World

STRASBOURG, France — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday won a second five-year term that she vowed would tackle the EU's challenges head-on, including bolstering its defence capability and strengthening Europe's industry.

The German ex-defence minister, who became the first woman leader of the European Commission in 2019, had presented herself as the best and most experienced captain to steer the commission.

Von der Leyen received votes backing her from 401 MEPs in the 720-seat chamber in the French city of Strasbourg — over the 361-vote majority she needed to remain head of the EU's executive body. 

There were 284 lawmakers who voted against in the secret ballot, held during the first parliamentary session since EU-wide elections in June.

An elated von der Leyen pumped fists in the air after parliament speaker Roberta Metsola announced the result.

She later said it was "a very emotional and special moment for me" and the result "sends a strong message of confidence".

Von der Leyen's first term was full of crises including the coronavirus pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

"We have navigated the most troubled waters that our union has ever faced," she told reporters.

Von der Leyen however faces another difficult five years, with rising expectations that former US president Donald Trump will return to the White House after elections later this year.

And with conflicts in and near Europe, von der Leyen insisted on the need for a "strong Europe" during a "period of deep anxiety and uncertainty".

Other issues in her in-tray are the risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East and the EU's trade tensions with China.

Not a 'blank cheque' 

European leaders were quick to offer their congratulations.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose recent victory has many hoping for better EU-UK ties, said on X: "I look forward to working closely with you to reset the relationship between the UK and the European Union."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hailed the result, vowing she would deliver for Europe.

Von der Leyen's re-election was "a clear sign of our ability to act in the European Union, especially in difficult times," Scholz said.

"Times are hard, but with your courage and determination, I'm sure you'll do a great job. We will do, together," Tusk, an ex-top EU official, said.

Reaching this point had been rocky. The EU's 27 leaders fiercely debated her candidacy in June before putting von der Leyen's name forward as their continuity pick.

Von der Leyen belongs to the biggest political group in the parliament, the conservative European People's Party, which is in a centrist coalition with the Socialists and Democrats and the liberal Renew Europe groups.

She spent weeks seeking to convince different parties to give her support.

Despite the Socialists and Democrats group backing her, the group stressed it did not mean a "blank cheque".

"Our job begins now. We will continue working to put our social imprint in all EU policies for the next five years," the group's leader, Iratxe Garcia Perez, said in a statement.

Boosting competitivity

Von der Leyen vowed earlier on Thursday to boost Europe's competitiveness by ensuring major investment in key industries including defence. 

But she also insisted the EU would not deviate from ambitious climate goals that entail reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040.

She said she would create a new commissioner to tackle Europe's housing crisis, strengthen the EU's border agency Frontex, triple the number of border guards and reinforce the bloc's efforts against disinformation.

Her promises to better defend the EU's borders sought to satisfy her EPP allies but also the far-right ECR group dominated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party.

Now von der Leyen will have to get to work choosing her next cabinet of commissioners to work on EU policy.

Once she has named her team, they, too, will have to face the parliament for confirmation hearings in the autumn.

LONDON — King Charles III outlined Labour’s first programme for government in 15 years on Wednesday, with promises of economic stability and tougher action on irregular immigration to improving relations with Europe soured by Brexit. 

“We will unlock growth and take the brakes off Britain,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in introductory remarks to the King’s Speech, a centuries-old tradition full of pomp and ceremony that details the laws the government proposes to make over the next 12 months.

Despite its name, the address, which marks the official start of the new parliamentary session, is not written by the monarch as head of state but by the government. It was centre-left Labour’s first such speech since it was last in power in 2010.

Wearing the diamond-studded Imperial State Crown, his Admiral of the Fleet uniform and the crimson Robe of State, Charles delivered Labour’s proposals from a golden throne in the House of Lords upper chamber after a carriage procession from Buckingham Palace.

The speech included more than 35 bills, including measures to enforce public spending rules and an independent assessment of future budgets to prevent a repeat of former prime minister Liz Truss’s disastrous 2022 mini-budget that tanked the economy.

