Europe
Arsonists attack French high-speed rail system hours before opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics
Arsonists attacked France's high-speed rail network early Friday, paralyzing train travel to Paris for some 800,000 people across Europe, including athletes heading to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Targeting remote locations far from the capital, the apparently coordinated attacks sought to cut off rail routes into the city from all directions. The fires were predominantly set in pipes containing critical signaling cables for the system known as the TGV.
Blazes were reported before dawn near the tracks on three separate lines, causing widespread disruptions. Another arson attempt, in the south in Vergigny, was thwarted by rail agents who scared off several suspects.
French authorities did not publicly comment on who might have carried out the attacks or why; none of them said the sabotage was directly related to the Games.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said intelligence services were mobilized to find the arsonists, whose attacks he described as “premeditated" and “calculated.”
The evidence indicates “a desire to seriously harm” the French people, said the CEO of national railway company SNCF, Jean-Pierre Farandou. “The places were especially chosen to have the most serious impact, since each fire cut off two lines.”
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the damage would not affect the opening ceremony. There were no reports of injuries.
Prosecutors in Paris opened a national investigation, saying the crimes included property damage threatening the nation's "fundamental interests” and could carry prison sentences of up to 20 years.
The troubles came ahead of an opening ceremony in which 7,000 Olympic athletes were due to sail down the Seine past iconic Parisian monuments such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum and the Musee d’Orsay.
“Disturbing such a festival of peace with acts of violence can never be accepted and demands the most determined rejection,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Paris.
Two out of four trains carrying athletes to Paris on the western line were stopped hours before the opening ceremony, an SNCF official said.
Two German athletes who were on a Paris-bound train for the opening ceremony had to turn back in Belgium because of the closures, German news agency dpa reported.
Repairs were being made as police conducted forensic tests. “We have to repair cable by cable, so it’s very meticulous work,” Farandou said.
French Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said train traffic began to resume in the afternoon.
The attack occurred against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures as the city prepared for the Games.
French authorities have said they have foiled several plots to disrupt the Olympics, including arresting a Russian man on suspicion of planning to destabilize the games.
Earlier this week, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said about 1,000 people suspected of possibly meddling on behalf of a foreign power have been blocked from attending the Games. Among those blocked were people suspected of Islamic radicalization or left- or right-wing political extremism, or who had significant criminal records, he said.
Although he has repeatedly pointed to suspicions of Russia-backed interference, Darmanin added that such threats have also come from other countries that he did not name.
The Paris police prefecture “concentrated its personnel” in train stations after the attack, Paris Police Chief Laurent Nuñez told France Info television.
In the capital, 35,000 police officers are being deployed each day for the Olympics, with a peak of 45,000 for the opening ceremony.
Paris has been the target of deadly terror attacks in the past decade, and some French officials saw the Games as a chance for the nation to heal from years of trauma.
The disruptions hit Paris’ Montparnasse station particularly hard.
In the station's crowded hall, Maiwenn Labbé-Sorin said she spent hours stranded on a train before it doubled back to Paris.
“We stayed two hours without water, without toilets, without electricity," she said. "Then we could go out on the track for a bit and then the train returned. Now I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”
Many passengers at the Gare du Nord, one of Europe’s busiest train stations, sought answers and solutions on Friday morning. All eyes were on the central message boards as most services to northern France, Belgium and the United Kingdom were delayed.
Germany’s national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, said there also were short-notice cancellations and delays between France and Germany.
Prominent French cartoonist Plantu found inspiration in the rail network's quick response. He posted a cartoon on Instagram depicting the first three Olympics gold medals going to SNCF agents. Three agents were sketched on the Olympic podium, holding cables and trains, with dangling gold medallions around their necks.
Also Friday, the French airport of Basel-Mulhouse on the border with Germany and Switzerland was evacuated in the morning and shut down briefly “for safety reasons,” the airport said. It wasn’t clear whether there was a connection to the rail attacks.
French president accepts prime minister's resignation but keeps him as head of caretaker government
French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the prime minister’s resignation Tuesday but kept him on as head of a caretaker government, as France prepares to host the Paris Olympics at the end of the month.
The president's office said in a statement that Macron “accepted” the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and other ministers on Tuesday. Attal and other government members are “to handle current affairs until a new government is being appointed,” the statement said.
