Despite gains by the far-right across the continent, the majority of seats in the European parliament still remain in the hands of centrist parties. The European People's Party of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is still the strongest party.

Brussels

The European People's Party (EPP), led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, secured 26% of the seats in the European Parliament following the recent elections. This result bolsters von der Leyen as she looks towards a second term. Despite these gains, far-right and populist parties have also increased their presence, potentially forming a united bloc that could influence future EU policies.

In Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party saw significant success, coming in second and outperforming the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The rise of the far-right has caused concern among some voters, reflecting a broader trend of shifting political alignments across the continent.

The upward trend for far-right and populist parties, though significant, did not match initial predictions. This development has raised questions about the future of progressive agendas, including the Green Deal aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by 2050, and more stringent migration policies. The full impact of the election results on EU policies will become clearer in the coming weeks.



EU elections 2024: Who lost and won, and who was hurt?

The winner of Sunday's election, keen to start her second term as president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen's party is projected to have secured 26% of the 720 seats in the parliament. But far-right and populist parties aren't far behind if they succeed in forming a united bloc. What does the success of the far-right parties in Europe tell you about the mood in Europe? So indeed there is an increase of the extreme right actually and the extreme left. We have both phenomenon. But not as much as predicted, not as much as expected. The opposite is the case. We had a strong win as European People's Party. So this shows that you can withstand the pressure from the extremes. Some voters in Germany are not convinced. The Alternative for Germany party, the AfD, came in second and defeated the government coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. I find it incredibly scary that so many people voted right-wing. I'm scared to think where this might lead. It's shocking. I mean, everyone knows by now that there is a drift to the right. But I still kind of lived in my own bubble, thinking not everybody would vote for them. And it's daunting to see it written in black and white. After being expelled from the far-right group in Europe for being too radical, the AfD has distanced itself from its controversial main candidate. A confident mood here at the headquarters of the Christian Democrat Party in Berlin. After Sunday's victory, Ursula von der Leyen sees no reason to change her course. But many wonder what impact the rise of the far-right will have on EU policies in the next five years. People don't feel that this progressive agenda actually is what they can afford right now. So therefore people tend to rather vote for conservative parties which promise to go give them back the good old days. So the Green Deal, which was the big moonshot project of Ursula von der Leyen, as she called it, is now kind of gone. The Green Deal, which was meant to bring CO2 emissions to zero by 2050, has come under pressure from protesting farmers. Also on migration, policies could become more strict. The next few days and weeks will make clear how the election result may affect hundreds of millions of people in and outside the bloc. Stabfasen, Al Jazeera, Berlin.

The Paris Olympic Games have officially opened with a ceremony in the rain along the River Seine. Athletes floated along on boats for the parade, while former French sprinter Marie-José Pérec and French judoka Teddy Riner lit the Olympic flame.

Paris

Paris Olympics

Paris Olympics underway after Opening Ceremony

Taiwanese authorities are assessing the damage caused by Typhoon Gaemi. The coastguard has been rescuing boats stranded by the tropical storm. The official death toll has risen to eight, with more than 800 people injured.

Taipei

Cargo crew rescued from Typhoon Gaemi

Wildfires are raging from western Canada to California in the U.S. At least a dozen fires are burning across California, with the Park Fire growing to become one of the biggest wildfires ever recorded in California in just two days.

Chico

Uncontrolled fires burn across California

Typhoon Gaemi has made landfall in southeastern China prompting warnings of flash floods and waterlogging in areas still recovering from torrential rain several weeks ago. Authorities relocated more than 290-thousand people.

Tsim Sha Tsui

Climate Crisis

Thousands evacuated in China as Typhoon makes landfall

Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and a son of his former partner, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, were arrested on Thursday in El Paso, Texas, in a major coup for U.S. authorities that may also reshape the Mexican criminal landscape.

El Paso

Mexican drug lords arrested in El Paso

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had always been warm as the two leaders met on Friday (July 26), and the Israeli leader said he hoped progress was being made in talks on a Gaza ceasefire.

Palm Beach

Netanyahu meets Trump, says working on cease-fire

A North Korean military intelligence operative has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack into American health care providers, NASA, U.S. military bases and international entities.

Kansas City

North Korean charged in U.S. cyberattacks

Arsonists lighting fires across France's high-speed rail network have disrupted the transport network just hours before the Olympic Opening Ceremony in Paris, however the attacks failed to stop the event from going ahead.

France rail network attacked before Olympics

Saboteurs struck France's TGV high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks that caused chaos on the country's busiest rail lines ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but two security sources said initial suspicions fell on hardline leftist militants or environmental activists.

Saboteurs attack French railways ahead of Olympic ceremony

Typhoon Gaemi pummeled towns on China's coastal Fujian province on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek into the populous interior.