The legislation fleshed out several announcements already made, such as the launching of a wealth fund to draw investment into the UK to spur growth and of a publicly owned body tasked with boosting clean energy by 2030.

Labour also announced an acceleration of housebuilding and plans to take Britain’s much-maligned rail services back into public hands.

There was also detail of a new border security command with beefed-up “counter-terror powers” to curb “immigration crime” — Starmer’s pledge to “smash the gangs” behind migrant crossings of the Channel from northern France.

Populism warning 

Labour returned to government following a landslide win against the Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives earlier this month, in which the hard-right Reform UK party led by the eurosceptic Nigel Farage secured five seats.

“The snake oil charm of populism may sound seductive, but it drives us into the dead end of further division and greater disappointment,” Starmer said Wednesday, pledging to lead a government of “service”.

The King’s Speech included a bill to strengthen workers’ rights and plans to reform the unelected House of Lords by scrapping the right of those with hereditary titles to sit there.

Sunak’s proposal to phase out smoking also made it, as did plans for a football regulator.

Labour also pledged to repeal a controversial act that granted conditional immunity to perpetrators of crimes in Northern Ireland during the Troubles era of sectarian violence.

“This is a hungry party,” former Labour minister Tony McNulty told AFP before the speech. “They are chomping at the bit to show that they can get back to being what they see as the natural party of government.”

The legislative agenda made no mention of lowering the voting age to 16 or ending a controversial two-child limit for welfare payments, wanted by many Labour MPs.

Ceremonial ‘hostage’ 

The day’s ceremonials started when royal bodyguards ritually searched the basement of the Palace of Westminster for explosives — a legacy of the failed attempt by Catholics to blow up parliament in 1605.

The king then travelled from Buckingham Palace, escorted by mounted cavalry, en route to the Houses of Parliament. 

A smattering of anti-monarchy protesters chanted “Not my king” outside parliament, while the Metropolitan Police said 10 members of the activist group Youth Demand were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.

An MP was ceremonially held “hostage” in the palace to ensure the king’s safe return.

A parliamentary official known as Black Rod had the door of the lower-chamber House of Commons slammed in her face, a tradition that symbolises parliament’s independence from the monarchy.

MPs then followed Black Rod to the upper chamber, where Charles gave the speech to assembled lords and ladies in red robes with ermine fur, plus invited members of the elected Commons.

In keeping with the convention that the monarch is above politics, he remained expressionless throughout.

Sunak, who intends to step down as Tory leader once a successor is found, said Labour had “tapped into the public’s desire for change” and “must now deliver change”.

WASHINGTON — US Democrats said on Wednesday they plan a sped-up virtual nomination for President Joe Biden in the first week of August, despite a backlash from some lawmakers who want him to step aside.

Some Democrats have slammed the plans for a remote vote, accusing the party of trying to ram through Biden's candidacy instead of waiting for the party's convention in Chicago starting August 19.

The move comes as a new poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Democrats want the 81-year-old to withdraw after a dismal performance in a television debate against Donald Trump raised concerns about his fitness.

The Democratic National Convention's rules committee will meet Friday to discuss the plans but "no virtual voting will begin before August 1", it said in a letter to members obtained by AFP.

Reports had emerged this week that the process could start as soon as next week.

"We will not be implementing a rushed virtual voting process," the letter said.

But party chiefs say they need to carry out the virtual nomination by August 7, which is the deadline set by the Republican-led state of Ohio for nominations to be submitted.

Since that deadline is before the Democratic convention when Biden was meant to be formally nominated, he risked being absent from the ballot in Ohio.

Ohio's governor has signed a law giving Biden more time, but since that law doesn't take effect until September, the whole process remains in doubt, US media said.

"I don't trust them in Ohio to do this," Minnesota's Democratic Governor Tim Walz, the co-chair of the DNC's rules committee, told a news conference on Wednesday.

Ohio is the home state of Trump's new running mate J.D. Vance.

The Biden campaign's Deputy Manager Quentin Fulks urged the media not to be "caught up in process stories" while Republicans are "lying to the American people about virtually every single issue".

But the plan has angered some Democrats, with several lawmakers planning to sign a letter against it, according to US media.

