France votes in legislative elections Sunday that will be decisive in determining its political future and could see the far right become the largest party in parliament for the first time

Newly elected UK prime minister Keir Starmer yesterday began his first full day in charge declaring himself “restless for change” and pledging that growth would be his Labour government’s “number one mission”.

France yesterday prepared for its most consequential legislative election of recent times, with residents of overseas territories opening voting for a poll expected to give the far right its biggest ever presence in parliament.

Four Bangladesh-origin candidates -- Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, Rushanara Ali, Rupa Huq and Apsana Begum -- have been elected as Labour Party lawmakers in the UK parliament.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday pledged to use his massive electoral majority to rebuild the country, saying he wanted to take the heat out of politics after years of upheaval and strife.

Russian attacks killed two and wounded more than a dozen others in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine yesterday, regional officials said.

The centre-left Labour Party’s crushing victory in the British election stands in stark contrast to recent gains by the far right across Europe.

Millions of Britons voted yesterday in a general election that polls predict will hand the opposition Labour party a landslide win and end nearly a decade-and-a-half of Conservative rule.

The UK is not the diplomatic powerhouse it once was, with Brexit leaving it looking inward and years of economic failures meaning the Conservatives and Labour are both sidelining foreign policy in their campaign messaging. Still, leaders around the world will be taking an interest in the election. Here are some of the key issues:

The leaders of Russia and China were in Kazakhstan yesterday for a regional summit, seeking to harden anti-Western alliances and press their influence in the strategic Central Asian region.

Labour leader Keir Starmer is a former human rights lawyer turned-state prosecutor whose ruthless ambition and formidable work ethic look set to propel him to Britain’s highest political office.

The UK Conservatives hoped Rishi Sunak would stabilise the party and country when they made him leader following his predecessors’ chaotic tenures. Instead, he has led them to the brink of electoral wipeout.

Britain’s political leaders made a final push for votes yesterday on the last day of an election campaign expected to return a Labour government after 14 years of Conservative rule.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday called for vigilance in the face of far-right political gains in Europe, citing narratives that dehumanise migrants and asylum seekers

Halving food waste could cut climate-warming emissions and end undernourishment for 153 million people globally, the OECD and the UN’s food agency said in a joint report yesterday.

A panel of UN experts has determined that the detention of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was arbitrary and a violation of international law, calling for him to be released “immediately”.

French candidates faced a deadline yesterday to stay in or quit the weekend’s runoff election, with over 160 withdrawing so far in an effort to block the far right from winning an absolute majority.

Voting for the first time in a British election, Prathesh Panjak and other immigrant voters are excited to take part in the July 4 ballot, hoping they can influence change in the country that they have chosen to call home.

The far-right victory in the first round of France’s general election is a sign for politicians to better respond to disaffected voters, UK Labour leader Keir Starmer said yesterday.

France’s political parties rushed to build a united front aimed at blocking the path to government of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) yesterday, after it made historic gains to win the first round of a parliamentary election.