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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
France is facing political deadlock after parliamentary elections dealt a blow to the far-right National Rally but left no party with a majority. In a surprising surge, the left-wing New Popular Front won 177 seats, compared with 148 for President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc Ensemble, and 142 for National Rally. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced he would stand down after Macron’s coalition lost its majority. BBC News reports; Aurelien Breeden and Roger Cohen report for The New York Times.
MEPs from National Rally are set to join the newly-founded Patriots for Europe today, making the far-right group the third-largest in the European Parliament, sources told POLITICO. The 30 MEPs, who currently belong to the far-right Identity and Democracy, will become the biggest delegation inside the Patriots for Europe group, which also includes MEPs from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s party. Eddy Wax reports.
Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s presidential elections over the weekend, defeating his ultraconservative rival. Pezeshkian campaigned for more social freedoms and engagement with the West, calling his victory the start of “a new chapter” for Iran. Susannah George reports for the Washington Post.
Hungary’s Orbán met with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing today. In announcing Orbán’s visit, the official Xinhua news agency said Xi would hold an “in-depth discussion with him on issues of mutual interest.” Orbán’s trip to Beijing follows talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week. Chris Buckley reports for the New York Times.
Indian Prime Minister Nardendra Modi began a two-day visit to Russia today, his first since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. NBC News reports.
Rival Sudanese political factions attended reconciliation talks in Cairo on Saturday, the first since the civil war began almost 15 months ago, but admitted there was little prospect of quickly ending the conflict. Nafisa Eltahir reports for Reuters.
The military junta leaders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso on Saturday ruled out returning to the ECOWAS regional bloc. The countries accused the bloc of failing its mandate and vowed to consolidate their own union called the Alliance of Sahel States, which was created last year. Chinedu Asadu and Dalatou Mamane report for AP News.
Japan and the Philippines signed a key defense pact today, allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint military exercises. Jim Gomez and Haruka Nuga reports for AP News.
The U.S. military yesterday withdrew its personnel from Niger’s Air Base 101 near the airport in the capital Niamey, ahead of its exit from a major drone base in the coming weeks. Niger’s ruling junta ordered a U.S. withdrawal in April. Reuters reports.
Turkey will invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore bilateral relations, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday. Reuters reports.
Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge in connection with two fatal 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, according to a Department of Justice court filing yesterday. As part of the agreement, Boeing would pay $487.2 million in penalties and at least $455 million over three years to strengthen its compliance and safety programs. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hamas is ready to reconsider its key demand that Israel commit to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza before signing an agreement that would result in a temporary ceasefire and begin a hostage release process, according to a senior Hamas official. Separately, a Hamas official and an Egyptian official said on Saturday that Hamas has given its initial approval of the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal. Ibrahim Dahman, Eugenia Yosef and Tim Lister report for CNN; Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa report for AP News.
At least 16 people were killed and 50 injured on Saturday by an Israeli airstrike on a U.N.-run school in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said. Israel said it had struck several Hamas “terrorists operating in structures located in the area of Al-Jaouni School.” Separately, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City yesterday killed a senior official in the Hamas-run government. Rushdi Aboualouf and Tom McArthur report for BBC News; CNN reports.
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets yesterday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, a sign of increasing discontent with his handling of the war and failure to secure the release of the remaining hostages. Protesters blocked the main thoroughfares across Israel, calling for new elections. Carrie Keller-Lynn reports for the Wall Street Journal.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The new U.K. Labour government is expected to drop a bid to challenge the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes. Sources say Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government believes the ICC holds jurisdiction over Gaza, contrary to the previous government. The news comes as Starmer told the president of the Palestinian Authority he believed Palestinians had an undeniable right to an independent state. Patrick Wintour reports for The Guardian.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
At least 23 people have been killed after Russia launched a hypermissile attack against cities across Ukraine. In Kyiv, at least ten were killed in a rare daytime attack, including two at a children’s hospital. The head of the military administration in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih said at least 10 people had been killed there, with three more killed in the eastern town of Pokrovsk and one in Dnipro. Rob Corp reports for BBC News; Veronika Melzokerova reports for POLITICO.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday the alliance is expected to agree to a five-point plan to support Ukraine, including creating a unified command in Germany and establishing pledges from nations to sustain military support to Kyiv for at least another year. Brad Dress reports for The Hill.
Russia’s Federal Security Service today said it has blocked an attempt by Ukraine to organize the hijacking of a Russian strategic bomber and fly it to Ukraine. “Ukrainian intelligence intended to recruit a Russian military pilot for a monetary reward and the provision of Italian citizenship, to persuade him to fly and land a missile carrier in Ukraine,” the FSB said. The Guardian reports.
The Netherlands will begin sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine “without delay” after export licenses were granted, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said during a visit to Kyiv this weekend. The Guardian reports.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply lines have left Russian units short of food, water, and ammunition, hindering Moscow’s renewed invasion into the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian field commanders. Siobhán O’Grady, Kostiantyn Khudov and Serhiy Morgunov report for the Washington Post.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Several more senior House Democrats called on President Biden to abandon his reelection bid during a private call yesterday convened by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), sources say. Among those calling on Biden to stand down were Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Adam Smith (D-WA), Mark Takano (D-CA), and Joe Morelle (D-NY), according to two sources. Daniella Diaz, Anthony Adragna, and Nicholas Wu report for POLITICO.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TENSIONS
Lebanon’s Hezbollah yesterday said it launched a drone attack on Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The group said it was its first such bombing since cross-border exchanges began with Israel in October. Reuters reports.