Around 20 House Democrats have publicly called for Biden to step aside, and discord has surged again after a brief pause following an assassination attempt against Trump.

A poll by the Associated Press and NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research said on Wednesday that 65 per cent of Democrats want him to pull out.

PARIS — France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s government, which will now serve only in a caretaker capacity, the presidency said.

French politics have been in gridlock since an inconclusive snap election earlier this month, with parties in the national assembly scrambling to put together a governing coalition and no successor to Attal in sight.

Later on Tuesday, Attal said he would propose meetings with competing political groups “to move towards an action pact” on forming a new government.

But he ruled out any prospect of staying on himself.

“I do not aspire to be the next prime minister. I will not be the next prime minister,” the outgoing premier told the broadcaster TFI.

Attal and his team would “handle day-to-day business until a new government is named”, the Elysee Palace said.

“For this period to come to an end as quickly as possible, it is up to republican forces to work together to build unity,” it added, referring to mainstream political parties but excluding the far right and hard left.

Macron had announced the plan earlier in the day at the government’s first Cabinet meeting since his allies were roundly beaten earlier this month in a snap parliamentary election he had called to “clarify” the political landscape.

Macron told the ministers he would ask Attal to stay on “for some weeks”, probably until after the Paris Olympics, which open on July 26, meeting participants said.

This gives political parties more time to build a governing coalition after the July 7 election runoff left the lower house without an overall majority grouping.

Left infighting 

A broad alliance called the New Popular Front (NFP) that includes Socialists, Communists, Greens and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) won the most seats, with 193 in the 577-strong lower chamber.

Macron’s allies came second with 164 seats and the far-right National Rally (RN) third with 143.

The divided NFP alliance has been scrambling to come up with a consensus candidate for prime minister.

But internal conflicts — notably between the LFI and the more moderate Socialists — have thwarted all efforts to find a personality able to survive a confidence vote in parliament.

Over the weekend, the Socialists torpedoed the hopes of Huguette Bello, 73, a former communist member of parliament and the president of the regional council in France’s overseas territory La Reunion, who had support from the other left-wing parties.

The LFI, in turn, rejected 73-year-old Laurence Tubiana, an economist and climate specialist without political affiliation, who had the backing of the Socialists, Communists and Green Party.

Leftist lawmaker Francois Ruffin on Tuesday called the NFP’s infighting “shameful”, a day after Green member of parliament Sandrine Rousseau said the disagreements made her “very angry”.

‘No warmth’ 

On Saturday, Attal was voted in as leader of his party’s national assembly contingent, as he eyes his own future outside government, saying he would “contribute to the emergence of a majority concerning projects and ideas”.

Macron and Attal, observers say, are still hoping to find a right-of-centre majority in parliament that would keep both the LFI and the far-right RN out of any new coalition.

Macron told Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting that it was the “responsibility” of his allies to come up with a proposal “for a majority coalition or a wide-ranging legislative pact”.

This, he said, would help preserve his government’s “economic achievements” and favour “social justice”.

Following their resignation, Attal and other Cabinet members will be able to take their seats in parliament and participate in any coalition building.

Parliament reconvenes on Thursday and will start by filling the national assembly speaker job and other key positions.

Cracks have appeared between Attal and his former mentor Macron, whom the prime minister appears to blame for the electoral defeat only six months after being appointed France’s youngest ever head of government at 34.

At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting there was “no tension” visible between the two men, but “no warmth” either, said one participant.

Macron still has almost three years to go as president before elections in 2027, when far-right leader Marine Le Pen is expected to make a fresh bid for power.

WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden sought to calm a divided nation Sunday after his rival Donald Trump survived an assassination bid, saying in a rare Oval Office address that it was time to lower the temperature of America's hostile politics.

"It's time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that," Biden said in a televised address following the attack in which Republican Trump was injured in the ear and a bystander was killed by gunfire.

As the country reeled from images of a bloodied Trump waving his fist after the gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Biden added that US politics "must never be a literal battlefield, God forbid a killing field".

The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by Secret Service agents amid scenes of chaos. Authorities say his motive remains unclear.