There is no firm timeline for when Macron must name a new prime minister, following parliamentary elections this month that left the National Assembly with no dominant political bloc in power for the first time in France's modern Republic.
The caretaker government led by Attal will focus only on handling day-to-day affairs.
“For this period to end as quickly as possible, it is up to all Republican forces to work together" around “projects and actions that serve the French people,” the president's statement said.
The opening session of the National Assembly, France’s powerful lower house of parliament, is scheduled for Thursday.
Normally, members of government are barred from being lawmakers, but Tuesday's move allows Attal to take up his seat as a lawmaker and lead the group of Macron’s centrist allies in the National Assembly. It also insulates him from a no-confidence vote, because he already has resigned and a caretaker government cannot be subject to such a vote.
France has been on the brink of government paralysis since elections for the National Assembly earlier this month resulted in a split among three major political groupings: the New Popular Front leftist coalition, Macron’s centrist allies and the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen.
The New Popular Front won the most seats but fell well short of the outright majority needed to govern on its own.
The leftist coalition's three main parties, the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialists and the Greens, have urged the president to turn to them to form the new government, yet their internal talks have turned into a harsh dispute over whom to choose as prime minister.
France Unbowed suspended the talks on Monday, accusing the Socialists of sabotaging candidacies they have put forward to replace Attal.
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said Tuesday the leftist coalition needs "to think, talk and resume discussions” if it wants to meet “the expectation of the public” and fulfill its promise that it “is ready to govern.”
Faure acknowledged that lengthy discussions, public bickering and occasional angry verbal exchanges among the coalition's party leaders are “not a good look.” But “the stakes are so high that it’s not unusual for us to talk for a long time and that sometimes, we yell,” Faure said on France Inter radio.
National Rally vice president Sebastien Chenu said the quarreling on the left is a sign that the New Popular Front “is not ready to govern.”
He also lashed out at Macron on Tuesday, saying the retention of Attal at the helm of government following two recent elections — for the European Parliament and the National Assembly -- was “a denial of democracy.”
Keeping him on to manage “current affairs” amounts to “failing” the French people, Chenu said in an interview with Europe 1 and CNews broadcasters.
“We cannot make something new out of something old,” Chenu said. “Attal must pack his bags, he and all his ministers.”
Politicians from the three main groups are also waging a battle over the presidency and key committees in the National Assembly, France’s influential lower house of parliament.
Manuel Bompard, a lawmaker of the France Unbowed said he supported the idea of blocking lawmakers from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally from holding leading positions in the parliament’s committees, such as finance, defense and others.
Despite Le Pen’s party finishing third in the elections, behind Macron’s group of centrists and the leftist alliance, Bompard said in an interview with France 2 TV that there is “no reason for us to help them access positions of responsibility.”
Le Pen, a leading figure in the French far right and a National Rally lawmaker, insisted that “all political forces must participate in the functioning” of the parliament.
“The people have spoken. There are 577 lawmakers who represent them,” Le Pen said in a post on X. “Even if I am the last one to defend democracy, I insist that the Macronists, the New Popular Front, the National Rally and Eric Ciotti (a National Rally ally) must be represented in the legislative body,” she added.
Princess of Wales set to attend Wimbledon men's final on Sunday in rare public appearance
The Princess of Wales is set to attend the Wimbledon men's final on Sunday in a rare public appearance after her cancer diagnosis.
Kensington Palace confirmed on Saturday that Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, will be in the Royal Box on Centre Court to watch defending champion Carlos Alcaraz play Novak Djokovic.
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However, she will not attend Saturday's women's final between Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova. Wimbledon organizers said the winner's trophy will instead be handed out by Deborah Jevans, the chair of the All England Club.
Kate has been the patron of the All England Club since 2016, with ceremonial duties that include handing out the winner’s trophy after each men’s and women’s singles final.
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But she has only one made one public appearance since announcing in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer, which was to attend the birthday parade for King Charles III in March.
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Ukraine is on an 'irreversible' path to NATO. But only after war with Russia ends
The 32-members of NATO on Wednesday formally declared Ukraine on an "irreversible" path to membership in the Western military alliance, offering a bare but more binding assurance of protection once its war with Russia ends.
NATO member countries individually and in Wednesday's joint statement from their summit in Washington announced a series of steps aimed at bolstering Ukraine's defenses. That includes the U.S., the Netherlands and Denmark announcing that the first NATO-provided F-16s would be in the hands of Ukrainian military pilots by this summer.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted his appreciation of the effort to strengthen his air force, coming soon after Ukraine saw one of the deadliest strikes of the war.