Fujian

Typhoon Gaemi lashes China after pounding Taiwan, Philippines

Presidential candidates in Venezuela have held their final campaign rallies ahead of the election on Sunday. Opposition leaders are asking voters to oust President Nicolas Maduro, who's seeking a third term. But Maduro has warned the country risks a "bloodbath" if the opposition wins.

Caracas

Final rallies held ahead of Venezuela presidential election

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help reach a Gaza ceasefire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than President Joe Biden.

Washington

Israel-Gaza War

Harris strikes tougher tone on Gaza ceasefire deal

Dolphins swimming coach Mick Palfrey will remain in Paris for the Olympics, after being criticised for publicly backing South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min. Swimmer Elijah Winnington has defended the coach saying he's a great guy and there's no hard feelings.

Swim coach spared axe over supporting Korean rival

On the eve of the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games, security in Paris is tight and athletes are navigating the risks. More than a million people have undergone screening to access the site of the Opening Ceremony.

Athletes navigate security risks at Paris 2024

Typhoon Gaemi has reached southeastern China after churning across the Taiwan Strait. The typhoon has prompted warnings of swelling rivers, flash floods, and waterlogging in cities and provinces that were hit by extreme rains several weeks ago.

Typhoon Gaemi hits China after pounding Taiwan, Philippines

The Olympic Games are set to officially open on Friday (July 25), with the French government pledging an "unprecedented" security operation to ensure the safety of the event. A force of 35,000 to 45,000 security personnel will be deployed, including 15,000 French military members and over 2,000 foreign police officers.

Major security operation in place to guard Paris Olympics

U.S. President Joe Biden pressed for a ceasefire to the 9-month-old war in Gaza in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (July 25), with Vice President Kamala Harris due to meet the Israeli leader later in the day.

Biden meets with Netanyahu, presses for ceasefire in Gaza

Counterterrorism officers are investigating after a man was allegedly found with chemical explosives and a knife at a Sydney shopping centre. Police moved in after shoppers heard a loud blast at Miranda Westfield.

Miranda

Man with knife and explosives arrested at Westfield

The Prime Minister is set to unveil a new Cabinet line-up after two senior members announced today they're retiring from politics. Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Brendan O'Connor will move to the backbench.

Canberra

Prime Minister set to reveal cabinet reshuffle

A limited curfew is still in place in Bangladesh after days of protests and a police crackdown. Some businesses and government offices are reopening, and partial internet service is being restored in some areas. Police have arrested more than 2,000 people. The United Nations has demanded an investigation of the Bangladeshi government's crackdown on student protesters.

Dhaka

UN demands investigation of Bangladesh's crackdown on protesters

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said abandoning his reelection campaign and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic candidate was the best way to unite the country and save democracy, despite his ambition to win a second term.

U.S. Presidential Election

Biden says he bowed out to unite nation, backs Harris to beat Trump

On the eve of the Olympics the city of Paris is getting ready to put on a show For the next two and a half weeks the competition will unfold in some of the capital's most iconic sites all prepped for the occasion, while thousands of miles away the French Polynesian island of Tahiti is also getting ready to host the surfing events.

From Paris to Polynesia, final Olympic preparations underway

Thousands of people gathered in North Carolina for Donald Trump's first rally since Joe Biden pulled out of the race. It’s a key battleground state for both sides and the Republican nominee wasted no time in going on the attack against his likely opponent in November, Kamala Harris.

North Carolina

Trump slams Harris as ‘radical’ in first rally since Biden’s exit

In a fiery speech to the U.S. Congress skipped by some top Democrats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed critics of his country’s war against Hamas as ‘useful idiots’ for Iran, and said America and Israel must stand together.

Netanyahu blasts Gaza war critics, Iran in fiery speech to U.S. Congress

A passenger plane has crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, killing 18 people, aviation officials say. The pilot was the only survivor of the crash and was treated in hospital.

Kathmandu

Nepal plane crash kills 18; pilot only survivor

Heavy rain from Typhoon Gaemi has flooded the Philippine capital Manila and nearby cities, forcing authorities to shut schools, offices and cancel flights and declare a state of calamity in a region that is home to 13 million people.

Manila

Typhoon Gaemi brings heavy rain to Manila, forcing evacuation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal that would secure their loved ones' release could be nearing, his office said.

Netanyahu in U.S. says hostage deal may come soon

U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris told cheering supporters in Wisconsin she now has enough delegates to secure the Democratic Party nomination and take on Donald Trump. Meanwhile, campaign donations have shot past $100M in the two days since she entered the presidential race.

Wisconsin

Harris slams Trump at first campaign rally

As Paris prepares to host the world for the Olympic Games, homeless advocates are accusing city officials of ‘social cleansing’ after tent camps were broken up and undocumented migrants were bussed out of the city in the lead up to the opening ceremony.

Paris officials criticized for pre-Olympic homeless sweep

The head of the United States Secret Service is stepping down over the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump after days of mounting pressure and criticism for failing to prevent the shooting.