Swedish EU diplomat Johan Floderus freed from Iranian jail in prisoner swap

Iranian-Swedish citizen Saeed Azizi also exchanged for Hamid Noury, who was serving life in Sweden for role in death of political prisoners

Johan Floderus, the Swedish EU diplomat held in captivity for two years in Iran, has been freed and is on his way home, the Swedish prime minister announced.

Ulf Kristersson said on Saturday that the Iranian lifer Hamid Noury was being exchanged for Johan Floderus and the Iranian-Swedish citizen Saeed Azizi.

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‘This could end up ugly’: after Macron’s gamble, will the far right seize power in France?

Marine Le Pen’s party is breaking record high scores across vast areas of the country, polls show, with an increase in its influence inevitable

It is 8pm on Sunday 7 July. Polling stations have just closed after the second round of snap French parliamentary elections – the country’s most momentous ballot in living memory – and the first estimations flash up on the nation’s TV screens.

President Emmanuel Macron has lost his gamble. The National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen has more than trebled its tally of deputies in the assemblée nationale to just over 290: an absolute majority. France’s next government will be far right.

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Russia, China absent as world leaders meet for Ukraine peace conference – Al Jazeera English

  1. Russia, China absent as world leaders meet for Ukraine peace conference  Al Jazeera English
  2. Ukraine updates: World leaders attend Swiss peace summit – DW – 06/15/2024  DW (English)
  3. Ukraine Hosts Peace Talks in Switzerland, Though Russia Isn't Invited  The New York Times
  4. 'Ultimatums don't work with Ukraine' — Zelenskyy's chief of staff responds to Putin's peace proposal  POLITICO Europe
  5. International Summit Debates Ukrainian Peace Deal In Russia's Absence  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
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‘He thought it was fun’: how Rubens painted over an old master to give it life

Hi-tech imaging reveals the artist tinkered with Herri met de Bles’s painting to improve the composition of figures

One benefit of being among history’s greatest artists is that if you don’t much like a painting done by someone else, you can just improve it. The Flemish master Sir Peter Paul Rubens certainly knew how to paint people; Rubenesque is still used to describe a curvaceous, ample body. So when he noticed the inferior quality of the religious figures depicted on an otherwise accomplished landscape hanging on his wall, it turns out he simply picked up his paint palette.

A newly rediscovered Herri met de Bles painting, titled The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist in an Extensive Landscape with Travellers, set a puzzle for art historians because the style of the landscape background did not match the group of people. Hi-tech imaging of the canvas carried out by a London auction house has since “completed the jigsaw”, revealing the way Rubens had tinkered with a painting now thought to have belonged to his own collection.

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French protesters are standing up to the far right ahead of the country’s snap elections – The Associated Press

  1. French protesters are standing up to the far right ahead of the country's snap elections  The Associated Press
  2. Thousands to march across France against far right  Reuters
  3. Hundreds of thousands in France protest far right ahead of snap elections  Al Jazeera English
  4. Don't Tell the French — But They're Americans Now  POLITICO
  5. French Election: Macron Gives Europe Brexit Nightmares Again  Bloomberg
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Did Canadian lawmakers wittingly conspire with foreign powers? – The Washington Post

  1. Did Canadian lawmakers wittingly conspire with foreign powers?  The Washington Post
  2. Canada's Parliament rocked by allegations of treason  POLITICO
  3. NDP leader says Han Dong shouldn't be allowed back into Liberal caucus  CBC.ca
  4. A serious country would not settle for this  Toronto Star
  5. Poilievre would accept CSIS briefing if spy agency has any concerns about his caucus or party  The Globe and Mail
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Keir Starmer promises no capital gains tax on sales of homes

Labour leader rejects ‘desperate’ claim from Tory party that he has secret property tax plans

Keir Starmer has ruled out imposing capital gains tax on the sale of people’s homes and said it was “desperate” tactics from the Tories to suggest that he would.

The Labour leader said he could “absolutely” guarantee that would not happen.

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Muslim pilgrims converge on Mount Arafat for holiest day of Hajj – Al Jazeera English

  1. Muslim pilgrims converge on Mount Arafat for holiest day of Hajj  Al Jazeera English
  2. Muslim pilgrims converge at Mount Arafat for daylong worship as Hajj reaches its peak  The Associated Press
  3. Pilgrims begin hajj in Mecca, with 1,000 Gazans joining at invitation of Saudi king  The Times of Israel
  4. More than a million Muslims begin hajj pilgrimage under shadow of Gaza war  FRANCE 24 English
  5. 2m pilgrims arrive at Mina as Hajj pinnacle nears  Arab News
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Children trapped in war zones because of UK refusal to ease refugee visa rules

‘Abject failure’ of family reunion scheme to provide legal route is leaving children at risk of trafficking or even death

Children are being trapped in war zones as a result of “impossible” bureaucratic requirements imposed on one of the few legal routes for asylum seekers, a charity has found.

The government has championed family reunion processes as a means for refugees to safely reunite with loved ones in Britain, but according to a new report by Ramfel, a charity that supports vulnerable migrants, the scheme is “not fit for purpose” and applicants have been abandoned, leaving them at risk of trafficking or even death.

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Documents detail Republican push to force hand counts in Arizona election

Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd were calling for hand counts in 2022 as election denialism swept Cochise county, a records request shows

Republican elected officials in a small Arizona county talked with state lawmakers and activists about hand-counting ballots there in 2022 and urged their counterparts in other counties to push for hand counts as well, newly released public records show.

The records from Cochise county, a Republican stronghold along the US-Mexico border, only came to light after a lawsuit from a watchdog group, American Oversight, and took well over a year to be released. The original records request from American Oversight was filed in November 2022.

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Harris will meet Zelenskyy at Ukraine summit – The Associated Press

  1. Harris will meet Zelenskyy at Ukraine summit  The Associated Press
  2. US pledges major aid package for Ukraine energy sector  BBC.com
  3. US VP Harris announces $1.5 billion in Ukraine aid at Switzerland peace summit  Reuters
  4. Harris announces $1.5 billion in aid for Ukraine at peace summit  NBC News
  5. Harris to Announce Aid to Bolster Ukraine's Battered Energy Grid  Bloomberg
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Elephant welcomes rare twin calves after surprise birth in Thailand – USA TODAY

  1. Elephant welcomes rare twin calves after surprise birth in Thailand  USA TODAY
  2. Twin Baby Elephants Send Mom Into A Frenzy - Videos from The Weather Channel  The Weather Channel
  3. Rare twin elephants born in Thailand 'miracle'  BBC.com
  4. Rare elephant twins born in dramatic birth in Thailand  Yahoo! Voices
  5. Elephant in Thailand unexpectedly gives birth to rare set of "miracle" twins  CBS News
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Sweden says Russian military jet violated airspace – Reuters

  1. Sweden says Russian military jet violated airspace  Reuters
  2. Ukraine-Russia war live: Sweden scrambles fighter jets to intercept Russian bomber over Nato border  The Telegraph
  3. Sweden Says Russian Bomber Violated Its Airspace  The Moscow Times
  4. Russian aircraft gets lost in Swedish airspace for the first time since Sweden joined NATO  Ukrainska Pravda
  5. Russian Fighter Jet Breached Swedish Airspace on Friday  Bloomberg
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