内容摘要：A performer from the Mocidade samba school directs a float alongside artificial intelligence images of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A performer from the Mocidade samba school directs a float alongside artificial intelligence images of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

have launched several investigations into former senior government officials allegedly involved in corruption.a former prime minister and president and now a lawmaker and leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is also accused of corruption and is waiting for his trial to begin.

received the International Charlemagne Prize, an annual award for contributions to European unity, on Thursday as the 27-nation bloc confronts Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Trump administration’s trade war and security issues across the continent.The European Union’s most high-profile political figure, von der Leyen was called “the embodiment of the European spirit” by King Felipe VI of Spain during Thursday’s ceremony in Aachen, Germany.Last year, European Parliament lawmakers

as president of the EU’s powerful executive arm.The commission proposes legislation for the EU’s 27 member countries — and its 450 million people — and ensures that the rules governing the world’s biggest trading bloc are respected. It’s made up of a College of Commissioners with a range of portfolios similar to those of government ministers, including agriculture, economic, competition, security and migration policy.

After coming to office in 2019, von der Leyen led the EU drive to secure COVID-19 vaccines and has been a major supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia. With governments weakened in France and Germany at the time, she sought to play a greater role in the bloc’s affairs.

The Spanish king and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who also attended Thursday’s ceremony, pushed for stronger European defense as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to pull back America’s protection commitments to the continent,The stakes are high given the size of the U.S.-EU trading relationship. Although the trade partners don’t have a free trade agreement like the one the U.S. has with Mexico and Canada, some $1.8 trillion in goods and services cross the Atlantic in both directions each year.

EU Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho told a news conference that von der Leyen and Trump agreed to “fast-track” the negotiations. The result of the call means that “there is a new impetus for these negotiations, and we will take it from there ... from our side, we always said we were ready to make a deal.”The EU has offered Trump a “zero for zero” deal in which tariffs would be removed on industrial goods including automobiles, but the U.S. administration has said it will not lower tariffs below a 10% baseline imposed on almost all its trading partners. Trump has also announced tariffs of 25% on steel and automobiles.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ralph Lauren, known for staging elaboratein sumptuous settings like the horsey Hamptons or amid his vintage car collection, took it down a notch for a more intimate show Thursday in a Manhattan gallery space.