Crew wounded and missing in attack on ship off Yemen
Monday's attack 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah was the second assault against merchant vessels in the vital shipping corridor by Houthis since November 2024, said an official at the European Union's Operation Aspides, assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping.
The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C with 22 members on board - 21 Filipinos and one Russian - was attacked with sea drones and skiffs, its manager Cosmoship Management told Reuters.
Two crew were seriously wounded and two were missing, the company said, adding that three armed security guards were on board. The vessel's bridge was hit and telecommunications were impacted.
The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said later, after an attack by sea drones and four speedboats with individuals who launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or protection from the naval force, the official added.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.
Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs as well as missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels.
The 19 crew members were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said.
Houthis said they sunk the vessel. But Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification.
Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the first time in nearly a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel.
The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, maritime security firm Diaplous said.
John Xylas, chairman of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were "innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving".
"No one at sea should ever face such violence," he said.
Two crew of a Greek-managed vessel have been wounded and two are missing in a drone attack off Yemen, hours after Iran-aligned Houthi militants claimed an assault on another bulk carrier in the Red Sea, saying the ship had sunk.
Monday's attack 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah was the second assault against merchant vessels in the vital shipping corridor by Houthis since November 2024, said an official at the European Union's Operation Aspides, assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping.
The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C with 22 members on board - 21 Filipinos and one Russian - was attacked with sea drones and skiffs, its manager Cosmoship Management told Reuters.
Two crew were seriously wounded and two were missing, the company said, adding that three armed security guards were on board. The vessel's bridge was hit and telecommunications were impacted.
The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said later, after an attack by sea drones and four speedboats with individuals who launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or protection from the naval force, the official added.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.
Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs as well as missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels.
The 19 crew members were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said.
Houthis said they sunk the vessel. But Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification.
Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the first time in nearly a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel.
The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, maritime security firm Diaplous said.
John Xylas, chairman of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were "innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving".
"No one at sea should ever face such violence," he said.
Two crew of a Greek-managed vessel have been wounded and two are missing in a drone attack off Yemen, hours after Iran-aligned Houthi militants claimed an assault on another bulk carrier in the Red Sea, saying the ship had sunk.
Monday's attack 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah was the second assault against merchant vessels in the vital shipping corridor by Houthis since November 2024, said an official at the European Union's Operation Aspides, assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping.
The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C with 22 members on board - 21 Filipinos and one Russian - was attacked with sea drones and skiffs, its manager Cosmoship Management told Reuters.
Two crew were seriously wounded and two were missing, the company said, adding that three armed security guards were on board. The vessel's bridge was hit and telecommunications were impacted.
The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said later, after an attack by sea drones and four speedboats with individuals who launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or protection from the naval force, the official added.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.
Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs as well as missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels.
The 19 crew members were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said.
Houthis said they sunk the vessel. But Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification.
Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the first time in nearly a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel.
The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, maritime security firm Diaplous said.
John Xylas, chairman of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were "innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving".
"No one at sea should ever face such violence," he said.
Two crew of a Greek-managed vessel have been wounded and two are missing in a drone attack off Yemen, hours after Iran-aligned Houthi militants claimed an assault on another bulk carrier in the Red Sea, saying the ship had sunk.
Monday's attack 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah was the second assault against merchant vessels in the vital shipping corridor by Houthis since November 2024, said an official at the European Union's Operation Aspides, assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping.
The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C with 22 members on board - 21 Filipinos and one Russian - was attacked with sea drones and skiffs, its manager Cosmoship Management told Reuters.
Two crew were seriously wounded and two were missing, the company said, adding that three armed security guards were on board. The vessel's bridge was hit and telecommunications were impacted.
The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said later, after an attack by sea drones and four speedboats with individuals who launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or protection from the naval force, the official added.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.
Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs as well as missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels.
The 19 crew members were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said.
Houthis said they sunk the vessel. But Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification.
Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the first time in nearly a month. A US-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel.
The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, maritime security firm Diaplous said.
John Xylas, chairman of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were "innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving".
"No one at sea should ever face such violence," he said.
