outside, plumes of smoke clouded the view as flames raged from the roof of the building beside her. The stench of burning was overwhelming. Soon firefighters and police arrived at the scene, forbidding anyone to take video of the wreckage. But Yavolina filmed anyway and sent the footage to a friend serving in the army. “Just flowers,” he responded — a local idiom meaning it could have been much worse.

A group of some 30 migrants seeking asylum, including small children, has been stuck at Poland's border wall with Belarus for three days, Polish human rights activists said Sunday. Although the migrants were outside Poland's border wall, activists from Grupa Granica (Border Group) said they were on Polish territory and Belarus was not allowing them to turn back. "In Belarus, they are not safe," activist Marta Staniszewska said. "The Belarusian services, as this group has told us, threaten them that if they return, they will be beaten, or that they will kill them," Staniszewska told The Associated Press. The migrants say that several among them are sick, one girl has a toothache, and the children have mosquito bites, according to Staniszewska. A representative of Poland's ombudsman's office visited and talked to the group on Sunday, but later told reporters that the decision about whether to allow them into the country belongs to the Polish Border Guard. "If these persons are indeed within the jurisdiction of the (Polish) Border Guard and declare their willingness to apply for international protection, then .... such applications should be accepted," Maciej Grzeskowiak said. Last year, Poland put up almost 190 kilometers (117 miles) of tall metal wall intended to stop thousands of migrants from Asia and Africa entering the country from Belarus. The European Union has accused authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of aiding illegal border crossings in retaliation for EU sanctions. Lukashenko denies encouraging migration to Europe. Poland's most powerful politician, the head of Poland's right-wing ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said recently that building the wall was a good decision. He said it was protecting Poland and the EU against hostile moves by Belarus and Russia. Despite the wall, up to 150 migrants of various nationalities, often with Russian visas in their documents, try to cross illegally into Poland each day, according to the Border Guard. On some occasions, such groups threw stones and sticks from behind the wall at the border guards, but then apparently moved away. It is not possible from Poland's side to determine what happens to the groups.

 Turkey’s incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared victory Sunday in his country's runoff election, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. With nearly 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. In his first comments since the polls closed, Erdogan spoke to supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul. “I thank each member of our nation for entrusting me with the responsibility to govern this country once again for the upcoming five years,” he said. He ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying “bye bye bye, Kemal,” as supporters booed. “The only winner today is Turkey,” Erdogan said. In Istanbul, Erdogan supporters began celebrating even before the final results arrived, waving Turkish or ruling party flags, and honking car horns. The outcome could have implications far beyond Ankara. Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO. Erdogan’s government vetoed Sweden’s bid to join NATO and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from a U.S.-led fighter-jet project. But it also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis. The competing news agencies get their data from completed ballot box counts that are gathered by personnel on the field, and are strong in different regions, explaining some of the variation in preliminary data. Turkey’s electoral board sends its own data to political parties throughout the vote count but doesn’t declare official results until days later. Erdogan, who has been at Turkey’s helm for 20 years, was favored to win a new five-year term in the second-round runoff, after coming just short of outright victory in the first round on May 14. The divisive populist finished four percentage points ahead of Kilicdaroglu (pronounced KEH-lich-DAHR-OH-loo), the candidate of a six-party alliance. Erdogan’s performance came despite crippling inflation and the effects of a devastating earthquake three months ago. It was the first time he didn’t win an election where he ran as a candidate. The two candidates offered sharply different visions of the country's future, and its recent past. “This election took place under very difficult circumstances, there was all sorts of slander and defamation,” the 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu told reporters after casting his ballot. “But I trust in the common sense of the people. Democracy will come, freedom will come, people will be able to wander the streets and freely criticize politicians.” Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at a school in Istanbul, Erdogan noted that it’s the first presidential runoff election in Turkey’s history. He also praised high voter turnout in the first round and said he expected participation to be high again on Sunday. He voted at the same time as Kilicdaroglu, as local television showed the rivals casting ballots on split screens. “I pray to God, that it (the election) will be beneficial for our country and nation,” he said. Critics blame Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies for skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis. Many also faulted his government for a slow response to the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey. In the mainly Kurdish-populated province of Diyarbakir — one of 11 regions that was hit by the Feb. 6 earthquake — 60-year-old retiree Mustafa Yesil said he voted for “change.” “I'm not happy at all with the way this country is going. Let me be clear, if this current administration continues, I don’t see good things for the future,” he said. “I see that it will end badly — this administration has to change.” Mehmet Yurttas, an Erdogan supporter, disagreed. “I believe that our homeland is at the peak, in a very good condition,” the 57-year-old shop owner said. “Our country’s trajectory is very good and it will continue being good.” Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam’s profile in the Turkey, which was founded on secular principles, and for raising the country’s influence in world politics. Erdogan, 69, could remain in power until 2028. A devout Muslim, he heads the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP. Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Turkey’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014, and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency. The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to begin talks to join the European Union, and economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his own hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Turkey says was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement. Erdogan's rival is a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. Kilicdaroglu campaigned on promises to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, to restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies, and to improve ties with the West. In a frantic effort to reach out to nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back refugees and ruled out peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected. A defeat for Kilicdaroglu would add to a long list of electoral losses to Erdogan, and put pressure on him to step down as party chairman. Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies retained a majority of seats in parliament following a legislative election that was also held on May 14. Sunday also marked the 10th anniversary of the start of mass anti-government protests that broke out over plans to uproot trees in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, and became one of the most serious challenges to Erdogan’s government. Erdogan’s response to the protests, in which eight people were convicted for alleged involvement, was a harbinger of a crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression. Following the May 14 vote, international observers pointed to the criminalization of dissemination of false information and online censorship as evidence that Erdogan had an “unjustified advantage.” They also said that strong turnout showed the resilience of Turkish democracy. Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with “terrorists” and of supporting what they described as “deviant” LGBTQ rights. Kilicdaroglu “receives his orders from Qandil,” Erdogan repeatedly said at recent campaign rallies, a reference to the mountains in Iraq where the leadership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is based. The election was held as the country marked the 100th anniversary of its establishment as a republic, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Voters in Turkey return to the polls Sunday to decide whether the country’s longtime leader stretches his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade or is unseated by a challenger who has promised to restore a more democratic society. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been at Turkey’s helm for 20 years, is favored to win a new five-year term in the second-round runoff after coming just short of an outright victory in the first round on May 14. The divisive populist who turned his country into a geopolitical player finished four percentage points ahead of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party alliance and leader of Turkey’s center-left main opposition party. Erdogan’s performance came despite crippling inflation and the effects of a devastating earthquake three months ago. Kilicdaroglu (pronounced KEH-lich-DAHR-OH-loo), a 74-year-old former bureaucrat, has described the runoff as a referendum on the country’s future. More than 64 million people are eligible to cast ballots when the polls open at 8 a.m. Turkey does not have exit polls, but the preliminary results are expected to come within hours of the polls closing at 5 p.m. The final decision could have implications far beyond Ankara because Turkey stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it plays a key role in NATO. Turkey vetoed Sweden’s bid to join the alliance and purchased Russian missile-defense systems, which prompted the United States to oust Turkey from a U.S.-led fighter-jet project. But Erdogan’s government also helped broker a crucial deal that allowed Ukrainian grain shipments and averted a global food crisis. The May 14 election saw 87% turnout, and strong participation is expected again Sunday, reflecting voters’ devotion to elections in a country where freedom of expression and assembly have been suppressed. If he wins, Erdogan, 69, could remain in power until 2028. After three stints as prime minister and two as president, the devout Muslim who heads the conservative and religious Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is already Turkey’s longest-serving leader. The first half of Erdogan’s tenure included reforms that allowed the country to begin talks to join the European Union and economic growth that lifted many out of poverty. But he later moved to suppress freedoms and the media and concentrated more power in his hands, especially after a failed coup attempt that Turkey says was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement. Erdogan transformed the presidency from a largely ceremonial role to a powerful office through a narrowly won 2017 referendum that scrapped Turkey’s parliamentary system of governance. He was the first directly elected president in 2014 and won the 2018 election that ushered in the executive presidency. The May 14 election was the first that Erdogan did not win outright. Critics blame Erdogan’s unconventional economic policies for skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis. Many