The FBI said it was investigating the attack as a potential act of domestic terrorism and studying Crooks's phone to discover any "ideologies" he may have had.

Biden, giving just the third Oval Office address of his presidency, also mentioned the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack by pro-Trump supporters as proof that the situation is getting out of hand.

"We can't allow this violence to be normalised," the 81-year-old Democrat said, adding that the November 5 election would be a "time of testing" for the United States.

The short but forceful speech went without any major hitches — bar Biden twice referring to the ballot box as a "battle box". Democrats are closely watching the president following a disastrous debate performance renewed concerns about his age and ability to govern.

'Stand United' 

The attempt on Trump's life has opened a dark new chapter in an already polarised election rematch with Biden, who beat him in 2020. 

Despite their bitter enmity, both Biden and Trump called for calm after the most serious attack on a US president or ex-president in more than four decades.

Trump said it was "more important than ever that we stand United" and added that Americans should not allow "evil to win", in a post on social media.

Numerous Republicans — who themselves often pose with guns in political ads — have claimed Democrats have promoted extreme rhetoric that led to the shooting.

Just before Biden's speech, Trump landed in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, during which he will formally be anointed the party's nominee.

The US Secret Service insisted the agency is "fully prepared" to maintain security at the convention, as it comes under severe scrutiny over the attempt to kill Trump.

The agency faces searching questions about how the shooter was able to climb onto a rooftop around 150 metres from where Trump was speaking and fire multiple rounds.

The FBI was "looking at it as a potential domestic terrorism act", the bureau's assistant director of counterterrorism Robert Wells said. 

The shooter's father was believed to have bought the semi-automatic weapon used in the attack but it was unclear how the shooter accessed it. Investigators also found a "suspicious device" in the shooter's car.

'Bullied'

Crooks's former schoolmates described him as a quiet student who often came across as lonely.

"He was quiet but he was just bullied. He was bullied so much," Jason Kohler, who said he attended the same high school as Crooks, told reporters.

The attack threatens to further inflame tensions at an already febrile moment in the race for the White House.

Trump was recently convicted of criminal charges while Biden's dismal debate performance sparked Democratic party fears over his age and mental acuity.

The shooting will likely now upend how both campaign. 

Trump and his supporters are likely to use it to back their narrative of persecution by Biden. 

Biden, who is behind in most polls, will meanwhile have to tone down the full-throated criticisms of Trump that he pivoted to last week to shift attention from his own woes.

But while the president canceled a trip to Texas on Monday he will continue with a visit to the battleground state of Nevada later this week.

"That's how democracy should work," he said in the Oval Office address. "We debate and disagree."

PARIS — Hopes of France's left-wing bloc finding a consensus candidate to lead the country's next government after an inconclusive snap election unravelled on Sunday as the best-placed contender dropped out.

A broad alliance of Socialists, Communists, Greens and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) holds the largest number of seats in the National Assembly after last week's election runoff, but with 193 seats in the 577-strong lower chamber they are well short of a majority.

The result, says the leftist bloc — called New Popular Front (NFP) — entitles it to pitch their candidate for prime minister to President Emmanuel Macron, whose allies trailed in the vote.

Several days of wrangling within the loose coalition produced little until the emergence of 73-year-old Huguette Bello, a former communist MP and currently the president of the regional council in France's overseas territory La Reunion, as a possible consensus candidate.

Bello quickly got the backing of LFI, communists and the Greens.

But they could not bring on board the centre-left Socialists, who have continued to back their party boss Olivier Faure for the job.

In the face of Socialist resistance, Bello said on Sunday that she would drop out.

In a statement, Bello said there was no consensus on her candidacy “among all members” of the NFP, notably the Socialists.

“Hopeful of an early agreement within the NFP, I have decided to decline without further delay the offer that I was made,” she said.

Bello’s withdrawal sends the left-wing alliance back to the drawing board.

“There is no consensus name,” Socialist party general secretary Pierre Jouvet told AFP late Saturday.

Macron, meanwhile, has ruled out a government role for either the LFI — the largest player in the New Popular Front (NFP) left alliance — or the far-right RN in any new coalition.

