Pro-EU centrist in Romania’s tense presidential race takes lead, preliminary data shows.

The pro-European Union candidate in Romania’s critical presidential runoff has won the closely watched race against a hard-right nationalist, nearly complete electoral data shows, in a tense election rerun that many viewed as a geopolitical choice between East or West.

The race pitted front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. It was held months after the cancellation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.

After 10.5 million of 11.6 million votes had been counted, Dan was ahead with 54.32%, while votes for Simion stood at 45.68%, according to official data.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- The pro-European Union candidate in Romania’s tense presidential runoff has taken a clear lead in the polls, nearly complete electoral data shows, in a closely-watched vote against a hard-right nationalist that could determine the geopolitical direction of the NATO member country.

The race pitted front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. It was held months after the cancellation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.

After 10 million of 11.6 million votes had been counted, Dan was ahead with 54.35%, while Simion trailed at 45.65%, according to official data.

Thousands gathered outside Dan’s headquarters near Bucharest City Hall to await the final results, chanting “Nicusor!” Each time his lead widened as more results came in, the crowd, many waving the flags of Europe, would erupt in cheers.
Higher voter turnout than in first round

When voting closed at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT), official electoral data showed a 64% voter turnout. About 1.64 million Romanians abroad, who have been able to vote since Friday at specially set-up polling stations, participated in the vote.

Dan told the media that “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in Sunday’s vote, “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania.”

“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said. “There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”

As the final votes were still being counted, Ruxandra Gheorghiu told The Associated Press at Dan’s raucous rally in Bucharest that she felt overwhelmed by the result.

“I was so scared that our European force is near the end ΓǪ we are still in Europe and we are not fighting for this right,” she said. “I cannot explain the feeling right now.”

Turnout was significantly higher in Sunday’s runoff and is expected to play a decisive role in the outcome. In the first round on May 4, final turnout stood at 53% of eligible voters.

Romania’s political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied.

Standing on the steps of Romania’s colossal Communist-era parliament building after polls closed, Simion predicted a significant victory, which he called a “victory of the Romanian people.” Simion said that Georgescu was “supposed to be the president” before last year’s election was annulled. He also called for vigilance against election fraud, but said that overall he was satisfied with the conduct of the vote.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Andrei Tarnea said in a post on X that the election was subject to a “viral campaign of fake news” on the Telegram messaging app and other social media platforms, which tried to influence the electoral process and had “the hallmarks of Russian interference.”

Networks of coordinated disinformation have emerged as a pervasive force throughout Romania’s entire election cycle. Romanian authorities debunked the deluge of fake news, Tarnea said.

Simion appeared alongside Georgescu at a Bucharest polling station on Sunday and told reporters that he voted against the “humiliations to which our sisters and brothers have been subjected.”
What’s going on in Romania?

Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania’s political establishment have fueled a surge in support for anti-establishment and hard-right figures, reflecting a broader pattern across Europe. Both Simion and Dan have made their political careers railing against Romania’s old political class.

Most recent local surveys indicated that the runoff would be tight, after earlier ones showed Simion holding a lead over Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects.

After voting in his hometown of Fagaras, Dan told reporters that he voted for Romanians “who are quiet, honest, and hardworking, and who have not felt represented for a long time,” and “for strong cooperation with our European partners, not for Romania’s isolation.”

Dan founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016, but later left, and is running independently on a pro-European Union ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.

Simion’s rhetoric in the lead-up to Sunday had raised some concerns that he wouldn’t respect the outcome if he lost. In the early afternoon, he told reporters that his team was confident in a “landslide victory,” if the election was “free and fair.”

However, he repeated allegations of voting irregularities among Romanian citizens in neighboring Moldova and said that his party members would conduct a parallel vote count after polls close. He told The Associated Press that the ballot so far had proceeded properly.

Adrian Nadin, a 51-year-old musician who supported Georgescu in the previous election, said that he chose Simion.

