Britain has a new government. Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour Party won a landslide victory in Thursday’s election with a 412-seat majority in Parliament. How might Britain’s role in the world change under Prime Minister Starmer? Henry Ridgwell has more from London. …
How will Britain’s global role change under Prime Minister Keir Starmer?
london — Britain has a new government after Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour Party won a landslide victory in Thursday’s election, winning 412 seats and a huge 172-seat majority in parliament. How might Britain and its role on the international stage change under Prime Minister Starmer National renewal Addressing the nation Friday from outside 10 Downing Street, the 61-year-old former lawyer promised to lead a “government of …
Retired General Breedlove says NATO must not capitulate to Russia
Washington — The United States will host a NATO summit in Washington next week, at which more military support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion will top the agenda. Douglas Jones, deputy U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, told VOA earlier this week that NATO will put forward “concrete ways” to accelerate Ukraine’s eventual membership in the alliance. Retired …
India’s Modi will meet with Putin on 2-day visit to Russia starting Monday, Kremlin says
MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Thursday said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia next Monday and Tuesday and hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit was first announced by Russian officials last month, but the dates have not been previously disclosed. Russia has had strong ties with India since the Cold War, and New Delhi’s importance as a key trading partner for …
Britain’s Labour Party sweeps to power in historic election win
LONDON — Britain’s Labour Party swept to power Friday after more than a decade in opposition, official results showed, as a jaded electorate appeared to hand the party a landslide victory but also a mammoth task of reinvigorating a stagnant economy and dispirited nation. Labour leader Keir Starmer will officially become prime minister later in the day, leading his party back to government less than five …
UK’s Labour to win massive election majority, exit poll shows
LONDON — Keir Starmer will be Britain’s next prime minister with his Labour Party set to win a massive majority in a parliamentary election, an exit poll on Thursday indicated, while Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are forecast to suffer historic losses. The poll showed Labour would win 410 seats in the 650-seat parliament and a majority of 170, ending 14 years of Conservative-led government. Sunak’s party was …
France readies more police to prevent trouble after election
PARIS — Some 30,000 police will be deployed across France late Sunday following the high-stakes runoff of a parliamentary election to ensure there is no trouble, a minister said, as three candidates said they had been victims of attacks on the campaign trail. Sunday’s second round will determine whether Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, or RN, secures a parliamentary majority for the first time and …
Labour tipped for historic win as UK voters go to the polls
London — Britain voted Thursday in a general election widely expected to hand the opposition Labour party a landslide win and end nearly a decade-and-a-half of Conservative rule. The first national ballot since Boris Johnson won the Tories a decisive victory in 2019 follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s surprise call to hold it six months earlier than required. His gamble looks set to backfire spectacularly, with …
Analysts link strengthening Vietnam’s China Sea claims to Putin visit
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Analysts cite an effort to strengthen Vietnam’s South China Sea territorial claims as a key reason Hanoi welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, despite potential fallout from links to Moscow in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They also say Russian investment in offshore oil and gas reserves off Vietnam’s coast in the South China shows Hanoi …
Ukraine security, Indo-Pacific challenges in focus as US hosts NATO summit
NATO will roll out “concrete ways” to accelerate Ukraine’s eventual membership in the Atlantic alliance during a summit next week in Washington. The summit will also address top security concerns amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has the story, narrated by Elizabeth Cherneff. …
Russia issues arrest warrants for exiled journalists over war coverage
washington — Russian courts last month issued arrest warrants for three journalists who are in exile, in a move that analysts say is designed to harass critics outside the country’s borders. A Moscow court on June 17 ordered the arrests of Ekaterina Fomina and Roman Anin on charges of spreading what the Kremlin views as false information about the Russian military. In a separate case on …
France expels Iranian suspected of influence peddling for Tehran
paris — France on Wednesday expelled an Iranian suspected of influence peddling on behalf of Tehran and having links to the Revolutionary Guard’s ideological army, his lawyer and Iranian officials said. The deportation of Bashir Biazar, reportedly a former senior figure in state television in Iran, frustrated Paris-based activists who last month filed a torture complaint against him. Biazar had been held in administrative detention since …
In bid to join BRICS, Turkey plays delicate balancing act
Turkey’s bid to join the BRICS trading group is likely a topic discussed between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the bid has Erdogan playing a delicate balancing act in his relations with both Washington and Moscow. …
Only far right can win absolute majority, French PM warns
Paris — The far-right National Rally (RN) is the only party capable of winning an absolute majority in France’s legislative elections, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Wednesday, urging voters to block their rise to power. Attal admitted four days ahead of the polls that many French voters would have to hold their nose and vote for parties that they do not support in order to take …
France’s renowned Arles photo fest goes ‘beneath the surface’
Arles, France — One of the world’s most renowned photo festivals, in the French town of Arles, returned this week with a timely ode to diversity at a moment when France is turning towards the far right. The Rencontres festival, which runs until Sept. 29, is spread across 27 venues in the ancient cobbled streets of this former Roman town in Provence and has been running …
Britain set for general election, as polls indicate opposition landslide
Britain is set to hold a general election on Thursday, July 4, with polls suggesting the country is likely to elect a new leader. How might that change Britain’s stance on key issues like Russia’s war on Ukraine? Henry Ridgwell has more from London. …