Due to violent pension demonstrations, King Charles' state visit to France has been postponed.

Rahul Gandhi, the former leader of India's main opposition political
party, has been disqualified as a lawmaker due to his recent conviction
for defamation. This is the second setback in as many days for India's
opposition Congress party and could neuter one of the few figures that
has the kind of star power and name recognition to challenge Prime
Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi was found guilty of defamation by a court
in Gujarat for a speech he made in 2019, in which he referred to
thieves as having the same surname as Modi. The conviction opened up an
opportunity for his opponents, particularly within Modi's Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP). Under Indian law, a member of parliament can be
disqualified for offenses such as promoting enmity between two groups,
bribery and undue influence or personation at an election.

Gandhi will be unable to contest future elections unless his sentence is
either stayed or he is acquitted. Indian parties from across the
political spectrum have condemned Gandhi's disqualification as an MP.
Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal state and chairperson of
the All India Trinamool Congress, tweeted, "In PM Modi's New India,
opposition leaders have become the prime target of BJP! While BJP
leaders with criminal antecedents are inducted into the cabinet,
Opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches."
MP Derek O'Brien of the All India Trinamool Congress and Manoj Jha of
the regional Rashtriya Janata Dal party have both expressed their shock
at the BJP's decision to declare democracy dead in India. Shashi
Tharoor, an MP from Gandhi's party, expressed his shock at the rapidity
of the decision, which was made within 24 hours of the court verdict and
while an appeal was known to be in process. Gandhi stood against Modi
to contest the country's top seat in the 2019 general election but lost
heavily. He is the son of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and
is the great-grandson of Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. His
grandmother was assassinated while in office and his father was killed
by a bomb blast while he was campaigning in the southern state of Tamil
Nadu.