also faulted his government for the slow response to the earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey. Still, Erdogan has retained the backing of conservative voters who remain devoted to him for lifting Islam’s profile in the country that was founded on secular principles and for raising the country’s influence in world politics. In a bid to woo voters hit hard by inflation, he has increased wages and pensions and subsidized electricity and gas bills, while showcasing Turkey’s homegrown defense industry and infrastructure projects. He also centered his reelection campaign on a promise to rebuild quake-stricken areas, including constructing 319,000 homes within the year. Many see him as a source of stability. Kilicdaroglu is a soft-mannered former civil servant who has led the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, since 2010. He campaigned on a promise to reverse Erdogan’s democratic backsliding, restore the economy by reverting to more conventional policies and to improve ties with the West. In a frantic do-or-die effort to reach out to nationalist voters in the runoff, Kilicdaroglu vowed to send back refugees and ruled out any peace negotiations with Kurdish militants if he is elected. Many in Turkey regard Syrian refugees who have been under Turkey’s temporary protection after fleeing the war in neighboring Syria as a burden on the country, and their repatriation became a key issue in the election. Earlier in the week, Erdogan received the endorsement of third-place candidate, nationalist politician Sinan Ogan, who garnered 5.2% of the votes and is no longer in the race. Meanwhile, a staunchly anti-migrant party that had supported Ogan’s candidacy, announced it would back Kilicdaroglu. A defeat for Kilicdaroglu would add to a long list of electoral losses to Erdogan and put pressure for him to step down as party chairman. Erdogan’s AKP party and its allies retained a majority of seats in parliament following a legislative election that was also held on May 14. Parliamentary elections will not be repeated Sunday. Erdogan’s party also dominated in the earthquake-hit region, winning 10 out of 11 provinces in an area that has traditionally supported the president. Erdogan came in ahead in the presidential race in eight of those provinces. As in previous elections, Erdogan used state resources and his control of the media to reach voters. Following the May 14 vote, international observers also pointed to the criminalization of dissemination of false information and online censorship as evidence that Erdogan had an “unjustified advantage.” The observers also said the elections showed the resilience of Turkish democracy. Erdogan and pro-government media portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who had received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, as colluding with “terrorists” and of supporting what they described as “deviant” LGBTQ rights. Kilicdaroglu “receives his orders from Qandil,” Erdogan repeatedly said at recent campaign rallies, a reference to the mountains in Iraq where the leadership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is based. “We receive our orders from God and the people,” he said. The election was being held as the country marked the 100th anniversary of its establishment as a republic, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stepped down from the helm of his populist party on Saturday amid plans to form a wider political movement and as he faces a wave of anti-government protests. At his own proposal, Vucic was replaced as the leader of right-wing Serbian Progressive Party by Milos Vucevic, who is currently the defense minister. “Thank you for these 11 years,” Vucic told a party gathering in the central Serbian town of Kragujevac. “I am proud to have led the best party in Serbia for all these years.” Vucic first announced the change at a rally Friday in Belgrade in front of tens of thousands of his supporters. He has often faced criticism for remaining party leader while also holding the presidency of the country. Vucic said he will remain a SNS party member “as long as I live,” and “won’t go anywhere from you.” Thousands of people are expected at an opposition-led march later on Saturday demanding resignations of top officials and the revoking of licenses for pro-government media that air violent content and host crime figures and war criminals. The protests in Belgrade and other Serbian cities are the biggest in years against Vucic and his government. They were organized in response to a pair of mass shootings earlier this month that left 18 people dead and 20 wounded, many of them children from an elementary school. Critics accuse Vucic and his party of having fueled divisions in society and curbed democratic freedoms during his 11 years in power. He has denied this. Vucic has said the new, national movement will be formed in June to include other parties, experts and prominent individuals and promote unity. Analysts say it is a bid to regroup following over a decade in power and mounting public pressure. During the rally on Friday, Vucic accused the opposition of abusing the mass shootings for political ends. But he still offered dialogue as he seeks ways to ease mounting public pressure. The killings stunned the nation, triggering calls for changes. The protesters say Vucic and his government were creating an atmosphere of violence with their hate speech against political opponents and relentless propaganda campaign in mainstream media. Opposition parties have pledged to press on with the demonstrations until their demands are fulfilled. They include the ouster of the interior minister and the intelligence chief, revoking of nationwide broadcast licenses for two pro-government TV stations and the dismissal of a media-monitoring body. Vucic and his party bused in tens of thousands of people for his pro-government rally on Friday that was announced as the “biggest ever” in Serbia and was held in drenching rain. Serbian media reported that employees of public companies in smaller towns were told they must come or would lose their jobs.

