World
Croatians vote in election pitting the PM against the country’s president
Exit polls expected minutes after voting ends at 7pm (17:00 GMT), with official results due in the coming days.
Croatians are casting ballots in a parliamentary election largely pitting incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic against the country’s president, Zoran Milanovic.
Voters will choose between more than 2,000 candidates in Wednesday’s polls that come as the country wrestles with high inflation, a labour shortage and allegations of official corruption.
Exit polls are expected minutes after voting ends at 7pm (17:00 GMT), with official results due in the coming days.
For months, 54-year-old Plenkovic and his ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) seemed poised for an easy victory that would secure his third term as prime minister.
But in mid-March, Milanovic, a 57-year-old populist, made the surprise announcement that he would challenge Plenkovic and become candidate prime minister for the Social Democrats (SDP).
However, the Constitutional Court warned Milanovic that his candidacy while he is president is incompatible with his official position.
The president holds a largely ceremonial role in Croatia, while the prime minister exerts most of the political power. Milanovic’s mandate expires in January but he said he would step down if the SDP and its allies secure a majority to form a new government.
Pre-election polls suggested that the HDZ would win most seats in the 151-seat parliament, but not enough to secure an outright majority. Coalition talks are expected to follow the vote.
The streets of Zagreb were quiet as voters lined up to cast their ballots on a national holiday.
“We would like to see politicians work in the interest of the people; that is what we elect them for. Nothing like in the past 30 years,” pensioner Biserka Kolaric, who voted in the capital, told Reuters.
Fears of weakening EU’s unity on Ukraine
The HDZ has largely held power since Croatia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
If it stays in power, the country would continue a pro-Western course in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia. A success for SDP could put it on track for victory in the European Parliament elections in June and the presidential election in December.
Plenkovic has lambasted Milanovic over his criticism of EU backing for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and the president’s opposition to training Ukrainian soldiers in Croatia.
“Milanovic is pushing Croatia and the Croatian people into the Russian world,” Plenkovic told supporters during a pre-election rally.
The president has argued that he is protecting Croatian interests and seeks to prevent the country being “dragged into war”.
“My character is not easy, but I will not remain silent,” he wrote in a recent Facebook post and pledged to “form a national salvation government”.
Corruption accusations
The president has also accused Plenkovic and the HDZ of rampant corruption and “massive theft” of state funds, referring to past and present scandals, some of which had ended up in the courts.
Several ministers from the party have stepped down amid corruption allegations. One acting minister was arrested.
“Croatia has never had such a corrupt government,” Milanovic said in his final address ahead of the vote.
Plenkovic, who has led the government since 2016, has repeatedly denied the accusations. He has also accused his rival of violating the constitution, making hate speech and called him a “coward” for not resigning to contest the polls.
The prime minister has been highlighting his role in guiding the country of 3.8 million people into the eurozone and Europe’s passport-free Schengen area last year.
But with an average monthly wage of 1,240 euros ($1,345), the country remains one of the European Union’s poorest.
Peruvian presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez visited jailed former president Pedro Castillo as officials counted ballots from the closely contested runoff election against conservative rival Keiko Fujimori.
Published On 8 Jun 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.
“This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.”
The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”
UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn. Trump has said the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.
World
Suspected Hamas terrorist arrested in Greece for allegedly plotting attack on Israeli cruise ship
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A suspected Hamas terrorist, reportedly granted asylum a year from the Gaza war, was arrested by Greek police for allegedly plotting an attack on an Israeli cruise line.
The Gaza man, 37, was arrested on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday for his alleged ties to one of four suspected Hamas terrorists previously arrested in Cyprus, having traveled with him to Malaysia, where they allegedly received training in making explosives from commercially available chemical agents.
The Israeli cruise ship MS Crown Iris was the believed target of the attack before it was scheduled to arrive in Crete on Tuesday. Police did not publicly identify the man or name a target in their initial statement.
Searches in homes in both Crete and the Greek capital, Athens, turned up a number of mobile phones, a laptop, external hard drives and bank cards, The Associated Press reported.
3 ALLEGED HAMAS MEMBERS ACCUSED OF PLOTTING AGAINST JEWISH INSTITUTIONS IN GERMANY
A Wednesday protest at the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, opposing the arrival of the Crown Iris cruise ship was a prelude to the arrest of a suspected Hamas terrorist who is alleged to have plotted an attack. (Costas Baltas/Anadolu)
The suspect, an electrician who has been reportedly living in Crete for the past year and working at a hotel there after being granted asylum, will appear before a magistrate later Sunday.
The suspected terrorist had placed an online order for what police said were “chemical agents” that could be used in the manufacture of explosives, according to the report.
State broadcaster ERT, cited by Israeli and Greek media, reported that police also found laboratory equipment.
TWO CONVICTED OF TERRORISM IN DENMARK FOR GRENADE ATTACK NEAR ISRAELI EMBASSY
The case appears to be part of a broader regional counterterrorism probe. Cypriot authorities arrested two Palestinians on May 22 after intelligence led investigators to materials in two residences that police said could be used to manufacture explosives. Two more Palestinian men were detained May 29 as part of the same investigation, according to Greek police.
The Crown Iris has become a recurring flashpoint at Greek ports amid anger over the war in Gaza. Protesters gathered near the ship when it docked in Piraeus on Wednesday, June 3, and demonstrations against the vessel have followed it at Greek ports since last year.
Protesters allege that Mano Maritime, the owner of the MS Crown Iris, is profiting from the Hamas-Israel war by selling tourist services to Israel Defense Forces soldiers during breaks from active duty.
In July 2025, Greek police used tear gas and made arrests as demonstrators tried to block the ship at Agios Nikolaos on Crete.
Greek security forces were forced to protect Israeli tourists traveling on buses to board the Israeli-owned cruise ship MS Crown Iris at the port of Piraeus in Athens on June 3, 2026. (Aggelos Nakkas/AFP)
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The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not announced formal charges against the suspect.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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