NATO on Wednesday also announced a long-term commitment of security assistance to Ukraine, and confirmed establishment of a new NATO center aimed at ensuring that Ukraine gets a more reliable flow of arms and training from members of the alliance. But the commitments still fall short of the striking power Ukraine says it needs to defeat the invading Russian forces.
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The final statement called China — which the West says provides components for Russia's weapons — a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine.
"Ukraine's future is in NATO," alliance members said in their statement. "We will continue to support it on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership."
The alliance welcomed Ukraine's democratic, economic and security reforms needed to join and said it would get an invitation "when Allies agree and conditions are met."
While the leaders stand ready to offer Ukraine the means to defend itself in a war now in its third year, nowhere do they say that Ukraine should prevail over Russia. Indeed, their statement said that "NATO does not seek confrontation, and poses no threat to Russia. We remain willing to maintain channels of communication with Moscow to mitigate risk and prevent escalation."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that Ukraine will not join the alliance's ranks immediately. But he insisted that must happen after the war is over to ensure that Russia never attacks Ukraine again.
Of the overall NATO assistance, he said, "We are not doing this because we want to prolong a war. We are doing it because we want to end a war as soon as possible.
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Stoltenberg also delivered a passionate defense of the military alliance itself Wednesday when reporters asked about the possibility that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a NATO critic, could pull U.S. support for the alliance if he wins in November.
Trump has been an unofficial but primary topic at the summit, especially among East European governments that believe their country could be targets of future Russian aggression.
The criticism of the alliance from the United States, Stoltenberg said, without naming Trump, has "not been about NATO. It's about NATO allies not investing enough in NATO. And that has changed."
As NATO leaders met in Washington, Trump on the campaign trail Tuesday renewed his threat not to defend any NATO members from a Russian attack if their military spending does not meet NATO's target of at least 2% of their gross domestic product. But since 2021, the number of allies meeting this target has increased from six to 23.
"The United States has been understood," Stoltenberg said. "Allies have acted."
Trump, meanwhile, was asked several times on Fox News Radio whether he wants the U.S. to exit NATO. He answered, "No, I want them to pay their bills."
The U.S. and some other countries have opposed membership for Ukraine during the conflict with Russia to avoid an escalation of tensions that could lead to a larger war. They also have stressed that Ukraine must take significant steps to address corruption as well as other systemic reforms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long bitterly opposed neighboring Ukraine's fight to join the Western alliance, declaring it an encroachment on Russia's security and interests.
"I think it's very important to give a message to the Kremlin from here — that Ukraine's path and bridge towards NATO membership is now irreversible," Finnish President Alexander Stubb told reporters.
President Joe Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for Ukraine but also more broadly the importance of NATO. He noted that since he took office not only has military spending increased but the number of battle groups has doubled on NATO's eastern flank.
"We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory, and we will do it together," Biden said.
Zelenskyy, in Washington for the NATO summit, had stressed what he called Ukraine's urgent need for the F-16 fighter jets in a speech to friendly Republican lawmakers Tuesday night. He said his country needed more than 100 to start to counter devastating Russian air attacks on Ukraine's cities, energy infrastructure and other vital targets. He said Russia was using 300 jets to carry out the attacks.
Six nations, including the United States, are training Ukrainians on the F-16s, but officials have not released precise numbers or all the locations.
Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. David Allvin, just returned from Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, where the U.S. training is taking place. Of the initial class of 12 Ukrainian pilots, seven completed training in May and the remaining five are expected to do so in August, Allvin said.
The pilots have learned to fly the fighter jet and will get follow-on training once they leave the U.S., but the value of getting Ukraine's F-16 program running is more about the longer-term, he said. "I don't know that it's realistic to assume that it's going to be a game-changer on the battlefield right now," Allvin said.
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Zelenskyy, meanwhile, met behind closed doors with senators for nearly an hour Wednesday and requested more defense help, said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. Zelenskyy also met with the Republican speaker of the House.
Separately Wednesday, the U.S. and Germany announced they would begin "episodic deployments" of long-range missiles to Germany in 2026, including Tomahawk, SM-6 and hypersonic missiles.
