Britain, once renowned for political stability, has lurched from crisis to crisis since the 2016 vote to leave the European Union, through the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly stretched public services and a cost of living crisis.

Starmer was greeted by huge cheers and took time before making his speech to shake hands with and hug aides and well-wishers who lined Downing Street - scenes that were reminiscent of Labour predecessor Tony Blair's arrival in government in 1997.

Corbyn, 75, who has represented the London constituency of Islington North for more than 40 years, won the seat comfortably -- but for the first time without Labour affiliation.

With many results still to be announced from Thursday's vote, centre-left Labour has already won more than 326 of the 650 seats in parliament, with an exit poll suggesting it would capture about 410.

Two hundred and twenty-three days after far-right leader Geert Wilders swept to an election victory that stunned Europe and the world, Schoof took over from Mark Rutte after 14 years in power.

In December 2022, then-Prime Minister Mark Rutte acknowledged that the Netherlands bore a responsibility for transatlantic slavery and had profited from it, and apologised.

The RN and allies had 33 percent of the vote, followed by a leftwing bloc with 28 percent and President Emmanuel Macron's centrists with just 20 percent, official results from the interior ministry showed on Monday. 

The leftwing alliance and President Emmanuel Macron's camp will be hoping that tactical voting to prevent RN candidates winning seats will leave it short of the absolute majority.

"The North Atlantic Council decided to appoint Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of NATO, succeeding Jens Stoltenberg," the alliance said in a statement, adding that he would take over on October 1. 

The Indonesian and French militaries agreed to improve defense cooperation during a meeting between Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Agus Subiyanto and his French counterpart.

The unidentified gunmen launched simultaneous attacks in Dagestan's largest city of Makhachkala and in the coastal city of Derbent.

With less than two weeks to go before the first round in the snap elections called by Macron in response to the far right drubbing his party in European polls, the president's party is trailing badly.

While being reluctant to endorse a peace plan for the Ukraine war produced following a two-day world leader summit in Switzerland, Indonesia asserts its commitment and the importance to uphold international law to push for peace both in Ukraine and Gaza.

More than two years after Russia invaded, leaders and senior officials from more than 90 states gathered in a Swiss mountainside resort for a two-day summit dedicated to Kyiv's plan to end the largest European conflict since World War II.

Azerbaijan is gearing up to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku come November, and plans to flex its diplomatic chops in urging parties to leave the blame game at the door and calling for a "COP truce" in ongoing conflicts toward agreeing a new climate finance goal that reflects the current reality.

Ninety states and organisations have registered to take part in the summit on Saturday and Sunday in the alpine resort of Lucerne, which will seek to build support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace proposals, including the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

The US president and other G7 leaders agreed at a summit in Italy to use the profits from the interest on the assets to back the loan to provide help this year to Kyiv as it struggles in its third year of war with Russia.

The G7 summit in Puglia comes just five months before a nail-biting US presidential election that is testing not only America's democracy but also causing huge uncertainty for its allies.

Zelensky's speech came at the start of a diplomatic whirlwind tour to shore up support for Kyiv's battle against Russia.

"No, of course not," Sunak told broadcasters on Monday when asked if it had crossed his mind to quit.

While the center, liberal and socialist parties were set to retain a majority in the 720-seat parliament, the vote dealt a domestic blow to the leaders of both France and Germany, raising questions about how the European Union's major powers can drive policy in the bloc.

"Being your Colonel remains a great honour, and I am very sorry that I'm unable (to) take the salute at this year's Colonel's Review," Kate wrote in a letter to the head of the Irish Guards regiment.

The war in Ukraine has led to the biggest upheaval in Russia's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and Western sanctions have forced a once-in-a-century revolution in Russia's economic relations.

Putin, in his first face-to-face meeting with senior editors of international news agencies since the war in Ukraine began, said the West was wrong to assume Russia would never use nuclear weapons, and said the Kremlin's nuclear doctrine should not be taken lightly. 

Its government decided to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state following in the steps of Spain, Ireland and Norway as part of a wider effort to put pressure on Israel to end its siege.

This shift in support, echoed across Europe, represents the latest threat - this time from the left - to mainstream political parties whose project to deepen European integration is already under attack from the far-right.

Zelenskiy made the remarks during his bilateral meeting with the Philippine leader. It was not immediately clear who would be in the Philippine delegation that attends the summit.

In his meeting with Prabowo, Zelensky discussed Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan, which calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and the withdrawal of all Russian troops from its territory.

"China, unfortunately, is working hard today to prevent countries from coming to the peace summit," Zelensky told reporters on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore.

Biden had come under increasing pressure from a desperate Ukraine to ease his ban, but had so far resisted amid fears it could drag NATO into direct conflict or even a nuclear standoff with Moscow.