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Germany angry at China after plane lasered over Red Sea
Germany's foreign office has summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest after a Chinese warship used a laser against a German aircraft in the Red Sea. The surveillance aircraft was part of the EU mission Aspides, which is intended to better defend civilian ships against attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. It was lasered earlier in July "without any reason or prior contact" by a Chinese warship that had been encountered several times in the area, the German defence ministry said. "By using the laser, the warship accepted the risk of endangering people and material," a defence ministry spokesperson said. The ministry said the aircraft's mission was aborted as a precaution. It landed safely at the base in Djibouti and the crew was in good health, it said. The aircraft, operated by a civilian commercial service provider but with German army personnel involved, had since resumed its operations with the EU mission in the Red Sea, the ministry said. The German foreign office said in a post on X that "endangering German personnel and disrupting the operation is entirely unacceptable". China's spokespeople did not comment immediately on Tuesday. The EU mission only defends civilian vessels and does not take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone. On Tuesday, Yemen's Houthi rebels continued an hourslong attack targeting a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, authorities said, after the group claimed to have sunk another vessel in an assault that threatens to renew combat across the vital waterway. Germany's foreign office has summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest after a Chinese warship used a laser against a German aircraft in the Red Sea. The surveillance aircraft was part of the EU mission Aspides, which is intended to better defend civilian ships against attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. It was lasered earlier in July "without any reason or prior contact" by a Chinese warship that had been encountered several times in the area, the German defence ministry said. "By using the laser, the warship accepted the risk of endangering people and material," a defence ministry spokesperson said. The ministry said the aircraft's mission was aborted as a precaution. It landed safely at the base in Djibouti and the crew was in good health, it said. The aircraft, operated by a civilian commercial service provider but with German army personnel involved, had since resumed its operations with the EU mission in the Red Sea, the ministry said. The German foreign office said in a post on X that "endangering German personnel and disrupting the operation is entirely unacceptable". China's spokespeople did not comment immediately on Tuesday. The EU mission only defends civilian vessels and does not take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone. On Tuesday, Yemen's Houthi rebels continued an hourslong attack targeting a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, authorities said, after the group claimed to have sunk another vessel in an assault that threatens to renew combat across the vital waterway. Germany's foreign office has summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest after a Chinese warship used a laser against a German aircraft in the Red Sea. The surveillance aircraft was part of the EU mission Aspides, which is intended to better defend civilian ships against attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. It was lasered earlier in July "without any reason or prior contact" by a Chinese warship that had been encountered several times in the area, the German defence ministry said. "By using the laser, the warship accepted the risk of endangering people and material," a defence ministry spokesperson said. The ministry said the aircraft's mission was aborted as a precaution. It landed safely at the base in Djibouti and the crew was in good health, it said. The aircraft, operated by a civilian commercial service provider but with German army personnel involved, had since resumed its operations with the EU mission in the Red Sea, the ministry said. The German foreign office said in a post on X that "endangering German personnel and disrupting the operation is entirely unacceptable". China's spokespeople did not comment immediately on Tuesday. The EU mission only defends civilian vessels and does not take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone. On Tuesday, Yemen's Houthi rebels continued an hourslong attack targeting a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, authorities said, after the group claimed to have sunk another vessel in an assault that threatens to renew combat across the vital waterway. Germany's foreign office has summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest after a Chinese warship used a laser against a German aircraft in the Red Sea. The surveillance aircraft was part of the EU mission Aspides, which is intended to better defend civilian ships against attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. It was lasered earlier in July "without any reason or prior contact" by a Chinese warship that had been encountered several times in the area, the German defence ministry said. "By using the laser, the warship accepted the risk of endangering people and material," a defence ministry spokesperson said. The ministry said the aircraft's mission was aborted as a precaution. It landed safely at the base in Djibouti and the crew was in good health, it said. The aircraft, operated by a civilian commercial service provider but with German army personnel involved, had since resumed its operations with the EU mission in the Red Sea, the ministry said. The German foreign office said in a post on X that "endangering German personnel and disrupting the operation is entirely unacceptable". China's spokespeople did not comment immediately on Tuesday. The EU mission only defends civilian vessels and does not take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone. On Tuesday, Yemen's Houthi rebels continued an hourslong attack targeting a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea, authorities said, after the group claimed to have sunk another vessel in an assault that threatens to renew combat across the vital waterway.
