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Iceland's PM dissolves ruling coalition, citing infighting

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Iceland's PM dissolves ruling coalition, citing infighting

Benediktsson said fresh parliamentary elections are expected to take place on 30 November, if President Halla Tómasdóttir accepts his motion to dissolve parliament.

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The Prime Minister of Iceland, Bjarni Benediktsson, has announced the dissolution of the country’s governing coalition at a surprise press conference in the capital Reykjavik.

Benediktsson cited growing disagreements between the three political parties that make up the ruling coalition as his reason for ending it.

“There are disagreements about policy regarding asylum seekers that have been public. The government has disagreed for quite a while on a vision for the future of energy efficiency. Motions from the Minister of Environment and Energy have been stuck within the government for a while,” he told reporters.

He said fresh parliamentary elections are slated to take place on 30 November, if President Halla Tómasdóttir accepts the motion to dissolve parliament.

National broadcaster RUV said elections must take place no later than 45 days after the dissolution of parliament.

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Benediktsson is scheduled to meet Tómasdóttir on Monday.

Iceland’s coalition government is made up of Benediktsson’s conservative Independence Party, the centre-right Progressive Party and the leftist Greens.

Surprise announcement

Svandis Svavarsdottir, the infrastructure minister and chairman of the Greens, said the decision to dissolve parliament came as a surprise and had not been mooted in talks she had had with Benediktsson on Saturday.

“I assumed that the meeting was convened with integrity and we were discussing the situation and perhaps we could come back and see if there is a chance in specific issues,” she said.

“I thought that was our mutual understanding that the most important issue was the economy. Housing and issues regular people are facing like making ends meet. I thought that was our most pressing issue but now we can see that other issues are more important for the prime minister.”

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The ruling coalition, in power since November 2021, has faltered under a raft of problems, particularly after a series of volcanic eruptions in the country forced thousands to evacuate their homes, putting more pressure on an economy already dealing with high inflation and rising interest rates.

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Paul Dano Joins Cast of Florian Zeller’s Psychological Thriller ‘Bunker’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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Paul Dano Joins Cast of Florian Zeller’s Psychological Thriller ‘Bunker’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Paul Dano has landed his next big project. The actor will star in “Bunker,” an elevated psychological thriller from Oscar-winning filmmaker Florian Zeller.

Dano, known for his performances in “There Will Be Blood,” “The Batman” and “The Fabelmans,” has joined the star-studded ensemble of “Bunker,” led by Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, alongside Stephen Graham and Patrick Schwarzenegger. The actor, who’s been loved-bombed by his Hollywood peers since Quentin Tarantino called him “the worst fucking actor in SAG,” recently presented “The Wizard of the Kremlin” in which he stars as spin-doctor Vadim Baranov.

Currently in its second week of filming, “Bunker” marks Zeller’s hotly anticipated follow up to “The Son” which competed at Venice and earned Hugh Jackman a best actor nomination at the Golden Globes; and “The Father” which won best actor for Anthony Hopkins and best adapted screenplay (for Christopher Hampton and Zeller) at the Oscars.

“Bunker” explores the unraveling of a family as a mysterious construction project — a bunker commissioned by a powerful tech mogul — begins to infiltrate their lives. The movie is already positioned as one of 2026’s standout projects. Zeller, a celebrated playright-turned-filmmaker, has guided actors to deliver career-high performances in his first two movies, from Hopkins in “The Father” to Jackman in “The Son.” “Bunker,” which Zeller also penned, also promises to showcase his signature blend of emotional rigor and haunting atmosphere.

“We are thrilled to welcome Paul Dano to the cast,” said Zeller. “From ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ to ‘There Will Be Blood,’ Paul has consistently impressed me as an actor. He possesses an extraordinary singularity — something genuinely unique — and in that sense, he is truly irreplaceable.”

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The film is produced by Blue Morning Pictures, which is part of Mediawan, and MOD Producciones. “Bunker” is being shot between Madrid and London. International sales are handled by FilmNation Entertainment with CAA Media Finance and WME Independent handling domestic rights.

Blue Morning Pictures’ Federica Sainte-Rose is producing alongside Fernando Bovaira and Simon de Santiago of MOD Producciones. Alice Dawson also serves as a producer on the film. Mariano Cohn, Gaston Duprat, Andres Duprat, Emanuel Nunez and Fernando Sokolowicz are executive producers.

Zeller praised Cohn and Duprat as “incredibly inventive and talented filmmakers, for whom (he holds) a deep artistic admiration.” “Their film ‘El hombre de al lado’ was a source of inspiration for me while writing ‘Bunker,’” Zeller continued.

Dano is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, Relevant and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

Zeller is represented by CAA and Adequat in France, as well as attorneys Carlos Goodman and Mitch Smelkinson at Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher.

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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy yet to read peace plan, Trump says

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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy yet to read peace plan, Trump says

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President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has yet to read the updated peace plan to end the war with Russia amid several rounds of talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Miami.

“I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center on Sunday. “His people love it, but he hasn’t.”

“Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy is fine with it,” Trump added.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that he held a “long and substantive phone call” with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the trio covered many points, including how to end Russia’s war and how to ensure Moscow will not invade again.

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PUTIN CALLS TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN A ‘STARTING POINT’ AS HE WARNS UKRAINE TO PULL BACK OR FACE ‘FORCE’

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attend talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The Ukrainian leader said he was waiting for members of his negotiating team to brief him in person on the latest round of talks.

Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation and secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Monday that he and Ukraine’s military chief of general staff, General Andriy Hnatov, would brief Zelenskyy on the latest developments, including the takeaways from Witkoff and Kushner’s five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin arrived in New Delhi last week for a state visit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and gave an interview to the India Today news channel, where he said the negotiations with the Americans were long but productive.

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Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi pose for a photo during their talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Dec. 5, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

EX-CIA STATION CHIEF WARNS PUTIN USING TALKS TO GAIN LEVERAGE AS UKRAINE DELEGATION MEETS TOP TRUMP OFFICIALS

“Sometimes we said, yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree,” said Putin, according to a transcript of the conversation released by the Kremlin.

The Russian leader stuck to his maximalist demands in the interview, arguing his war will only end when his country takes Ukraine’s eastern Donbas or Ukrainian troops withdraw.

Servicemen carry the coffin of 22-year-old volunteer soldier Yukhym Agafontsev during a farewell ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 2, 2025. (Dan Bashakov/AP)

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Zelenskyy is set to meet with European leaders in London Monday to discuss the U.S.-led peace plan. His arrival comes amid a new wave of Russian drone and missile barrages that have targeted Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said in the last week alone, Russia launched more than 1,600 drones, roughly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 70 missiles of various types against Ukraine.

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European Commission to unveil €1.2 trillion plan to upgrade the EU's electric grids, leak shows

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The European Commission has identified eight key energy projects under the “Grids Package” to be announced this week, Euronews has learned. The plan aims to increase electricity transmission across the EU27. The EU executive will also endorse storage and hydrogen projects.

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