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35 years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall

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35 years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall

The wall, which separated East and West Germany, stood for 28 years before it was torn down in 1989.

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35 years ago the Berlin wall fell, reuniting Germans who were divided between east and west for nearly three decades.

As Berliners poured through holes in the concrete to reach the other side, the iron curtain that separated the Soviet Union from the West was shattered.

For some, the event was a tragedy rather than a cause for celebration.

Institute for European Politics research fellow Laura Worsch says Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the breakup of the Soviet Union the “greatest trauma and tragedy in Russian history. So there you can already see that in his world and in his ideology, he would rather have this separation again.”

She says it is not just about separation, but also about having military and economic power over people.

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Less than a thousand kilometres east of Berlin at the border with Europe, new walls are being built.

Poland is fortifying its border with Belarus to stop illegal migrants, who according to Warsaw are being used by Belarus and Moscow to destabilise the West.

Worsch says this wall is a “humanitarian catastrophe for the refugees, for the migrants that are stuck there in the forest with no infrastructure, no food and no humanitarian aid whatsoever.”

‘Uphold freedom’

This year, people in the German capital will celebrate the fall of the wall with the slogan “uphold freedom.”

Worsch draws a link between the Berlin Wall and countries in Europe fortifying their borders.

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In September, Germany announced it would be imposing temporary checks on its land borders, citing concerns over immigration.

Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland have also imposed border checks, a move critics say undermines freedom of movement in the European Union.

Decisions made to impose border checks are mostly motivated by concerns around illegal immigration. In October, migration dominated a summit of European leaders with several calling for so-called “return hubs” — third country centres where migrants would be processed.

Worsch says that, in this case, there “are so many crises that I think it’s natural that people feel vulnerable and threatened and tend to kind of close themselves off from the world and concentrate on what they feel is theirs.”

Dividing east and west

The Berlin wall, which was in place in the city between 1961 and 1989, divided the city between the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR) and capitalist West Germany.

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It was a physical reminder of the Iron Curtain, a metaphor used to describe the competing idealogies and politics between the Soviet Union and its satellite states and the West during the Cold War.

During the near three decades that the wall stood, at least 140 people died at the wall under circumstances connected to the GDR.

When the wall fell in 1989, it marked the first step towards German reunification and was one of a series of events which kickstarted the fall of communism in central and eastern Europe.

Fragments of the wall still stand today, and draw thousands of visitors from across the world to the German capital.

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2 people killed in collision between jet and vehicle at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, source says

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2 people killed in collision between jet and vehicle at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, source says

NEW YORK (AP) — An Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on the runway after landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, crushing the nose of the plane, according to authorities and photos of the wreckage.

Two people were killed, according to a person familiar with the investigation into the crash. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an active investigation.

Two Port Authority employees who were traveling in the fire truck also were injured, the person said.

There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline. The flight originated at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement that the jet had struck a rescue and firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident at about 11:45 p.m. The airport was closed as of 3 a.m. to facilitate the investigation, officials said.

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Photos and videos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the aircraft, with cables and debris hanging from a mangled cockpit. Nearby, a damaged emergency vehicle lay on its side.

Stairways used to evacuate passengers from aircraft were pushed up to the emergency exits on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ. The impact left the jet with its crumpled nose tilted upward.

In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.

“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller can then be heard frantically diverting incoming aircraft from landing.

Jazz Aviation issued a statement confirming the accident and noting the passenger and crew list was preliminary and subject to confirmation.

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The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the incident.

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Trump, Starmer agree Strait of Hormuz must reopen as Middle East conflict escalates

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Trump, Starmer agree Strait of Hormuz must reopen as Middle East conflict escalates

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President Donald Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday to discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, with a focus on the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore global shipping.

The leaders discussed the current situation in the Middle East, and in particular, the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping, Downing Street said in a statement.

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Keir Stamer, UK prime minister, during a news conference providing an update on the situation in the Middle East, at Downing Street in London, UK, on Thursday, March 5, 2026.  (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“They agreed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market. They agreed to speak again soon.”