Macron’s allies came second with 164 seats in the election, and the far-right National Rally (RN) third at 143.

According to the constitution, Macron appoints the prime minister, who should be able to survive a confidence motion in parliament.

Outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is expected to submit his resignation to Macron over the coming days, but the president could ask Attal to stay on as a caretaker while Paris hosts the Olympic Games starting July 26.

PARIS — France celebrated military victories of the past at its annual Bastille Day parade on Sunday, while its present political future appeared far from clear.

President Emmanuel Macron inspected French and allied units which took part in France's World War II liberation 80 years ago.

And Paris welcomed the Olympic flame to the city, less than two weeks before it hosts the Summer Games.

But behind the pomp — itself in a reduced format while Olympic preparations blocked the traditional Champs Elysees route — France's tense search for a government appeared to be at a stalemate.

All eyes were on the host, Macron, who last year cut a more impressive figure, hosting rising superpower India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they watched France's military might roll down the Champs Elysees.

There was no international star guest this year, and there were no armoured vehicles as a reduced number of troops marched down the less majestic Avenue Foch. 

This month's snap elections, called by Macron to clarify France's direction after the far right sent shockwaves through the political establishment by coming first in EU polls, left the country without a parliamentary majority.

Government in limbo 

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is hanging on as caretaker head of government but the centrist has reportedly fallen out with Macron and is now focusing on his own future, taking charge of his reduced party in parliament.

Other figures are mobilising with an eye on the 2027 presidential race, but there is little sign of a majority emerging from parliament, split between three camps.

With government in limbo and Macron barred by the constitution from calling fresh elections for at least 12 months, far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen is eyeing the 2027 campaign with relish.

Meanwhile, a rapidly cobbled-together left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front (NFP), now has the most MPs but no outright majority and no clear candidate for PM.

Firebrand hardliner Jean-Luc Melenchon and his France Unbowed (LFI) Party have alienated many even on the left and would be rejected by the centre and right.

But LFI represents a large chunk of the NFP and, along with some greens and communists, had been touting Huguette Bello, the 73-year-old former communist and president of the regional council on Reunion in the Indian Ocean, as premier.

But on Sunday she declined the role, saying that there was no consensus behind her candidacy, notably because of opposition from the centre-left Socialist Party, and that she wanted the NFP to agree to another name quickly. 

The European Union's second largest economy, a nuclear-armed G7 power and permanent member of the UN Security Council, is thus rudderless, a troubling situation for markets and France's allies alike.

Against this backdrop, the reduced and rerouted parade risked becoming a new symbol of drift, even with the addition of the arrival in Paris of the Olympic Torch, ahead of the July 26 to August 11 Games.

Olympic relay 

No tanks took part, and only 4,000 foot soldiers marched, down from 6,500 last year. The military fly-past saw 45 aeroplanes and 22 helicopters soar over Paris.

Regiments honoured on the parade included those from France's allies and former French colonies that took part in the country's 1944 World War II liberation.

The parade's final section turned to the upcoming games.

Colonel Thibault Vallette of the elite Cadre Noir de Saumur cavalry school and 2016 equestrian gold medallist at the Rio Games rode the torch down the route before relay runners were to carry it around the capital.

BUTLER, United States -- Former president Donald Trump was rushed off stage by Secret Service agents Saturday after a series of loud bangs that sounded like possible gunshots were heard at the start of a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump was seen with blood on his right ear as he was surrounded by security agents, who rushed him off the stage as he pumped his first to the crowd.

The "former president is safe", the Secret Service said after Trump was bundled into an SUV and driven away.

"This is an active crime scene," Secret Service officers told reporters, ordering them out of the area.

"We saw a lot of people go down, looking confused. I heard the shots, it sounded like between firecrackers and a small caliber handgun," said John Yeykal from Franklin, Pennsylvania, who was attending his first Trump rally.

The disturbance took place shortly after Trump took the stage at his final campaign rally before the Republican party convention starts on Monday in Milwaukee.

President Joe Biden has received an initial briefing on the incident, the White House said.