STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) – Sweden’s right wing looked set to oust Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s left-wing bloc in Sunday’s general election on strong gains by the far-right, clinging to a slim lead with 94 percent of electoral districts counted. The right wing bloc was credited with a majority of 176 of 349 seats in parliament, with the left bloc trailing with 173. With the vote deemed too close to call, election authorities said they did […]
Europe
Princes reunited as Charles III officially proclaimed king
London, United Kingdom AFP by Alice RITCHIE / Marie GIFFARD Princes William and Harry and their wives put on a rare united front Saturday to view tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, threatening to upstage their father Charles on the day he was officially proclaimed king. The impromptu walkabout by William and Kate with Harry and Meghan, their first joint public appearance since March 2020, came as royal officials unveiled plans for the run-up to the […]
King Charles III is proclaimed, vows to follow ‘inspiring’ queen
by Max DELANY / Marie GIFFARD Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — With a trumpet fanfare and gun salutes, Charles III was officially proclaimed king at a pomp-filled ceremony on Saturday, at which he pledged to emulate his late mother Queen Elizabeth II and serve for the rest of his life. A court official wearing a feathered bicorn hat declared Charles “our only lawful and rightful” monarch from the balcony of […]
King Charles III vows “lifelong service” as proclamation set for Britain’s new monarch
by Danny KEMP and Max DELANY Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Charles III will officially be proclaimed king in a ceremony on Saturday, a day after he vowed in his first speech to mourning subjects that he would emulate his “darling mama”, Queen Elizabeth II. The 73-year-old automatically became monarch upon the queen’s death Thursday, but an Accession Council ceremony at St James’s Palace early Saturday is a constitutional formality to […]
From UK to S. Africa, countries face huge energy bills
PARIS, France (AFP) – Gas and electricity costs are soaring due to a post-pandemic surge in demand and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, creating an energy crisis of a magnitude unseen in half a century. As EU energy ministers hold emergency talks on Friday, here is a look at the challenges and options countries from Britain to Sri Lanka are facing: – Massive bills –With Russia slashing natural gas supplies to European Union countries in apparent […]
Heatwave batters Spain’s Mediterranean mussel crop
DELTEBRE, Spain (AFP) – “There’s nothing left here,” sighs Javier Franch as he shakes the heavy rope of mussels he’s just pulled to the surface in northeastern Spain. They are all dead. With the country hit by a long and brutal heatwave this summer, the water temperature in the Ebro Delta, the main mussels production area of the Spanish Mediterranean, is touching 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). And any grower who hasn’t removed their […]
Prince Charles finally becomes king
by Brigitte DUSSEAU Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP)– Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales, has finally become king. But at 73, the focus of his reign will be his age — and the declining influence of the British monarchy around the world. Prince Charles has spent virtually his whole life as heir apparent and has become a familiar figure in his own right, even as he starts a new job […]
Queen Elizabeth II dies; Prince Charles ascends the throne as King Charles III
by Stuart GRAHAM with Phil HAZLEWOOD in London Agence France Presse Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, died at her Scottish Highland retreat on Thursday. She was 96. The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately. Royal officials confirmed he is now known as […]
World briefly unites to mourn ‘Elizabeth the Steadfast’
PARIS, France (AFP) — Leaders from every corner of the globe briefly united Thursday in homage to Queen Elizabeth II, after the world’s longest-serving monarch died at her Scottish home at age 96. Tributes poured in — from countries she had ruled over to those she had been at war with, from tiny territories to the mightiest governments on the planet, and from centuries-old institutions to nations that had not yet been born when she […]
‘Help wanted’: businesses struggle to fill jobs
PARIS, France (AFP) – Germany has a shortage of plumbers. The United States needs more postal workers. Australia is lacking engineers. In Canada, hospitals are looking for more nurses. “The Great Resignation” that countries have experienced since Covid pandemic restrictions were eased is not over yet. Michael Blume, chief executive of a software company in eastern Germany, said he had “a lot of difficulties finding workers”. “Wherever we look, we are lacking qualified workers,” Blume, […]
UN: evidence of Russia taking Ukrainian children
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United Nations cited “credible accusations” Wednesday that Moscow’s forces have forcibly taken Ukrainian children to Russia, while Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of benefitting from the eased grain blockade. Kyiv meanwhile said its forces had recaptured significant territory in a counter-offensive southeast of Kharkiv that experts say could threaten key Russian supply routes. As Europe girded for the prospect of winter with diminished energy supplies, the […]
Putin says Ukraine grain deal mostly helping rich EU
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that “almost all” the Ukrainian grain shipped under a UN-backed deal to ease a global food crisis was reaching rich European nations, an accusation denied by Kyiv. Data compiled by a joint center in Istanbul monitoring the July agreement showed slightly more than a third of the grain delivered to European countries and another 20 percent arriving in Turkey. It also showed 30 percent reaching […]