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Japan and S.Korea seek to soften Trump tariff blow
Powerhouse Asian economies Japan and South Korea will try to negotiate with the US to soften the impact of sharply higher tariffs that President Donald Trump now plans to impose from the start of August. Trump ramped up his trade war again on Monday, telling 14 nations that they would face tariffs ranging from 25 per cent for countries including Japan and South Korea, to 40 per cent for Laos and Myanmar. However, with the start date pushed back to August 1, those countries are focusing on the new three-week window to press for an easier ride. Japan wanted concessions for its large automobile industry, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday. Akazawa said he held a 40-minute phone call with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in which the two agreed to actively continue negotiations. However, he said he would not sacrifice Japan's agriculture sector - a powerful political lobby domestically - for the sake of an early deal. South Korea said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks "to reach a mutually beneficial result". Asked if the latest deadline was firm, Trump replied on Monday: "I would say firm but not 100 per cent firm. "If they call up and they say we'd like to do something a different way, we're going to be open to that." Market reaction was muted as investors assessed the latest twist in the long-running trade saga. The European Union, which is the largest bilateral trade partner of the US, aimed to strike a deal before August 1 with negotiations focused on "rebalancing" and concessions for certain key export industries, a European source familiar with the negotiations said. Some EU sources had said late on Monday that the bloc was close to an agreement with the Trump administration. This could involve limited concessions to US baseline tariffs of 10 per cent for aircraft and parts, some medical equipment and spirits. Only two deals have been struck so far, with Britain and Vietnam. Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many details still unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels or leads to a lasting detente. Trump's trade tactics were making it hard for nations and businesses to plan with any certainty, the executive director of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday. "This move actually extends the period of uncertainty, undermining long-term investment and business contracts, and creating further uncertainty and instability," Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told reporters in Geneva. Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, with levies of 30 per cent on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, climbing to 32 per cent on Indonesia, 35 per cent on Serbia and Bangladesh, 36 per cent on Cambodia and Thailand and 40 per cent on Laos and Myanmar. A Bangladesh team in Washington was scheduled to have further trade talks on Wednesday, an official said. The US is the main export market for Bangladesh's ready-made garments industry, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of its export earnings and employs four million people. "This is absolutely shocking news for us," Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Reuters on Tuesday. "We were really hoping the tariffs would be somewhere between 10-20 per cent. This will hurt our industry badly." Powerhouse Asian economies Japan and South Korea will try to negotiate with the US to soften the impact of sharply higher tariffs that President Donald Trump now plans to impose from the start of August. Trump ramped up his trade war again on Monday, telling 14 nations that they would face tariffs ranging from 25 per cent for countries including Japan and South Korea, to 40 per cent for Laos and Myanmar. However, with the start date pushed back to August 1, those countries are focusing on the new three-week window to press for an easier ride. Japan wanted concessions for its large automobile industry, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday. Akazawa said he held a 40-minute phone call with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in which the two agreed to actively continue negotiations. However, he said he would not sacrifice Japan's agriculture sector - a powerful political lobby domestically - for the sake of an early deal. South Korea said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks "to reach a mutually beneficial result". Asked if the latest deadline was firm, Trump replied on Monday: "I would say firm but not 100 per cent firm. "If they call up and they say we'd like to do something a different way, we're going to be open to that." Market reaction was muted as investors assessed the latest twist in the long-running trade saga. The European Union, which is the largest bilateral trade partner of the US, aimed to strike a deal before August 1 with negotiations focused on "rebalancing" and concessions for certain key export industries, a European source familiar with the negotiations said. Some EU sources had said late on Monday that the bloc was close to an agreement with the Trump administration. This could involve limited concessions to US baseline tariffs of 10 per cent for aircraft and parts, some medical equipment and spirits. Only two deals have been struck so far, with Britain and Vietnam. Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many details still unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels or leads to a lasting detente. Trump's trade tactics were making it hard for nations and businesses to plan with any certainty, the executive director of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday. "This move actually extends the period of uncertainty, undermining long-term investment and business contracts, and creating further uncertainty and instability," Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told reporters in Geneva. Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, with levies of 30 per cent on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, climbing to 32 per cent on Indonesia, 35 per cent on Serbia and Bangladesh, 36 per cent on Cambodia and Thailand and 40 per cent on Laos and Myanmar. A Bangladesh team in Washington was scheduled to have further trade talks on Wednesday, an official said. The US is the main export market for Bangladesh's ready-made garments industry, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of its export earnings and employs four million people. "This is absolutely shocking news for us," Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Reuters on Tuesday. "We were really hoping the tariffs would be somewhere between 10-20 per cent. This will hurt our industry badly." Powerhouse Asian economies Japan and South Korea will try to negotiate with the US to soften the impact of sharply higher tariffs that President Donald Trump now plans to impose from the start of August. Trump ramped up his trade war again on Monday, telling 14 nations that they would face tariffs ranging from 25 per cent for countries including Japan and South Korea, to 40 per cent for Laos and Myanmar. However, with the start date pushed back to August 1, those countries are focusing on the new three-week window to press for an easier ride. Japan wanted concessions for its large automobile industry, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday. Akazawa said he held a 40-minute phone call with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in which the two agreed to actively continue negotiations. However, he said he would not sacrifice Japan's agriculture sector - a powerful political lobby domestically - for the sake of an early deal. South Korea said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks "to reach a mutually beneficial result". Asked if the latest deadline was firm, Trump replied on Monday: "I would say firm but not 100 per cent firm. "If they call up and they say we'd like to do something a different way, we're going to be open to that." Market reaction was muted as investors assessed the latest twist in the long-running trade saga. The European Union, which is the largest bilateral trade partner of the US, aimed to strike a deal before August 1 with negotiations focused on "rebalancing" and concessions for certain key export industries, a European source familiar with the negotiations said. Some EU sources had said late on Monday that the bloc was close to an agreement with the Trump administration. This could involve limited concessions to US baseline tariffs of 10 per cent for aircraft and parts, some medical equipment and spirits. Only two deals have been struck so far, with Britain and Vietnam. Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many details still unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels or leads to a lasting detente. Trump's trade tactics were making it hard for nations and businesses to plan with any certainty, the executive director of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday. "This move actually extends the period of uncertainty, undermining long-term investment and business contracts, and creating further uncertainty and instability," Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told reporters in Geneva. Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, with levies of 30 per cent on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, climbing to 32 per cent on Indonesia, 35 per cent on Serbia and Bangladesh, 36 per cent on Cambodia and Thailand and 40 per cent on Laos and Myanmar. A Bangladesh team in Washington was scheduled to have further trade talks on Wednesday, an official said. The US is the main export market for Bangladesh's ready-made garments industry, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of its export earnings and employs four million people. "This is absolutely shocking news for us," Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Reuters on Tuesday. "We were really hoping the tariffs would be somewhere between 10-20 per cent. This will hurt our industry badly." Powerhouse Asian economies Japan and South Korea will try to negotiate with the US to soften the impact of sharply higher tariffs that President Donald Trump now plans to impose from the start of August. Trump ramped up his trade war again on Monday, telling 14 nations that they would face tariffs ranging from 25 per cent for countries including Japan and South Korea, to 40 per cent for Laos and Myanmar. However, with the start date pushed back to August 1, those countries are focusing on the new three-week window to press for an easier ride. Japan wanted concessions for its large automobile industry, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday. Akazawa said he held a 40-minute phone call with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in which the two agreed to actively continue negotiations. However, he said he would not sacrifice Japan's agriculture sector - a powerful political lobby domestically - for the sake of an early deal. South Korea said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks "to reach a mutually beneficial result". Asked if the latest deadline was firm, Trump replied on Monday: "I would say firm but not 100 per cent firm. "If they call up and they say we'd like to do something a different way, we're going to be open to that." Market reaction was muted as investors assessed the latest twist in the long-running trade saga. The European Union, which is the largest bilateral trade partner of the US, aimed to strike a deal before August 1 with negotiations focused on "rebalancing" and concessions for certain key export industries, a European source familiar with the negotiations said. Some EU sources had said late on Monday that the bloc was close to an agreement with the Trump administration. This could involve limited concessions to US baseline tariffs of 10 per cent for aircraft and parts, some medical equipment and spirits. Only two deals have been struck so far, with Britain and Vietnam. Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many details still unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels or leads to a lasting detente. Trump's trade tactics were making it hard for nations and businesses to plan with any certainty, the executive director of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday. "This move actually extends the period of uncertainty, undermining long-term investment and business contracts, and creating further uncertainty and instability," Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told reporters in Geneva. Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, with levies of 30 per cent on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, climbing to 32 per cent on Indonesia, 35 per cent on Serbia and Bangladesh, 36 per cent on Cambodia and Thailand and 40 per cent on Laos and Myanmar. A Bangladesh team in Washington was scheduled to have further trade talks on Wednesday, an official said. The US is the main export market for Bangladesh's ready-made garments industry, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of its export earnings and employs four million people. "This is absolutely shocking news for us," Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told Reuters on Tuesday. "We were really hoping the tariffs would be somewhere between 10-20 per cent. This will hurt our industry badly."