“A part of Romania prefers conservatism,” he said.

Luminita Petrache, a 32-year-old financial crimes analyst, didn’t want to say who she voted for but described the runoff as a geopolitical choice between East and West.

“It is very important because the next president will be our image in Europe, and (decide) how Romania will evolve in the next five years,” she said. “I hope for changes in Romania in good ways.”
What’s ahead?

The president is elected for a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in matters of national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday’s race will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition’s candidate to advance to the runoff.

After coming fourth in last year’s canceled race, Simion backed Georgescu, who was banned in March from running in the election redo. Simion then surged to front-runner in the May 4 first round after becoming the standard-bearer for the hard right.

A former activist who campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, Simion says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape and reducing bureaucracy and taxes. Still, he insists that restoring democracy is his priority, returning “the will of the people.”

#WASHINGTON, US President Donald Trump wants to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as soon as possible, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.

In an interview with CBS News, the top US diplomat noted that currently, the US and Russian sides must determine when and where such a meeting will take place and its main topics.

"The President has made that offer already publicly. The mechanics of setting that kind of meeting up would require a little bit of work. So I can't say that's being planned as we speak, in terms of picking a site and a date, but the President wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as feasible. I think the Russian side has also expressed a willingness to do it. And so now, it's just a question of bringing everyone together and figuring out where and when that meeting will happen and what it will be about," he noted.

"Ultimately, one of the things that could help break this logjam, perhaps, the only thing that can, is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, and he's already openly expressed a desire and a belief that that needs to happen, and hopefully that will be worked out soon as well," Rubio added.

Earlier, Trump wrote on the Truth Social network that he had a phone conversation with Putin planned at 10 a.m. (5 p.m. Moscow time) on May 19. The US president said that he intended to discuss the Ukrainian settlement and trade. Trump added that, following the conversation with a Russian leader, he will speak with Vladimir Zelensky and #NATO leaders.

The most recent phone conversation between Putin and Trump was held on March 18.

Inaugural mass for Pope Leo XIV underway at St. Peter’s Square. The largest delegations that arrived for the ceremony are from Italy, Peru, and the United States.

The inaugural mass marking the official commencement of the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV is underway at St. Peter’s Square, with the event launched inside the principal Catholic cathedral, en-route from the tomb of Saint Peter in its crypt.

The largest delegations that arrived for the ceremony are from Italy, Peru - where Pope Leo XIV served as a missionary for several decades during his pastoral ministry - and the United States, his country of origin.

The United States is represented by Vice President JD Vance, who visited Pope Francis before his passing on Easter (April 20), along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The latter has already held a series of meetings at the Vatican in recent days. It is possible that Vice President Vance will hold a private meeting with the Pope despite a fully booked schedule.

The war in the Gaza Strip has reached one of its darkest periods. Israel’s blockade of all food and supplies enters its 12th week. The military has launched another major offensive against Hamas, including “extensive” ground operations.

Hundreds of people in the Palestinian territory have been killed in recent days. Experts have warned of a looming famine. Doctors say overwhelmed hospitals are running out of medicine to treat even routine conditions.

The military is preparing for a new organization with U.S. backing to take over aid delivery, despite alarms raised by humanitarian groups that say the plans won’t meet the massive need and could weaponize food assistance. It’s unclear when operations would begin or who would fund them.

Talks continue in Qatar on a new ceasefire and exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, but the sides still seem far apart. Hamas demands an end to the war. Israel vows to keep fighting even after the hostages are freed -- until Hamas has been destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile.

Here’s what to know about the more than 19-month war.
Casualties soar in Gaza

Israel ended a six-week ceasefire in mid-March and resumed its attacks in Gaza, saying military pressure is needed to get Hamas to free hostages abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by militants on southern Israel that ignited the war.

On Sunday alone, Israeli strikes killed more than 100 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. The strikes forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main health facility serving northern Gaza.

