British PM Cameron names new ministers

At a news conference in the garden of 10 Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon, Cameron said the new coalition government was "a five-year government." With Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg -- who was named deputy prime minister -- standing at his side, Cameron assured the public that new elections would not need to be called soon.
The names of several Cabinet ministers were confirmed by their respective departments, including William Hague as foreign secretary; George Osborne as chancellor of the exchequer, which is equivalent to treasury secretary; and Liam Fox as defense secretary. All are from the Conservative Party.
Other Conservative appointments included Theresa May as home secretary, Kenneth Clarke as justice secretary, Andrew Lansley as health secretary, and Michael Gove as education secretary, Downing Street said.
In addition to Clegg as deputy prime minister, four other Liberal Democrats will also be named to Cabinet posts, Downing Street and the party said.
Downing Street named two of them as Vince Cable, who is now the business secretary, and David Laws, who was made the chief secretary to the treasury.
The decision by Cameron and Clegg to enter a coalition capped five days of uncertainty that followed last Thursday’s election, in which no party received a majority.
Days of negotiations between the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, and the Labour Party of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown resulted in the announcement of a coalition between the Conservatives and Lib Dems.
"I’m absolutely delighted that we do have a new government," Gove told CNN on Wednesday.
"I think the really important thing is that the policies that we were arguing for during the course of the election, and the policies of the Liberal Democrats, have now been brought together on a platform which will give the country exactly the type of government that it needs at this time -- strong and stable."
Cable, of the Liberal Democrats, said he realized the challenges of working with Osborne, of the Conservatives, in his new role. Financial analyst David Buik of London-based BGC Partners said he was "skeptical" of the pairing, however.
"What concerns me is the missing chemistry, the possible missing chemistry, that may be from the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, particularly in areas such as finance," Buik told CNN. "The Conservatives were very keen to deal with the budget deficit PDQ, and Vince Cable was adamant until a few weeks ago in waiting until the new year."
At the Foreign Office, the new national security council planned to meet Wednesday. Cameron established the council to oversee all aspects of Britain’s security, and appointed longtime civil servant Peter Ricketts to be his national security advisor, the Foreign Office said.
Cameron will chair the council, whose members will include several top cabinet members. Its inaugural meeting Wednesday afternoon was focusing on Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said.
"It is our most urgent priority here in my work to make sure we’ve got a grip on what is going on in Afghanistan," Hague told Sky News. "We will never forget that our troops are out there. We’ve been fighting some political battles here, but they are in a real battle out there."
Hague also vowed to protect the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States, keeping it "solid but not slavish." The United States is an "indispensable partner" of Great Britain, Hague said.
Queen Elizabeth II named Cameron prime minister Tuesday night, shortly after Brown resigned.
Brown had said Monday he would step down as leader of his party by the fall, but he changed course Tuesday, announcing he was quitting his party post immediately.
His deputy, Harriet Harman, will lead the Labour Party until a leadership contest can be held, he told party activists.
His party came in second, behind the Conservatives, in parliamentary elections last week, but no party won an absolute majority.
Cameron, 43, becomes the country’s first Conservative prime minister since the Labour Party, under Tony Blair, defeated John Major in 1997, and is the youngest for almost two centuries.
Coalition governments are extremely rare in British politics. The last time there was a "hung parliament" with no party holding a majority of the seats in the House of Commons was 1974. Coalition talks then between the Conservatives and Liberals failed, and a short-lived minority Labour government took power.
But Cameron said Tuesday a coalition government was "the right way to provide this country with the strong, the stable, the good and decent government that I believe we need so badly."
The two parties would command a clear majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, but have a number of key policy differences.
Cameron is Queen Elizabeth II’s 12th prime minister -- including Harold Wilson twice, for his two non-consecutive terms -- since she was crowned in 1952.
Europe

Next G7 leaders summit to take place at Evian in French Alps - Macron

Turkish and Russian Defense Ministers discuss Iran-Israel conflict

Drone drops colored package on Russian trade mission in Sweden

Ukraine appoints new Prosecutor General
NEWS FEED
Next G7 leaders summit to take place at Evian in French Alps - Macron
Former Iranian President reportedly escaped assassination attempt
Iran says it used new, undetectable missile in strike on Mossad site
Task force set up to support US citizens in Middle East
Tom Cruise, Dolly Parton to receive honorary Oscars
US National Security Council meeting to begin soon
Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan commented on the searches conducted at his home-UPDATED
Strikes so far against Israel just a warning, punitive operations to follow: Iran’s top general
Azerbaijan and UK discuss issues of mutual interest
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria discuss inter-parliamentary relations
Trump may take 'further action' to stop Iran's uranium enrichment, Vance says
Iran-Israeli War -LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
'Unconditional surrender' Trump says after posts about Iran
US President: We know where Iranian leader is but won't kill him, for now
Victims' testimonies heard at Ruben Vardanyan's trial
Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General met with Chief Ombudsman of Türkiye
Trump says he wants 'real end' to nuclear problem with Iran
ICRC to cease operations in Azerbaijan soon
Turkish and Russian Defense Ministers discuss Iran-Israel conflict
Kremlin: US proposes pause in bilateral dialogue with Russia
Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker met with North Macedonian counterpart
Moscow's Domodedovo Airport confiscated for state's benefit
IDF: Most of the missiles launched from Iran towards Israel have been shot down -UPDATED
Azerbaijani Ambassador to NATO discusses Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation with his Turkish counterpart
Baku hosts administrative session of IOTA’s 29th General Assembly
Over 60 Azerbaijani citizens cross Iran border, 34 in Israel to enter Jordan - MFA
Axios: Trump opposed Israeli plan to target Khamenei
Drone drops colored package on Russian trade mission in Sweden
Israel launches airstrikes on oil refinery in Isfahan -VIDEO
Energy Ministry: Israel does not predict fuel shortage
Netflix set to launch third themed venue in Las Vegas
Nicaragua's first female president Chamorro dies at 95
WUF13 NGO Coalition held its next meeting
Israeli airstrikes hit building housing Iran’s National Radio
Deputy Minister met with a delegation from Türkiye Ministry of National Education
Air passenger traffic in Azerbaijan rises by over 7%
Khankandi hosts meeting of Working Group on mine and UXO clearance -PHOTO
Volume of oil transported via BTC announced
Revenues from electricity, gas, and steam production increase in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan allocated nearly AZN 2 billion to oil and gas sector this year
Iran’s underground Natanz site hit during Israel strikes - IAEA
Ukraine appoints new Prosecutor General
Azerbaijan produced AZN 2 billion worth of oil products this year - TABLE
Chinese leader expresses concern over Israeli strikes on Iran
Skytrax names AZAL best regional airline in Central Asia and CIS again
Oil accounts for 47% of sea cargo in Azerbaijan
Israeli defense minister says major strikes in Iran are imminent
Georgian Parliament Speaker: We have common vision with Türkiye on promoting peace and stability in Caucasus
Azerbaijan produced AZN 15 billion worth of oil and gas this year - TABLE
Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki spews 11km-high ash cloud after eruption