The announcement is notable because land-based firing of some of those missiles from within Europe would have been banned under the former Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. They were banned because the conventional missiles could have been modified to be nuclear capable and their use on the European continent would have meant that potential targets would have had no time to react.
Kimball said while the deployment is likely being done to reassure allies, Russia may respond by deploying conventional or nuclear weapons of its own.
European and U.S. allies have announced other new arms deliveries, such as dozens of air defense systems, including Patriots, this week.
The promises of new weapons come after opposition from Republican lawmakers allied to Trump blocked a U.S. support package to Ukraine for months earlier this year, allowing Russia to make battlefield gains against Ukrainian forces who were fighting with dwindling arms and ammunition.
Europeans and NATO, as a lesson from that setback, have vowed to take on more of the responsibility for ensuring a reliable flow of military support to Ukraine.
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Russian missile attack on Ukraine's largest hospital complicates treatment of kids with cancer
The National Cancer Institute in Kyiv was busier than usual after a Russian missile struck Ukraine's largest children's hospital this week, forcing the evacuation of dozens of its young patients battling cancer.
Russia's heaviest bombardment of the Ukrainian capital in four months severely damaged Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital on Monday, terrorizing families and severely impacting their children already battling life-threatening diseases.
Now, some families face a dilemma of where to continue their children's treatment.
Oksana Halak only learned about her 2-year-old son Dmytro's diagnosis — acute lymphoblastic leukemia — at the beginning of June. She immediately decided to have him treated at Okhmatdyt, "because it is one of the best hospitals in Europe."
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She and Dmytro were in the hospital for his treatment when sirens blared across the city. They couldn't run to the shelter as the little boy was on an IV. "It is vitally important not to interrupt these IVs," Halak said.
After the first explosions, nurses helped move them to another room without windows, which was safer.
"We felt a powerful blast wave. We felt the room shaking and the lights went out," she recalled. "We understood that it was nearby, but we didn't think it was at Okhmatdyt."
Shortly after that, they were evacuated to the National Cancer Institute, and now Dmytro is one of 31 patients who, amid a difficult fight with cancer, have to adapt to a new hospital. With their arrival, the number of children being treated for cancer there has doubled.
Dmytro and the other patients were offered evacuation to hospitals abroad, and Halak wants his further treatment to be in Germany.
"We understand that with our situation, we cannot receive the help we should be getting, and we are forced to apply for evacuation abroad," she said.
Other hospitals in the city that took in children for treatment faced a similar overcrowding situation after the shutdown of Okhmatdyt, where hundreds of children were being treated at the time of the attack.
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"The destroyed Okhmatdyt is the pain of the entire nation," said the director general of the National Cancer Institute, Olena Yefimenko.
Almost immediately after the attack, messages began circulating on social media networks to raise money for the hospital's restoration. Many parents whose children were treated there wrote messages of gratitude, saying their children survived due to the hospital's care despite difficult diagnoses. In just three days, Ukrainians and private businesses raised more than $7.3 million through the national fundraising platform UNITED24.
Work to rebuild the hospital is already underway. Okhmatdyt doctors balance their duties treating their young evacuated patients while working to get the children's hospital reopened. But even with resources and determination, that may take months.
Even so, Yuliia Vasylenko has already decided that her 11-year-old son, Denys, will remain in Kyiv for his cancer treatment.
The day of the attack the boy, diagnosed with multiple spinal cord tumors, was supposed to start chemotherapy. The strike delayed his treatment indefinitely, and Denys has to undergo additional examinations and tests, his mother said.
Denys was very scared during the strike, said his mother as she wheeled him around the National Cancer Institute in a wheelchair.
"The last days felt like an eternity," she said. Only now are they slowly recovering from the stress.
"If we go somewhere, with our diagnosis, we would have to retake all the tests from the beginning," she said, adding that this could take three to four months.
"And we don't know if we have that time," she said.
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NATO-member Norway donates six F-16 jets to Ukraine
Norway will donate six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to defend itself from Russian attacks, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Wednesday, adding that the jets will be important for Kyiv.
Ukraine has long pleaded for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge against Russian firepower.
No date was announced as to when Norway will donate the six jets, but Gahr Støre said, “we aim to start the donations during 2024.”
He said Kyiv's “ability to defend itself against attacks from the air is absolutely crucial in its defensive battle against Russia.”
Gahr Store spoke before he arrived in Washington for the NATO summit.