The strikes -- often at night, as people sleep in their tents -- have targeted hospitals, schools, medical clinics, mosques and a Thai restaurant-turned shelter. The European Hospital, the only remaining facility providing cancer treatment in Gaza, was put out of service last week.

Israel says it targets only militants and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

The U.N. children’s agency estimates that an average of 100 children were killed or maimed by Israeli airstrikes every day in the last 10 days of March.

Almost 3,000 of the more than 53,000 dead since the start of the war have been killed since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18, the Health Ministry said.
Supplies blocked since March

Israel has blocked all supplies, including food, fuel and medicine, from reaching Gaza since the beginning of March. Its military campaign, which has destroyed vast areas and driven around 90% of the population from their homes, has left the territory almost entirely reliant on international aid.

Most community kitchens have shut down. The main food providers inside Gaza -- the U.N.’s World Food Program and World Central Kitchen -- say they are out of food. Vegetables and meat are inaccessible or unaffordable. Crowds line up for hours for a small scoop of rice.

Food security experts said last week that Gaza would likely fall into famine if Israel doesn’t lift its blockade and stop its military campaign.

Nearly 500,000 Palestinians face possible starvation -- living in “catastrophic” levels of hunger -- and 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises.

Satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press show what appear to be Israeli preparations for the new aid distribution program. The photos from May 10 show four bases in southern Gaza.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation -- made up of American security contractors, former government officials, ex-military officers and humanitarian officials -- says it would initially set up four distribution sites, guarded by private security firms. Each would serve 300,000 people, covering only about half of Gaza’s population.

The proposal said subcontractors will use armored vehicles to transport supplies from the Gaza border to distribution sites, where they will also provide security. It said the aim is to deter criminal gangs or militants from redirecting aid.
New offensive endangers hostages, families and protesters say

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to use even greater force to achieve the two main war aims of returning all the hostages and dismantling Hamas.

Hamas abducted 251 hostages in the 2023 attack and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The militant group is still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after releasing most of the rest in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Hamas has refused to release the remaining hostages without a deal that ensures a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. It has also demanded the release of more Palestinian prisoners.

Families of many of the hostages, and their supporters, have held mass protests for months demanding a deal to return their loved ones, and fear that the renewed offensive puts them in grave danger. Hamas is believed to be holding the hostages -- its only bargaining chip -- in different locations, including tunnels, and has said it will kill them if Israeli forces try to rescue them.
No sign of Trump pressuring Israel

Despite skipping Israel on his Middle East tour last week, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions in Gaza and he has shown no public sign of pressuring Netanyahu’s government over the aid cutoff or the deaths of civilians.

Hamas released an Israeli-American soldier before Trump’s visit to Gulf Arab countries last week in what it said was a goodwill gesture aimed at getting the long-stalled ceasefire talks back on track. Trump has said that he wants to get the the rest of the hostages out, but hasn’t called on Israel to end the war.

Instead, he has proposed resettling much of Gaza’s population of around 2 million Palestinians in other countries and redeveloping the territory for others. Israel has embraced the proposal, which has been condemned by Palestinians, Arab countries and much of the international community.

Experts say it would likely violate international law.

Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

#Romanians vote in a tense presidential runoff that pits a nationalist against a pro-EU centrist.

#Romania — Romanians were voting on Sunday in a tense presidential runoff between a hard-right nationalist and a pro-Western centrist in a high-stakes election rerun that could determine the geopolitical direction of the European Union and NATO member country.

The race pits front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. It comes months after the cancellation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and were to close at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT) By 5 p.m., more than 9.2 million people — or about 51.3 per cent of eligible voters — had cast ballots, according to official electoral data. Romanians abroad have been able to vote since Friday at specially set-up polling stations, and more than 1.38 million have already voted.

Turnout is typically higher in the final round of Romanian presidential elections, and is expected to play a decisive role in the outcome on Sunday. In the first round on May 4, final turnout stood at 9.5 million, or 53 per cent of eligible voters.

Romania’s political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election after far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied.

Simion appeared alongside Georgescu at a Bucharest polling station on Sunday and told reporters that he voted against the “humiliations to which our sisters and brothers have been subjected.”

“We voted against abuses and against poverty,” he said. “I voted for our future to be decided only by Romanians, for Romanians and Romania. So help us God!”
What’s going on in Romania?

Years of endemic corruption and growing anger toward Romania’s political establishment have fueled a surge in support for anti-establishment and hard-right figures, reflecting a broader pattern across Europe. Both Simion and Dan have made their political careers railing against Romania’s old political class.

Most recent local surveys indicate the runoff will be tight, after earlier ones showed Simion holding a lead over Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects.

After voting in his hometown of Fagaras, Dan told reporters that he voted for Romanians “who are quiet, honest, and hardworking, and who have not felt represented for a long time.”

“I voted for a change that brings prosperity, not one that brings instability and discourages investment in Romania,” he said. “I voted for a European direction, and for strong cooperation with our European partners, not for Romania’s isolation. I voted for a society where we can have dialogue, not one where we are destined to be divided.”

Dan founded the reformist Save Romania Union party in 2016 but later left, and is running independently on a pro-European Union ticket reaffirming Western ties, support for Ukraine and fiscal reform.

Simion’s rhetoric in the lead-up to Sunday had raised some concerns that he would not respect the outcome if he lost.

He appeared on the steps of Romania’s colossal Communist-era parliament building early in the afternoon, telling reporters his team was confident in a “landslide victory” if the election was “free and fair.”

However, he repeated allegations of voting irregularities among Romanian citizens in neighboring Moldova and said his party members would conduct a parallel vote count after polls close. He told The Associated Press the ballot so far had proceeded properly.

Adrian Nadin, a 51-year-old musician who supported Georgescu in the previous election, said he chose Simion. “A part of Romania prefers conservatism,” he said.

Luminita Petrache, a 32-year-old financial crimes analyst, did not want to say who she voted for but described the runoff as a geopolitical choice between East and West.

“It is very important because the next president will be our image in Europe, and (decide) how Romania will evolve in the next five years,” she said. “I hope for changes in Romania in good ways.”
What’s ahead?

The president is elected for a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in matters of national security and foreign policy. The winner of Sunday’s race will be charged with nominating a new prime minister after Marcel Ciolacu stepped down following the failure of his coalition’s candidate to advance to the runoff.

After coming fourth in last year’s canceled race, Simion backed Georgescu, who was banned in March from running in the election redo. Simion then surged to front-runner in the May 4 first round after becoming the standard-bearer for the hard right.

A former activist who campaigned for reunification with neighboring Moldova, Simion says he would focus on reforms: slashing red tape and reducing bureaucracy and taxes. Still, he insists that restoring democracy is his priority, returning “the will of the people.”

His AUR party says it stands for “family, nation, faith, and freedom” and rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election. It has since grown to become the second-largest party in the Romanian legislature.
A stark choice: Russia or the EU?

His critics say Simion is a pro-Russian extremist who threatens Romania’s longstanding alliances in the EU and NATO.

In an AP interview, he rejected the accusations, saying Russia is his country’s biggest threat and that he wants Romania to be treated as “equal partners” in Brussels.

“I don’t think he is a pro-Russian candidate, I also don’t think that he’s an anti-Russian candidate,” said Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest. “I think what is driving him is … his focus on what I call identity politics.”

In the first-round vote, Simion won a massive 61 per cent of Romania’s large diaspora vote, with his calls to patriotism resonating with Romanians who moved abroad in search of better opportunities.

Hours after voting abroad opened on Friday, Simion accused the Moldovan government of election fraud, claims that were quickly rejected by Moldovan and Romanian authorities.

#Iran supreme court upholds death sentence against pop singer Tataloo

NEW YORK (AP) — A Mexican navy sailing ship about to leave New York for a goodwill tour to Iceland struck the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, snapping its three masts, injuring crew members and leaving some dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at least 19 people needed medical treatment after the crash, including four with serious injuries, but the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage. The cause of the collision was under investigation.