The Advertiser
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UK royals welcome France's Macron for state visit
French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Britain for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbour. Macron's three-day visit, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the British government's desire to reset relations with the bloc that the UK acrimoniously left in 2020. "The United Kingdom is a strategic partner, an ally, a friend," Macron wrote on X, in a marked change of tone from the years of wrangling over Brexit. "Our bond is longstanding, forged by history and strengthened by trust." The president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were greeted on Tuesday on a red carpet at London's RAF Northolt air base by the Prince and Princess of Wales. They were met in Windsor, west of London, by King Charles and Queen Camilla. A military band played the French and British national anthems as all four set out for the royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolour flags. Later, the King and Queen will host a state banquet for their guests. The British royals made a state visit to France in September 2023. The monarch will make a broad appeal to international co-operation at the banquet, saying Britain and France "face a multitude of complex threats" that "know no borders" - and that "no fortress can protect us against them". Macron will address both houses of Britain's parliament before sitting down for talks with Starmer on migration, defence and investment. At a UK-France summit on Thursday, senior government officials from the two countries will discuss small-boat crossings, a thorny issue for successive governments on both sides of the English Channel. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the UK, either by stowing away in trucks or - after a clampdown on that route - in small boats across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Starmer, whose centre-left government was elected a year ago, has pledged to " smash the gangs " behind organised people-smuggling. Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, with Britain and France leading efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and US security guarantees. US President Donald Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Britain for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbour. Macron's three-day visit, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the British government's desire to reset relations with the bloc that the UK acrimoniously left in 2020. "The United Kingdom is a strategic partner, an ally, a friend," Macron wrote on X, in a marked change of tone from the years of wrangling over Brexit. "Our bond is longstanding, forged by history and strengthened by trust." The president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were greeted on Tuesday on a red carpet at London's RAF Northolt air base by the Prince and Princess of Wales. They were met in Windsor, west of London, by King Charles and Queen Camilla. A military band played the French and British national anthems as all four set out for the royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolour flags. Later, the King and Queen will host a state banquet for their guests. The British royals made a state visit to France in September 2023. The monarch will make a broad appeal to international co-operation at the banquet, saying Britain and France "face a multitude of complex threats" that "know no borders" - and that "no fortress can protect us against them". Macron will address both houses of Britain's parliament before sitting down for talks with Starmer on migration, defence and investment. At a UK-France summit on Thursday, senior government officials from the two countries will discuss small-boat crossings, a thorny issue for successive governments on both sides of the English Channel. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the UK, either by stowing away in trucks or - after a clampdown on that route - in small boats across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Starmer, whose centre-left government was elected a year ago, has pledged to " smash the gangs " behind organised people-smuggling. Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, with Britain and France leading efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and US security guarantees. US President Donald Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Britain for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbour. Macron's three-day visit, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the British government's desire to reset relations with the bloc that the UK acrimoniously left in 2020. "The United Kingdom is a strategic partner, an ally, a friend," Macron wrote on X, in a marked change of tone from the years of wrangling over Brexit. "Our bond is longstanding, forged by history and strengthened by trust." The president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were greeted on Tuesday on a red carpet at London's RAF Northolt air base by the Prince and Princess of Wales. They were met in Windsor, west of London, by King Charles and Queen Camilla. A military band played the French and British national anthems as all four set out for the royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolour flags. Later, the King and Queen will host a state banquet for their guests. The British royals made a state visit to France in September 2023. The monarch will make a broad appeal to international co-operation at the banquet, saying Britain and France "face a multitude of complex threats" that "know no borders" - and that "no fortress can protect us against them". Macron will address both houses of Britain's parliament before sitting down for talks with Starmer on migration, defence and investment. At a UK-France summit on Thursday, senior government officials from the two countries will discuss small-boat crossings, a thorny issue for successive governments on both sides of the English Channel. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the UK, either by stowing away in trucks or - after a clampdown on that route - in small boats across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Starmer, whose centre-left government was elected a year ago, has pledged to " smash the gangs " behind organised people-smuggling. Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, with Britain and France leading efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and US security guarantees. US President Donald Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Britain for a state visit mixing royal pageantry with thorny political talks about stopping migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia's refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbour. Macron's three-day visit, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the British government's desire to reset relations with the bloc that the UK acrimoniously left in 2020. "The United Kingdom is a strategic partner, an ally, a friend," Macron wrote on X, in a marked change of tone from the years of wrangling over Brexit. "Our bond is longstanding, forged by history and strengthened by trust." The president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were greeted on Tuesday on a red carpet at London's RAF Northolt air base by the Prince and Princess of Wales. They were met in Windsor, west of London, by King Charles and Queen Camilla. A military band played the French and British national anthems as all four set out for the royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolour flags. Later, the King and Queen will host a state banquet for their guests. The British royals made a state visit to France in September 2023. The monarch will make a broad appeal to international co-operation at the banquet, saying Britain and France "face a multitude of complex threats" that "know no borders" - and that "no fortress can protect us against them". Macron will address both houses of Britain's parliament before sitting down for talks with Starmer on migration, defence and investment. At a UK-France summit on Thursday, senior government officials from the two countries will discuss small-boat crossings, a thorny issue for successive governments on both sides of the English Channel. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the UK, either by stowing away in trucks or - after a clampdown on that route - in small boats across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Starmer, whose centre-left government was elected a year ago, has pledged to " smash the gangs " behind organised people-smuggling. Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, with Britain and France leading efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and US security guarantees. US President Donald Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive.
