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Just over three weeks after Spain's inconclusive snap election, parliament reconvenes on Thursday under a cloud of political uncertainty which could end in a fresh...

Finland’s former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said Tuesday he will run as a candidate in the presidential election early next year, in a race that also includes a popular former Finnish foreign minister who was a key negotiator of the Nordic country’s recent membership in NATO. Stubb, 55, who headed the Finnish government in 2014-2015 and later served as foreign minister, said he was “both honored and thankful for the trust bestowed upon me.” Prime Minister Petteri Opo and Finland’s conservative National Coalition Party had asked him to run. The Finnish head of state is elected by a popular vote every six years. Finland’s president has substantial powers, particularly in matters related to foreign and security policy, which the president decides together with the government. The president also signs bills into law, can veto legislative proposals and acts as Finland’s supreme military commander. The two-leg Finnish presidential elections will be held in January and February 2024. Stubb's candidacy is important for Finland's center-right parties, Finnish broadcaster YLE said, noting that Stubb has a “phenomenal ability to collect votes” and that there is widespread respect for his language skills, international contacts and ability to make quick decisions. Stubb, who is known for being very active on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will face the popular former Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto among others. Haavisto, the former leader of the Greens party, will run as an independent candidate. He stepped down as foreign minister following April’s general election, which the center-side won, ousting a center-left government. Haavisto is one of Finland’s most popular politicians and topped recent presidential polls by several media outlets. He was the runner-up in the 2012 and 2018 presidential elections but was beaten on both occasions by current President Sauli Niinistö, whose second six-year term ends in March 2024. He is not eligible for reelection. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

The Bank of Russia raises rates to 12% from 8.5% in a bid to boost the currency and lower inflation.

Donald Trump railed against “out of control” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – and spelled “indicted” wrong – as he hit back at the sweeping 98-page indictment handed down in Georgia. The former president and 18 of his allies were hit with a total of 41 criminal counts under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, over their efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Taking to Truth Social in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, the former president ranted that the indictment is “rigged” and a “Witch Hunt”, while also managing to mispel the “indicted” as “Indicated”. “So, the Witch Hunt continues! 19 people Indicated tonight, including the former President of the United States, me, by an out of control and very corrupt District Attorney who campaigned and raised money on, ‘I will get Trump’,” he fumed. “And what about those Indictment Documents put out today, long before the Grand Jury even voted, and then quickly withdrawn? Sounds Rigged to me! “Why didn’t they Indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign. Witch Hunt!” In an appearance on Fox News Digital on Monday night, he called the indictment “politically-inspired” and said that DA Willis “should focus on the people that rigged the 2020 presidential election, not those who demand an answer as to what happened”. “This politically-inspired indictment, which could have been brought close to three years ago, was tailored for placement right smack in the middle of my political campaign,” Mr Trump said. “Just like she has allowed Atlanta to go to hell with all of its crime and violence, so too has Joe Biden allowed the United States of America to go to the same place with millions of people invading our country, inflation, bad economy, no energy, and lack of respect all over the world.” In the sweeping indictment, Mr Trump was charged with 13 criminal counts of: violating RICO’s statute, conspiracy to impersonate a public officer, two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of conspiracy to make false statements under oath, two counts of conspiracy to file false documents, two counts of solicitation of a public officer, filing false documents, conspiracy to solicit false statements, and making false statements. In total, the former president is facing 91 charges from four separate criminal cases. On 1 August, he was hit with a federal indictment over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, following an investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith’s office. Mr Trump was hit with four federal charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. In that case, the Justice Department alleged that Mr Trump and his circle of co-conspirators – who did not face charges – knew that he had lost the election but launched a multi-prong conspiracy to do everything they could to enable him to cling to power. This included spreading “knowingly false claims of election fraud to get state legislators and election officials to subvert the legitimate election results and change electoral votes for the Defendant’s opponent, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to electoral votes for the Defendant”, the indictment states. Mr Trump and his allies also allegedly plotted to send slates of fake electors to seven “targeted states” of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin which President Joe Biden had won – to get them to falsely certify the election for Mr Trump. The indictment also alleges Mr Trump tried to use the DOJ to “conduct sham election crime investigations”, sending letters to the seven states claiming that “significant concerns” had been found in the elections in those states. As well as the false claims about the election being stolen from Mr Trump, the scheme also involved pushing false claims that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to alter the results – and pushing Mr Pence to “fraudulently alter the election results”. When Mr Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in a violent attack that ended with five deaths, Mr Trump and his co-conspirators “exploited” the incident by “redoubling efforts to levy false claims of election fraud and convince Members of Congress to further delay the certification based on those claims,” the indictment claims. This came after Mr Smith’s office charged Mr Trump for the first time over his alleged mishandling of classified documents on leaving office. Back in April, Mr Trump was charged for the first time with New York state charges following an investigation into hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election. Read More Trump indictment live: Trump and 18 allies ordered to surrender on RICO charges for Georgia election plot In full: The bombshell charges against Trump and his allies in Georgia RICO case How the Georgia indictment against Donald Trump may be the biggest yet and other case takeaways Live updates: Trump and 18 allies ordered to surrender on RICO charges in Georgia Watch: Trump and 18 allies indicted in Georgia over bid to reverse 2020 election loss How the Georgia indictment against Donald Trump may be the biggest yet and other case takeaways

The most astonishing aspect of former President Donald Trump's fourth criminal indictment is not the scale of an alleged multi-layered conspiracy to steal Georgia's electoral votes in 2020 from their rightful winner.

By Sarah N. Lynch and Jacqueline Thomsen WASHINGTON Former President Donald Trump again stands accused of illegally trying

By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK Investors in Argentina's financial markets, where bonds and the peso slid on Monday

The fourth indictment of former President Donald Trump may be the most sweeping yet

By Andy Sullivan, Jacqueline Thomsen and Joseph Ax WASHINGTON Former U.S. President Donald Trump was hit with a

Donald Trump was indicted Monday on criminal charges for the fourth time, but the sprawling case involving his

Mr Trump and others face charges under the Rico Act for alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The timeline of the latest indictment against former President Donald Trump begins nearly three years ago