The call came amid a rapidly intensifying conflict in the region, with Iran blocking the strategically vital strait since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iranian targets on Feb. 28.

The military action triggered swift retaliation from Tehran and has since escalated into a broader regional war as Iran has sent missiles into numerous neighboring countries not directly involved in the initial conflict.

UK NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DEPLOYED TO ARABIAN SEA BEFORE IRAN TARGETS KEY US-UK BASE: REPORTS

President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House, on St. Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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On March 21, Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran demanding the reopening of the key maritime route, through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that failure to comply would result in further U.S. action, including potential strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure.

EU PUSHES FOR END OF IRAN WAR IN A MANNER WHERE ‘EVERYBODY SAVES FACE’

Bulk Carrier, Belray, in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz on March 22, 2026 in northern Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

Sunday’s conversation between Trump and Starmer perhaps reflected a thaw in the tense relationship between the two leaders.

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Trump had publicly criticized the U.K. government, stating that Britain “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing the U.S. to use British military bases for strikes targeting Iranian missile sites.

Starmer had also maintained that the use of U.K. bases could only be justified under the principle of “collective self-defense” in the region.

He had initially declined to support the U.S.-Israeli military operation, drawing repeated criticism from the White House.

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Meanwhile, Trump appeared to apply public pressure, sharing a “Saturday Night Live” clip Sunday mocking the British prime minister’s handling of the crisis.

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French elections: Paris stays left as far right makes mixed gains

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French elections: Paris stays left as far right makes mixed gains

France’s municipal runoff delivered a mixed verdict for the country’s main political forces on Sunday: the Left held Paris with Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire, the far-right and its allies scored a major symbolic win in Nice, and mainstream parties pointed to resilience in several big and mid-sized cities ahead of the 2027 presidential race.

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Municipal elections in France are local contests to elect mayors and local councils, but they are closely watched because they test party organisation, alliance-building, and grassroots strength before national campaigns begin.

In the capital, Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire defeated conservative rival Rachida Dati, ensuring Paris remains under left-wing control after outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo chose not to seek another term.

The result extends a quarter-century of left-led rule of the capital and hands to the Socialists one of the most visible prizes of the night. Grégoire presented the result as a mandate for a progressive vision of the city.

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Elsewhere, the left also had reasons to celebrate. In Marseille, Socialist incumbent Benoît Payan was re-elected after the far right had hoped to seize France’s second-largest city.

While in Lyon, Green mayor Grégory Doucet held on after a hard-fought race against his conservative rival, which was reshaped by a last-minute merger with the list of hard-left party France Unbowed.

Socialists record strong showing

The Socialists also held or performed strongly in several regional cities, reinforcing the impression of a broader recovery for the traditional left.

For the far right, the picture was more complex. National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella hailed what he called the party’s biggest local breakthrough, and RN kept the southwestern city of Perpignan while also winning smaller municipalities.

But the party fell short in several of the larger cities it had targeted, notably Marseille, Toulon and Nîmes. The exception was Nice, where Éric Ciotti — once a senior figure in the mainstream right and now allied with RN — won the race, giving the far right and its partners control of France’s fifth-largest city.

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The elections also brought clearer signs of fragmentation on the centre-right and in President Emmanuel Macron’s camp.

Former prime minister Édouard Philippe was re-elected in Le Havre, strengthening his standing as a possible 2027 contender, while Macron’s centrist forces could point to a symbolic win in Bordeaux, where Renaissance candidate Thomas Cazenave defeated outgoing Green mayor Pierre Hurmic.

At the same time, the loss of Macron’s former PM, François Bayrou, in southwestern Pau, underlined the vulnerabilities of the broader presidential alliance.

Turnout remained a concern. According to the Interior Ministry, participation in mainland France stood at 48.1% at 5 p.m., higher than the Covid-disrupted 2020 election but still below pre-pandemic levels.

Taken together, the results do not predict who will succeed Macron in 2027. But they do sketch the political landscape from which that contest will emerge: a left that can still win major cities, a mainstream right that remains locally entrenched, a centre searching for durable footholds, and a far right that is growing but may still face limits in the country’s biggest urban battlegrounds.

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