Last year he said during a trip to Kyiv that Norway would donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine but didn't specify how many.
After 42 years of service, the Nordic NATO member phased out its aging fleet of F-16 fighters in 2021 and is replacing them with new F-35A Joint Strike Fighter jets.
Norway is the third European country after the Netherlands and Denmark to donate F-16 planes to Ukraine.
Oil-rich Norway is one of the world’s biggest donors to Ukraine.
BMW recalling more than 390,000 vehicles due to airbag inflator issue
BMW of North America is recalling more than 390,000 vehicles in the U.S. because they are equipped with airbag inflators that can explode, leading to a potentially serious injury or death.
The original steering wheel may have been replaced with a sport or M-sport steering wheel equipped with a Takata inflator, the agency said.
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If the inflator explodes, it may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants of a vehicle, resulting in serious injury or death, the NHTSA said.
BMW has not received any reports of any accidents or injuries in the U.S. that may be related to this issue, according to the latest report.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that the recall of 394,029 vehicles includes certain 2006-2011 3 Series Sedan (324i, 325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi), 2006-2012 3 Series Sportswagon (325xi, 328i, 328xi), and 2009-2011 3 Series Sedan (335d) vehicles.
BMW dealers will inspect and replace the driver’s air bag module as necessary for free.
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Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on Aug. 23. Vehicle owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
UK police search for man armed with crossbow after 3 women killed in home near London
British police were hunting for a man believed to be armed with a crossbow on Wednesday after three women were killed in a house near London.
Hertfordshire Police said Kyle Clifford, 26, was being sought over the suspected triple murder.
Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson of Herfordshire Police said Clifford is believed to have targeted the women, who were related.
“The manhunt also involves armed police officers and specialist search teams responding at pace in the wake of what has been an horrific incident, involving what is currently believed to be a crossbow and other weapons may also have been used,” Simpson said.
Police said the three women — ages 25, 28 and 61 — were found seriously injured in a house in Bushey, northwest of London, on Tuesday evening. Police and ambulance crews tried to save them, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police did not say whether Clifford, who is from London, was connected to the women.
Clifford may still be armed and the public was warned not to approach him.
“Kyle, if you are seeing or hearing this, please make contact with the police,” Simpson said.
Hundreds of new UK lawmakers are sworn in as Parliament returns after a dramatic election
Hundreds of newly elected lawmakers trooped excitedly into Parliament on Tuesday after the U.K.’s transformative election brought a Labour government to power.
The halls of the labyrinthine building echoed with excited chatter of the 650 members of the House of Commons — 335 of them arriving for the first time. That compares to 140 new lawmakers after the last election in 2019.
The seat of British democracy took on a back-to-school feel, from the rows of lockers temporarily installed in wood-paneled corridors to the staff holding “Ask Me” signs ready to help bewildered newcomers.
The new House of Commons includes the largest number of women ever elected — 263, some 40% of the total — and the most lawmakers of color, at 90.
The youngest new lawmaker is Labour’s Sam Carling, 22. He is one of 412 Labour legislators elected last week who will cram onto green benches on the government side of the House of Commons.
Opposite them will be a shrunken contingent of 121 Conservatives, a vastly increased number of Liberal Democrats, 72 strong, and a smattering of representatives from other parties including the environmentalist Green Party and the anti-immigration Reform UK.
Even as the newcomers arrived, lawmakers who lost their seats last week were carting away the contents of their offices in boxes and suitcases.
First job: electing a speaker
The first task for lawmakers was electing a speaker to oversee the business of the House of Commons and try to keep the often unruly assembly in line.
The speaker is chosen from the ranks of lawmakers and sets his or her party affiliation aside while they fill the impartial role.
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Lindsay Hoyle — originally elected for Labour to the speaker’s post in 2019 — was reelected unopposed. He promised lawmakers he would continue to be “fair, impartial and independent."
In keeping with tradition, the speaker feign reluctance and was dragged to the speaker’ chair by colleagues — a custom dating back to the days when speakers could be sentenced to death if they displeased the monarch.
After tributes from party leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Conservative leader Rishi Sunak, the speaker-elect was taken to the House of Lords by an official known as Black Rod to receive Royal Approbation, the formal approval of King Charles III.
Starmer said all lawmakers had a responsibility “to put an end to a politics that has too often seemed self-serving and self-obsessed, and to replace that politics of performance with the politics of service.”
Sunak, fresh off the Conservatives' crushing election defeat, agreed that “in our politics, we can argue vigorously, as the prime minister and I did over the past six weeks, but still respect each other.”
Swearing in
With a speaker in place, lawmakers were sworn in one by one, taking an oath of allegiance to the king and “his heirs and successors.” Members can swear on a religious text of their choice or make a non-religious affirmation. They must take the oath in English first, and can repeat it in Welsh, Ulster Scots, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Cornish.
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The longest-serving lawmakers — Conservative Edward Leigh and Labour's Diane Abbott, known as the father and mother of the House — were sworn in first, followed by the prime minister and the Cabinet, senior members of the official opposition and then remaining lawmakers in order of their length of service.
There are also seven lawmakers from Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, who refuse to swear loyalty to the Crown and do not take their seats to protest U.K. control over Northern Ireland.
Down to business
After all MPs are sworn in — a task expected to take several days — the House of Commons will rise until July 17, when a new session will formally start with the State Opening of Parliament.
The new government will set out its legislative plans for the coming year in a speech read by the king from atop a golden throne.
The King’s Speech is expected to include plans to establish a publicly owned green power company called Great British Energy, change planning rules to allow more new homes to be built and nationalize Britain’s delay-plagued railways.
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Holding the government to account will be a much-reduced Conservative Party led, temporarily at least, by Sunak. The former prime minister will serve as leader of the opposition until the party picks a replacement.
Putin hosts India's prime minister to deepen ties as NATO leaders gather in Washington
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, deepening ties between the two nations as Western leaders gathered at a NATO summit in Washington and Russia stepped up attacks in Ukraine with deadly missile strikes.
While leaders — including President Joe Biden and Britain's newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer — prepared to mark 75 years of the world’s biggest security organization, and reassure Ukraine of NATO's support, Putin and Modi were pictured viewing an exhibition of nuclear technology in space.
Modi earlier Tuesday lay a wreath at a war memorial near the Kremlin during his first visit to Russia since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He also met Putin Monday at the start of his two-day trip, shortly after Russian missiles slammed across Ukraine, severely damaging the largest children’s hospital in Kyiv and killing at least 42 people across the country, officials said.
While Modi’s trip received wall-to-wall coverage in Russia, coverage of Russia’s deadly attack on Ukraine has been muted.
Modi posted photos of his arrival in Moscow on the social media platform X, in both Russian and English, saying he was “looking forward to further deepening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between our nations.”
“Stronger ties between our nations will greatly benefit our people,” he wrote, also sharing a picture of himself and Putin hugging.
Russian state media reported that Putin and Modi would discuss energy ties, including Russia helping India to build more nuclear power plants.
Russia has had strong ties with India since the Cold War, and New Delhi’s importance as a key trading partner has grown since war in Ukraine.
China and India have become key buyers of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies that shut most Western markets off to Russian exports. India now gets more than 40% of its oil imports from Russia, according to analysts.
Modi last traveled to Russia in 2019, when he attended a forum in the far eastern port of Vladivostok and met with Putin. The leaders also saw each other in September 2022 in Uzbekistan, at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization bloc.
Under Modi’s leadership, India has avoided condemning Russia’s military action in Ukraine while emphasizing the need for a peaceful settlement.
The partnership between Moscow and New Delhi has become fraught, however, as Russia has moved closer to China. Modi notably stayed away from last week’s summit in Kazakhstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping founded by Moscow and Beijing.
A confrontation in June 2020 along the disputed China-India border dramatically altered their already touchy relationship as rival troops fought with rocks, clubs and fists. At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers were killed. Tensions have persisted despite talks — and have seeped into how New Delhi looks at Moscow.
But Modi is expected to seek to continue close relations with Russia, which is also a major defense supplier for India.
With Moscow’s arms industries mostly serving the Russian military in Ukraine, India has been diversifying its defense procurements, buying more from the U.S., Israel, France and Italy.
Trade development also will figure strongly in the talks, particularly intentions to develop a maritime corridor between India’s major port of Chennai and Vladivostok, the gateway to Russia’s Far East.
India-Russia trade has seen a sharp increase, touching close to $65 billion in the 2023-24 financial year, due to strong energy cooperation, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told reporters Friday. Imports from Russia touched $60 billion and exports from India $4 billion in the 2023-24 financial year. India’s financial year runs from April to March.