World

All Four ABBA Members Reunite to Be Knighted at Royal Ceremony in Sweden

Published

2 years ago

June 2, 2024

All Four ABBA Members Reunite to Be Knighted at Royal Ceremony in Sweden

ABBA fans had not necessarily expected to see the group together again after previous statements that they had no further plans to reunite after recording a 2021 comeback album. But the prospect of being knighted brought all four members back together again Friday in their native Sweden, as they showed up at the royal palace in Stockholm to be honored by the king and queen.

Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Benny Andersson (pictured above, left to right) were receiving the Royal Order of Vasa, establishing them as Commanders of the First Class, for “very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music life.”

The knighthoods for the quartet followed by four days Andersson and Ulvaeus appearing at the ABBA Arena in London Thursday to celebrate the second anniversary of “ABBA Voyage,” the avatar show that has been successfully playing at the custom-built venue. Andersson and Ulvaeus did a Q&A for the audience of approximately 3,000 at the London event, at which Lyngstad and Faltskog did not appear.

The particular knighthood that the four members were being honored with in Stockholm had been dormant for a half-century, until the granting of knighthoods to ordinary Swedish citizens was revived in 2022. ABBA’s members were among a crop of 13 being celebrated on Friday, the first to receive it since the process was reopened two years ago. Candidates were nominated by both the general public and the Swedish government. The ultimate honorees were selected by King Carl XVI Gustaf, who handed out the knighthoods to ABBA on Friday alongside queen Silvia. Others being knighted along with the pop group included two physicists who were 2023 winners of the Nobel Prize.

At the London Q&A celebrating the two-year anniversary of the so-called ABBA-tar show, with Pete Paphides asking the questions, Andersson and Ulvaeus did not say much about future plans, although they did respond enthusiastically to the idea of their avatars taking a break from their permanent home there to perform at Glastonbury. “Oh yes, I think that’s a brilliant idea,” said Ulvaeus. Andersson added that he might tag along if that ever happened, saying, “If they go to Glastonbury, I think we’d need an extra piano player.”

In reality, there don’t appear to be any fresh prospects for IRL ABBA reunions, following their Grammy-nominated “Voyage” reunion album three years ago. In a 2022 interview with Variety, Andersson was firm about the last chapter of ABBA’s career together being closed. “It’s never say never, but it’s a no. Nothing is going to happen after this,” he said then. “Yes, [the ‘Voyage’ album] did well. But no.”

At this week’s London Q&A, the songwriting team seemed chipper and wistful, in a primarily reminiscing mode.

“It’s very, very hard to grasp emotionally that we wrote these little songs and it gave rise to this, and the millions of people we have touched,” Andersson said, in front of an audience that included celebrities like Rick Astley and Joanna Lumley. “We know it’s true, but it’s very hard to understand. Maybe impossible.”

“I’ve seen the show so many times and I think we look good up there,” added Ulvaeus. “But I have no idea what it really is that makes people have it in them to want to listen to music that was done 50 years ago, 40 years ago, 30 years ago.”

Although it did not arise as a topic of discussion at the London event, there has been talk back in the U.S. of a third “Mamma Mia!” film based on the group’s catalog, although it is not on the fast track. Producer Judy Craymer told Variety in October that it was inevitable. “I’m in the privileged position that I have Universal Studios wanting to do it, who I love working with, and I have a storyline,” she said, as part of talk about a talent competition show inspired by the original theatrical production. “It just always takes a certain amount of time with ‘Mamma Mia.’ Bjorn and Benny always take a certain amount of convincing. I don’t know how much more convincing they’re gonna have because everybody wants another film. But they had ABBA Voyage and then they wanted a rest from ABBA stuff. But it will happen.”

World

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

Published

4 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.

World

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

Published

5 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

World

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Published

6 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET