London — Britons look set to elect a new government by landslide as the country prepares to head to the polls on Thursday July 4. The vote comes amid weak economic growth and struggling public services, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza among the major foreign policy challenges lying ahead for the next administration. The current opposition Labour Party under Keir Starmer is polling around 20% ahead of the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, who have been in power for the past 14 years, a period that witnessed Britain’s bumpy exit from the European Union and a …
PARIS — Candidates in France on Tuesday faced a deadline to register for the run-off round of a high-stakes parliamentary election, as President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp and a left-wing alliance scrambled to prevent the far right from taking power. On Sunday, French people go to polls for the decisive final round of the snap election Macron called after his camp received a drubbing in European elections last month. His gamble appears to have backfired, with the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen scoring a victory in the first round of voting last Sunday. Macron’s centrists trailed in third …
washington — The United States’ commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea is being put to the test, with some South Korean politicians publicly questioning the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear umbrella after Russia and North Korea reached a new defense pact. Debate over the U.S. extended deterrence was sparked by Representative Na Kyung Won, a five-term lawmaker of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, who is running for the party leadership. “The deterrence under the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance is currently working, but it does not guarantee the capacity to respond to the future changes in the security environment,” …
France’s far-right has never been closer to power after winning the first round of snap legislative elections Sunday. It’s a stunning result that could see the far-right taking control of the government — and a far-right prime minister ahead of the Paris Olympics — if it wins big in the second round of voting July 7. The left and center are now calling for an alliance against extremism in one of Europe’s largest countries. Lisa Bryant reports from Paris. …
Paris — France’s far-right has never been closer to power after winning the first round of snap legislative elections Sunday. It’s a stunning result that could see the far-right taking control of the government — and a far-right prime minister ahead of the Paris Olympics — if it wins big in the second round runoff July 7. The left and center are now calling for an alliance against extremism in one of Europe’s most important countries. The far-right National Rally — and its leader, Marine Le Pen have been celebrating the latest results. She has spent years revamping the image of …
Athens — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday the country faced a dangerous summer for wildfires, with a prolonged drought and unusually strong winds contributing to tinderbox conditions. Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but hotter, drier and windier weather that scientists link to the effects of climate change has increased their frequency and intensity. This weekend, dozens of fires broke out across Greece, including two close to the capital, Athens. “It is a summer which is expected to be particularly dangerous … the most difficult times are still ahead of us,” Mitsotakis said as he addressed his …
Paris — France’s political forces were on Friday making final bids for votes in crunch legislative elections that could see the far right take control of the government in a historic first. Official campaigning will end at midnight followed by a day off on Saturday, during which time political activity is forbidden ahead of voting on Sunday. Another week of campaigning will then lead up to the decisive second round on July 7. The far-right National Rally (RN) is tipped to win the election, potentially giving the party the post of prime minister for the first time in its history in …
Sofia, Bulgaria — Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church elected Daniil, a 52-year-old metropolitan considered to be pro-Russian, as its new leader Sunday in a vote that reflected the divisions in the church and wider society since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago. Growing divisions between pro-Russian and anti-Russian factions within the senior clergy began after some of them attempted to warm relations with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople in 2019. Russian and most other Orthodox patriarchs refused to accept the designation that formalized a split with the Russian church. Unlike his late …
Athens, Greece — Firefighters were battling a series of wildfires near the Greek capital, Athens, on Sunday evening, as the country braces for another scorching summer. Greece faces a tough wildfire season after its warmest winter and earliest heat wave on record, with temperatures hitting 44°C (111°F). “Today in Attica two extremely dangerous fires that broke out in residential areas and spread rapidly due to strong winds in Keratea and Stamata were tackled,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias said late on Sunday. He said there was no longer an active front in Stamata, north of Athens, …
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Long-serving Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged his country to support Ukraine and international cooperation in his final address to his compatriots Sunday, as an inward-looking new government is set to take over the Netherlands in two days. “It is crucial that our country is embedded in the European Union and NATO. Together we are stronger than alone. Especially now,” the 57-year-old Rutte said from his office in The Hague. After leading the country for 14 years, he will take his experience with consensus-building to Brussels, where he will take over as NATO’s new secretary-general later this …
ISTANBUL — Turkish police detained at least 15 protesters in Istanbul on Sunday for participating at a banned LGBTQ+ Pride rally, after searching the streets having arrived at the scene after participants had dispersed, a Reuters witness said. Police declined to comment. The Istanbul Governor’s Office said earlier Sunday that the Pride March would not be permitted. Turkish police blocked central Istanbul to prevent the march from taking place, shutting down metro stations and blocking traffic on the main streets. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted AK Party has toughened its rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community over the past decade and banned …
Vienna — Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz and the populist Czech ANO party led by Andrej Babis are forming a new alliance in the European Parliament, they announced on Sunday. The move would reorder but possibly also split nationalist forces in the assembly, provided four more parties join. Parties from at least a quarter of the European Union’s 27 member states are needed to officially form a new political group. While Fidesz has remained outside larger groupings since it parted ways with the mainstream center-right European People’s Party (EPP) in 2021, the FPO is part …