Zelensky acknowledges attack ‘pushing the war’ into Russia

WASHINGTON: The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.

The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the cuts, which have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency.

The court said in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front of the justices, only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenting vote, accusing her colleagues of a “demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.”

Jackson warned of enormous real-world consequences. “This executive action promises mass employee terminations, widespread cancelation of federal programs and services, and the dismantling of much of the Federal Government as Congress has created it,” she wrote.

The high court action continued a remarkable winning streak for Trump, who the justices have allowed to move forward with significant parts of his plan to remake the federal government. The Supreme Court’s intervention so far has been on the frequent emergency appeals the Justice Department has filed objecting to lower-court rulings as improperly intruding on presidential authority.

The Republican president has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate for the work, and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the charge through DOGE. Musk recently left his role.

Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, have left their jobs via deferred resignation programs or have been placed on leave. There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go.

In May, US District Judge Susan Illston found that Trump’s administration needs congressional approval to make sizable reductions to the federal workforce. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block Illston’s order, finding that the downsizing could have broader effects, including on the nation’s food-safety system and health care for veterans.

Illston directed numerous federal agencies to halt acting on the president’s workforce executive order signed in February and a subsequent memo issued by DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management. Illston was nominated by former Democratic President Bill Clinton.

The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40 percent to 50 percent at several agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities that also sued.

Among the agencies affected by the order are the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Labor, the Interior, State, the Treasury and Veterans Affairs. It also applies to the National Science Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.

The case now continues in Illston’s court.

WINDSOR: President Emmanuel Macron argued Tuesday that France and Britain must work together to defend the post-World War II “international order,” as he addressed parliament on the first day of his UK state visit.

The first such visit by an EU head of state since Brexit, Macron said in a wide-ranging speech that the two countries must renew their century-old alliance to face down an array of threats.

“As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, deeply committed to multilateralism, the United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,” he told British lawmakers, speaking in English.

“Clearly, we have to work together... to protect the international order as we fought (for) it after the Second World War,” Macron added.

Touching on various thorny issues, from global conflicts to irregular cross-Channel migration, he insisted European countries will “never abandon Ukraine” in its war with Russia while demanding an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza.

Hours earlier, the French president and his wife Brigitte had received a warm, pomp-filled welcome from King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Windsor as the three-day visit got underway.

They had been greeted off the presidential plane at an air base northwest of London by heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales.

After a 41-gun salute sounded from Windsor’s Home Park and a royal carriage procession through the town, which was decked out in French Tricolores and British Union flags, the group entered its castle for lunch.

First visit since 2008

The first state visit by an EU head of state since the UK’s acrimonious 2020 departure from the European Union, it is also the first by a French president since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.

Touching on Brexit in his speech in parliament, which follows in the footsteps of predecessors Charles de Gaulle and Francois Mitterrand, Macron said it was “deeply regrettable” but the result of its 2016 referendum was respected.

Macron will hold several meetings with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer starting Wednesday.

After taking power in 2024, the British leader has been making good on his pledge to reset relations with European capitals following years of Brexit-fueled tensions.

Their discussions are expected to focus on aid to war-torn Ukraine and bolstering defense spending, as well as joint efforts to stop migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats — a potent political issue in Britain.

Starmer is under intense pressure to curb the cross-Channel arrivals, as Euroskeptic Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party uses the issue to fuel its rise.

London has for years pressed Paris to do more to halt the boats leaving from northern French beaches, welcoming footage last Friday showing French police stopping one such boat from departing.

In his parliamentary address Macron called it “a burden for our two countries,” stressing the need for better “cooperation” to “fix” it.

Later Tuesday, Britain’s Francophile king, who is believed to enjoy a warm rapport with Macron, will host a lavish banquet in his honor in the vast medieval St. George’s Hall.

Charles is set to laud the vital partnership between France and the UK amid a “multitude of complex threats.”

“As friends and as allies, we face them together,” he will say, according to Buckingham Palace.

Trade and business ties

The visit also aims to boost trade and business ties, with Paris and London announcing Tuesday that French energy giant EDF will have a 12.5-stake in new British nuclear power plant Sizewell C.

There is also a cultural dimension, with another announcement that France will loan the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum for 10 months from September 2026.

The loan of the embroidery depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England will be made in exchange for ancient “treasures” mainly from the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo site, one of England’s most important archaeological sites.

Wednesday will see Macron have lunch with Starmer ahead of the two leaders on Thursday co-hosting the 37th Franco-British Summit, where they are set to discuss opportunities to strengthen defense ties.

Britain and France are spearheading talks among a 30-nation coalition on how to support a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, including potentially deploying peacekeeping forces.

The two leaders will dial in to a meeting of the coalition on Thursday “to discuss stepping up support for Ukraine and further increasing pressure on Russia,” Starmer’s office confirmed on Monday.

They will speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to the French presidency.