Author: Ketrin Jochecová

Authorities in Moscow said on Saturday that they had prevented the killing of a high-ranking Russian military officer and a pro-war Russian blogger with a homemade bomb hidden in a portable music speaker, a plot allegedly prepared by Ukraine.Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), a successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said that a Russian citizen, who is now in custody, appears to have followed orders from an intelligence officer working at Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR), who claimed to be named “Andrey” over the Telegram messaging service. As part of the plot, the Russian suspect retrieved from a hiding place in…

They say the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. The age-old wisdom is one that diplomats and political leaders are well aware of when wining and dining their esteemed guests. A no-holds-barred lavish spread can go some way to lubricating spiky bilateral relations or softening a political blow — as France’s Elysée Palace knows all too well. However, the art of diplomatic dining is no piece of cake, particularly when catering for international palates. For your indulgence, POLITICO has rounded up the top six times that a state offering has resulted in a diplomatic incident. Russian salad at NATO…

As butter prices continue to surge across Europe, Czech politicians have decided to tackle the situation in the most effective way — by bickering on social media.Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, ruling out any government intervention, blamed the high prices of butter on the market structure, with small number of firms controlling the prices — including Agrofert, which is linked to the opposition leader Andrej Babiš. “The market should sort it out. Unfortunately, the market is not there. The market is dominated by three powerful players, including Mr. Babiš’s Agrofert and his friends, and they are simply oligopolies,” Fiala said…

Romania’s top court stands accused of undemocratic election meddling after it removed an antisemitic, pro-Russia, far-right candidate from the presidential ballot, saying she would threaten the country’s position in the European Union and NATO. Diana Șoșoacă, leader of the ultra-nationalist party S.O.S Romania who was elected to the European Parliament in June, was earlier this month banned from running in the two-round presidential elections on Nov. 24 and Dec. 8. The unprecedented ruling by the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) sparked criticism from Șoșoacă’s rivals across the political spectrum, encompassing socialists, liberals and academics — with one figure even pointing…