The European Union has been at the forefront of the fight against climate change and the protection of nature for years. But it now finds itself under pressure from within to pause new environmental efforts amid fears they will hurt the economy. With the next European Parliament elections set for 2024, some leaders and lawmakers are concerned about antagonizing workers and voters with new binding legislation and restrictive measures and are urging the 27-nation bloc to hit the brakes. Since Ursula von der Leyen took the helm of the powerful European Commission back in 2019, environmental policies have topped the EU agenda. EU nations have endorsed plans to become climate neutral by 2050 and adopted a wide range of measures, from reducing energy consumption to sharply cutting transport emissions and reforming the EU’s trading system for greenhouse gases. But cracks in the European united front against climate change have emerged in recent months. The first sign was earlier this year when Germany, the bloc's economic giant, delayed a deal to ban new internal combustion engines in the EU by 2035 amid ideological divisions inside the German government. An agreement was finally reached in March, but just weeks later, the bloc's other powerhouse, France, called for a pause on EU environmental regulation, causing controversy. As he presented a bill on green industry earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was time for the EU to implement existing rules before adopting new ones. “We have already passed a lot of regulations at European level, more than our neighbors," he said. “Now we have to execute, not make new rules, because otherwise we will lose all players.” Macron has been particularly concerned by a U.S. clean energy law that benefits electric vehicles and other products made in North America, fearing it will expose European companies to unfair competition. Although Europeans and their American partners keep working to resolve the challenges posed by the U.S. law, Macron's logic basically holds that a pause on environmental constraints would help EU businesses keep producing on home soil, despite competition from countries such as China that have lower environmental standards. Belgian Prime minister Alexander De Croo quickly followed suit, calling this week for a moratorium on the introduction of EU legislation aimed at nature preservation, creating a rift within the governing coalition including green politicians. The law proposed by the EU's executive arm aims, by 2030, to cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas with nature restoration measures, "and eventually extend these to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050,” the commission said. De Croo said that climate legislation should not be overloaded with restoration measures or limits on agricultural nitrogen pollution, warning that businesses would no longer be able to keep up. “That’s why I’m asking that we press the pause button," he told VRT network. "Let’s not go too far with things that, strictly speaking, have nothing to do with global warming. These other issues are important too, but measures to address them must be taken in phases.” Macron and De Croo have found allies at the European Parliament, where members of the biggest group, the Christian Democrat EPP, have asked the European Commission to withdraw the nature restoration law proposal on grounds that it will threaten agriculture and undermine food security in Europe. The move came after two parliamentary committees, the Fisheries Committee and the Agriculture Committee, rejected the planned legislation. EPP lawmakers claim that abandoning farmland will lead to an increase in food prices, more imports and drive farmers out of businesses. “This is an exceptional step and shows that the Parliament is not ready to accept a proposal that only increases costs and insecurity for farmers, fishers and consumers,” said Siegfried Mureşan, the vice-chairman of the EPP Group responsible for budget and structural policies. The growing opposition to the nature restoration law has caused great concern among environmental NGOs, and Frans Timmermans, the EU Commission's top climate official in charge of its Green Deal, warned he would not put forward an alternative proposal because there isn't time. “You can’t say I support the Green Deal, but not the ambition to restore nature. It’s not ‘à la carte menu,'” Timmermans said. The EU commission has also proposed setting legally binding targets to reduce the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030 and a ban on all pesticide use in public parks, playgrounds and schools. To ease the transition to alternative pest control methods, farmers would be able to use EU funds to cover the cost of the new requirements for five years. “If one piece falls, the other pieces fall. I don’t see how we can maintain the Green Deal without the nature pillar, because without the nature pillar, the climate pillar is also not viable,” Timmermans told EU lawmakers. “So we need to get these two together.”

Two soccer teams exiled from cities in war-battered eastern Ukraine play each other Sunday in the safer western part of the country with the league title at stake. The showdown between competition leader Shakhtar Donetsk and second-place Dnipro-1 at Arena Lviv can be decisive in a soccer season that is finishing on schedule in remarkable circumstances. The stadium was one of four in Ukraine, including Shakhtar's home in Donetsk, secure enough in 2012 from Russian aggression to co-host that year's European Championship with Poland. Shakhtar leads by five points and needs just a draw this weekend to secure the title ahead of the last scheduled round on June 4. “I think it will maybe be one of our best matches ever,” Ukrainian league chief executive Ievgen Dykyi told The Associated Press this week in a call from Kyiv. “Because the situation now is really hard and all the players understand about this.” In Dnipro on Friday, the Russian military struck a medical clinic, killing at least two and injuring more than 20, including children. Still, the soccer season continues with the blessing of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a bid to help keep some normalcy in daily life. The kickoff at 2 p.m. in Lviv will open the 29th round of games in the 16-team league. All 224 previously scheduled games in the league season have been completed despite the relentless war. There are now 16 games left. That looked to be an unlikely achievement in Lviv back on Aug. 24 last year when air raid alerts were disrupting the second day of games. It was also a national holiday, celebrating Ukraine’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and the game between Lviv club Rukh Vynnyky and Metalist took 4-1/2 hours to complete after the teams stopped play four times to find shelter. League officials had weighed starting the league season in Poland or Turkey but decided it was their “moral obligation” to stay in Ukraine. They relied on financial help from their fellow members of the 29-nation European Leagues group. “It was like a symbol of sport to our people and our warriors,” said Dykyi, adding that soldiers connected with the league by sending video clips of them watching games online from the frontline. “They sent their really deepest ‘Thankyous’ that the championship can be played.” In these conditions, fans have been almost entirely excluded. A limit of 280 people on site was imposed for each game. “At this moment we have not the opportunity to bring back the supporters to the stadium because of the issues about safety and shelter,” said Dykyi, who worked in Kyiv for the past year. He said his family shelters in their bathroom during air raid alerts. “Now we have maybe, unfortunately, got used to this,” he said. Fans around Europe also got used to seeing Ukrainian soccer teams in international competitions while Russian teams remain suspended by FIFA and UEFA. The national team is playing in Euro 2024 qualifying and in September will face defending champion Italy in Milan, then will take on England at a neutral venue yet to be announced. Shakhtar and Dnipro-1 advanced to knockout rounds in UEFA competitions this year, and a place in the group stage of the Champions League next season is the likely reward for winning the Ukrainian title. The millions of dollars in UEFA prize money from European competition is even more important income for clubs which have seen so many sponsors and customers shut down during the war. “A lot of teams are suffering a lot,” Dykyi said. “A lot of businesses of the club owners were destroyed.” Shakhtar owner Rinat Akhmetov’s business included the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol that one year ago was a powerful symbol of resistance in the city devastated by Russian attacks. Mariupol’s soccer club could not continue, though a place in the top league is held open for its return. The league made the same offer to the Desna Chernihiv club. Dykyi becomes emotional telling the story of one Mariupol club official’s escape from the city last year on roads peppered with mines: “Mariupol is a terrible story.” The uncertainty and insecurity for Ukrainian soccer because of the war meant Shakhtar last year lost its Italian coach, Roberto de Zerbi, who went on to be an acclaimed success in England with Brighton. Shakhtar then hired the Croatian Igor Jovićević from Dnipro-1, which then appointed Oleksandr Kucher. He played at Shakhtar for 11 years and played in its storied 2009 UEFA Cup-winning team. The close coaching ties add another layer to a game Sunday that is a kind of victory for all Ukraine. “In the first months (of the war) it was a really scary situation,” Dykyi said. “We couldn’t imagine in this situation we can play our championship.”