In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, could be seen traveling swiftly toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River. Then, its three masts struck the bridge's main span and snapped, one by one, as the ship kept moving.

Videos showed heavy traffic on the span at the time of the collision.

The vessel, which was flying a giant green, white and red Mexican flag and had 277 people aboard, then drifted toward the piers lining the riverbank as onlookers scrambled away.

Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts but, remarkably, no one fell into the water, officials said.

Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz told The Associated Press they were sitting outside to watch the sunset when they saw the vessel strike the bridge. Looking closer, they saw someone dangling from high on the ship.

“We saw someone dangling, and I couldn’t tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for like at least like 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,” Katz said.

Just before the collision, Nick Corso, 23, took his phone out to capture the backdrop of the ship and the bridge against a sunset, Instead, he heard what sounded like the loud snapping of a “big twig." Several more snaps followed.

People in his vicinity began running back and “pandemonium” on the boat erupted, he said. He later saw a handful of people dangling from the mast.

“I didn’t know what to think, I was like, is this a movie?” he said.

The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc was an academy training vessel. It said a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom needed medical treatment.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said on X that its ambassador to the U.S. and officials from the Mexican consulate in New York were in contact with local authorities to provide assistance.

The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot (490-meter) main span supported by two masonry towers. More than 100,000 vehicles and an estimated 32,000 pedestrians cross every day, according to the city’s transportation department, and its walkway is a major tourist attraction.

Traffic was halted after the collision but was allowed to resume after the span underwent an initial inspection, city officials said.

The Cuauhtemoc — about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide (90.5 meters long and 12 meters wide), according to the Mexican navy — sailed for the first time in 1982.

The vessel’s main mast has a height of 160 feet (48.9 meters), according to the Mexican government.

After the collision, a tugboat held it in place in the East River between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.

Each year the ship sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets' training. This year it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6, the navy said.

The Mexican consulate said May 13 on X that the Cuauhtemoc, also called the “Ambassador and Knight of the Seas,” arrived that day and docked at Pier 17. It invited people to visit through May 17.

The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations, including Kingston, Jamaica; Havana, Cuba; Cozumel, Mexico; and New York.

It also had planned to go to Reykjavik, Iceland; Bordeaux, Saint Malo and Dunkirk, France; and Aberdeen, Scotland, among others, for a total of 254 days, 170 of them at sea.

Ruth Brown, The Associated Press

Israel launched an intensified offensive in Gaza on Saturday aimed at “the defeat of Hamas”, with rescuers in the Palestinian territory reporting at least 32 killed by new Israeli strikes.

In Spain, a homelessness crisis unfolds in Madrid’s airport.
#MADRID — Every morning at 6 a.m., Teresa sets out in search of work, a shower and a bit of exercise before she returns home. For the past six months, that has been Terminal 4 of Madrid’s international airport.

Teresa, 54, who didn’t want her full name to be used because of safety concerns, is one of the estimated hundreds of homeless people sleeping in the Spanish capital’s airport amid a growing housing crisis in Spain, where rental costs have risen especially fast in cities like Madrid, the country’s capital, and Barcelona.

She and others sleeping at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport — the third-busiest airport in Europe in 2023, according to Eurostat — described a situation where for months, authorities have neither helped them find other living arrangements nor have they kicked them out from the corners of the airport that they have occupied with sleeping bags unfurled on the floor as well as blankets, luggage carts and bags.

Soon, things could change.
Limits on entry

Spain’s airport operator AENA this week said that it would start limiting who can enter Madrid’s airport during low-travel hours by asking visitors to show their boarding passes. AENA said that the policy would take effect in the next few days, but didn’t specify exactly when. It said that exceptions would be made for airport workers and anyone accompanying a traveler.

Teresa, a Spanish-Ecuadorian who said she has lived in Spain for a quarter-century, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she hadn’t heard of the new policy. She and her husband would be forced to sleep outside on park benches and other public spaces if they aren’t allowed back in.

“We can’t make demands. We’re squatters,” Teresa said, using a controversial term common in Spain. “Squatters in what is private property. We are aware of that. We want help from authorities, but not a single one has come here.”
Political blame game

For months, a political blame game between officials at different levels of government has meant that the homeless encampments in the airport have largely gone unaddressed. In recent weeks, videos on social media and news reports of the airport’s homeless population put a spotlight on the issue.

Madrid’s city council on Thursday said that it had asked Spain’s national government to take charge and come up with a plan to rehabilitate every homeless individual sleeping in the airport. Spanish airports are overseen by AENA, a state-owned publicly listed company. A city council spokesperson said that Madrid’s city government had recently called for a meeting with officials from AENA, the regional government of Madrid and several national ministries that declined.

“Without them, there is no possible solution,” said Lucía Martín, a spokesperson for Madrid’s city council division of social policies, family and equality. She said that the national ministries of transport, interior, inclusion, social rights and health declined to participate in a working group.

A day earlier, AENA accused Madrid’s city authorities of providing inadequate help and said that the city government’s statements about the unfolding situation confirmed its “dereliction of duty” and abandonment of the airport’s homeless individuals.

“It’s like a dog chasing its tail,” said Marta Cecilia Cárdenas of the long list of authorities she was told could help her. Cárdenas, a 58-year-old homeless woman originally from Colombia, said that she had spent several months sleeping in Madrid’s airport.
Exact numbers are unknown

It’s not known how many people are sleeping in Madrid’s airport, through which 66 million travelers transited last year. Spain’s El País newspaper reported that a recent count taken by a charity group identified roughly 400 homeless people in the airport, many of whom, like Teresa, had previously lived in Madrid and were employed in some capacity.

AP wasn’t able to confirm that number. Madrid city council officials, meanwhile, said that the Spanish capital’s social service teams had helped 94 individuals in April with ties to the city, 12 of whom were rehabilitated into municipal shelters, addiction treatment centers or independent living.
Word of mouth

Teresa said she had heard about sleeping in the airport by word of mouth. Before she lost her job, she said she lived in an apartment in Madrid’s Leganés neighborhood, earning a living taking care of older people.

She currently earns 400 euros (US$450) per month, working under the table caring for an older woman. With the earnings, Teresa said she maintains a storage unit in the neighborhood that she used to live in. Though the work is sporadic, she said it was still enough to also cover fees for the gym in which she showers daily, pay for transportation, and purchase food.

Over the last decade, ​the average rent in Spain has almost doubled, according to real estate website Idealista, with steeper increases in Madrid and Barcelona. Spain also has a smaller public housing stock than many other European Union countries.
Hope for the future

Teresa said that she hopes to find a job soon and leave the airport, whatever authorities may force her to do in the coming days and weeks. She and her husband keep to themselves, avoiding others sleeping in the brightly-lit hallway dotted with sleeping bags who were battling mental health problems, addiction and other issues, she said.

“You end up adjusting to it a bit, accepting it even, but never getting used to it,” Teresa said over the constant din of airline announcements. “I hope to God that it gets better, because this is not life.”

Suman Naishadham, The Associated Press

Microsoft says it provided AI to Israeli military for war but denies use to harm people in Gaza.

Microsoft acknowledged Thursday that it sold advanced artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military during the war in Gaza and aided in efforts to locate and rescue Israeli hostages. But the company also said it has found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza.

The unsigned blog post on Microsoft’s corporate website appears to be the company’s first public acknowledgement of its deep involvement in the war, which started after Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and has led to the deaths of tens of thousands in Gaza.

It comes nearly three months after an investigation by The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about the American tech giant’s close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with military use of commercial AI products skyrocketing by nearly 200 times after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The AP reported that the Israeli military uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance, which can then be cross-checked with Israel’s in-house AI-enabled targeting systems and vice versa.

The partnership reflects a growing drive by tech companies to sell their artificial intelligence products to militaries for a wide range of uses, including in Israel, Ukraine and the United States. However, human rights groups have raised concerns that AI systems, which can be flawed and prone to errors, are being used to help make decisions about who or what to target, resulting in the deaths of innocent people.

Microsoft said Thursday that employee concerns and media reports had prompted the company to launch an internal review and hire an external firm to undertake “additional fact-finding.” The statement did not identify the outside firm or provide a copy of its report.

The statement also did not directly address several questions about precisely how the Israeli military is using its technologies, and the company declined Friday to comment further. Microsoft declined to answer written questions from The AP about how its AI models helped translate, sort and analyze intelligence used by the military to select targets for airstrikes.

The company’s statement said it had provided the Israeli military with software, professional services, Azure cloud storage and Azure AI services, including language translation, and had worked with the Israeli government to protect its national cyberspace against external threats. Microsoft said it had also provided “special access to our technologies beyond the terms of our commercial agreements” and “limited emergency support” to Israel as part of the effort to help rescue the more than 250 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.

“We provided this help with significant oversight and on a limited basis, including approval of some requests and denial of others,” Microsoft said. “We believe the company followed its principles on a considered and careful basis, to help save the lives of hostages while also honoring the privacy and other rights of civilians in Gaza.”

The company did not answer whether it or the outside firm it hired communicated or consulted with the Israeli military as part of its internal probe. It also did not respond to requests for additional details about the special assistance it provided to the Israeli military to recover hostages or the specific steps to safeguard the rights and privacy of Palestinians.

In its statement, the company also conceded that it “does not have visibility into how customers use our software on their own servers or other devices.” The company added that it could not know how its products might be used through other commercial cloud providers.

In addition to Microsoft, the Israeli military has extensive contracts for cloud or AI services with Google, Amazon, Palantir and several other major American tech firms.

Microsoft said the Israeli military, like any other customer, was bound to follow the company’s Acceptable Use Policy and AI Code of Conduct, which prohibit the use of products to inflict harm in any way prohibited by law. In its statement, the company said it had found “no evidence” the Israeli military had violated those terms.

Emelia Probasco, a senior fellow for the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, said the statement is noteworthy because few commercial technology companies have so clearly laid out standards for working globally with international governments.

“We are in a remarkable moment where a company, not a government, is dictating terms of use to a government that is actively engaged in a conflict,” she said. “It’s like a tank manufacturer telling a country you can only use our tanks for these specific reasons. That is a new world.”

Israel has used its vast trove of intelligence to both target Islamic militants and conduct raids into Gaza seeking to rescue hostages, with civilians often caught in the crossfire. For example, a February 2024 operation that freed two Israeli hostages in Rafah resulted in the deaths of 60 Palestinians. A June 2024 raid in the Nuseirat refugee camp freed four Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity but resulted in the deaths of at least 274 Palestinians.

Overall, Israel’s invasions and extensive bombing campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 people, many of them women and children.

No Azure for Apartheid, a group of current and former Microsoft employees, called on Friday for the company to publicly release a full copy of the investigative report.

“It’s very clear that their intention with this statement is not to actually address their worker concerns, but rather to make a PR stunt to whitewash their image that has been tarnished by their relationship with the Israeli military,” said Hossam Nasr, a former Microsoft worker fired in October after he helped organize an unauthorized vigil at the company’s headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, applauded Microsoft Friday for taking a step toward transparency. But she said the statement raised many unanswered questions, including details about how Microsoft’s services and AI models were being used by the Israeli military on its own government servers.

“I’m glad there’s a little bit of transparency here,” said Cohn, who has long called on U.S. tech giants to be more open about their military contracts. “But it is hard to square that with what’s actually happening on the ground.”

Burke reported from San Francisco and Mednick from Jerusalem.