🇫🇷French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigns after less than a month
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned, less than a day after his cabinet was unveiled.
"The conditions were not fulfilled for me to carry on as prime minister," Lecornu said on Monday morning, and criticised the unwillingness by political parties to reach compromises.
The Elysée palace made the announcement after Lecornu met President Emmanuel Macron for an hour on Monday morning.
The shock move comes only 26 days after Lecornu was appointed prime minister following the collapse of the previous government of François Bayrou.
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🇨🇿Billionaire populist Andrej Babis' party wins Czech parliamentary election
Billionaire businessman Andrej Babis has won parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, although his populist ANO party fell short of an overall majority.
ANO received just under 35% of the vote, earning them 80 seats in the 200-seat lower house – up from 72 seats four years ago, according to preliminary results.
Babis – who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021 – is expected to be invited to lead talks on forming a new coalition.
"This is a historic success," Andrej Babis announced to cheering supporters at the ANO headquarters in the suburbs of Prague.
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🇯🇵Japan's ruling party to vote for second new leader in a year
Japan could soon have either its first female or youngest-ever prime minister as the country's ruling party votes for its second new leader in just over a year.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is looking to replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who stepped down last month after his government lost its majority in both houses of parliament.
Whoever is elected will face numerous challenges - not least leading a party still struggling to win back voter trust after major financial corruption scandals.
They will also need to balance the fraught US-Japan relations and see through the tariff deal agreed on by the Ishiba government with Donald Trump's administration.
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🇷🇺🇬🇧Russia targets UK military satellites on weekly basis
Russian satellites have been stalking British military satellites, according to the head of the UK Space Command.
In an interview with the BBC, Maj Gen Paul Tedman has for the first time set out the level of interference from Moscow against the UK's space-based assets.
He said Russia had also been trying to jam the UK's military satellites with ground-based systems every week.
Last month Germany's Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, said Russia had been shadowing satellites used by their military.
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🇺🇸US government shuts down with path to reopening uncertain
The US government has shut down for the first time in almost seven years after members of Congress failed to agree a last-ditch funding deal.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers could now be furloughed or laid off, and national parks and museums could close. Previous government shutdowns have also led to air travel disruption due to staff shortages.
The path forward is unclear as both sides have blamed the other for the shutdown. Efforts in the Senate to keep the government funded fell short late on Tuesday despite frenetic negotiations.
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🇨🇩Former Congolese president sentenced to death for war crimes
Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and treason.
The charges concern accusations that Kabila has been supporting the M23, a rebel group who have wreaked devastation across the country's eastern region.
Kabila was convicted on Friday by a military court of treason, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including murder, sexual assault, torture and insurrection. He denied the charges, but did not appear in court to defend himself.
The ex-president rejected the case as "arbitrary" and said the courts were being used as an "instrument of oppression". His current whereabouts are unknown.
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🇸🇰Slovakia passes law to recognise only two sexes and restrict adoption
Slovakia has changed its constitution, enshrining into law recognition of only two sexes – male and female.
The legal change, which passed in a knife-edge vote in the central European nation's parliament, also restricts adoption to married heterosexual couples and prohibits surrogate pregnancies.
The constitutional amendment was defined as enshrining "sovereignty in cultural and ethical matters".
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🇷🇺🇩🇰Russia's involvement in drone sightings cannot be ruled out, Danish PM says
The drone incursion that stopped flights at Copenhagen airport on Monday night was "the most severe attack on Danish infrastructure so far", Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.
Kastrup airport in Copenhagen was forced to shut for several hours from around 20:30 (18:30 GMT) on Monday following the sighting of a number of drones.
"It says something about the times we live in and what we as a society must be prepared to deal with," Frederiksen told reporters.
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🇰🇷South Korea would accept a Trump-Kim deal to freeze nuclear programme, president tells BBC
South Korea's president has said he would agree to a deal between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in which North Korea agreed to freeze production of its nuclear weapons, rather than get rid of them.
Lee Jae Myung told the BBC North Korea was producing an additional 15-20 nuclear weapons a year and that a freeze - as "an interim emergency measure" - would be "a feasible, realistic alternative" to denuclearisation for now.
North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and vowed to never relinquish its weapons.
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🇳🇱Dutch police clash with anti-immigration protesters
Dutch police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters in The Hague on Saturday.
Thirty people were arrested and two officers injured as large groups of people clashed with police, with some throwing rocks and bottles.
Around 1,500 people blocked a highway crossing the city, while a police car was set on fire, the Netherlands news agency ANP reported, citing police figures.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof condemned the "shocking and bizarre images of shameless violence", saying it was "completely unacceptable".
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🇵🇹🇵🇸Portugal confirms it will recognise Palestinian state
Portugal says it will recognise a Palestinian state on Sunday, making it the latest Western nation preparing to shift policy as the war in the Gaza Strip shows no sign of stopping.
The foreign ministry made the announcement ahead of next week's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
France, the UK, Canada and Australia are preparing similar announcements.
Israel has denounced the move, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it "rewards terror" following Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
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🇨🇦🇲🇽Canada and Mexico agree to deepen ties amid Trump trade war
Canada and Mexico have agreed to deepen ties, vowing closer co-operation on trade and security, as both countries grapple with rising economic pressure from the US.
Following a meeting in Mexico City, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also expressed their commitment to a shared partnership with the US.
"We complement the United States, we make them stronger, and we are all stronger together," Carney told reporters.
Both Canada and Mexico have been hit by US tariffs - 50% on Canadian steel, and 25% on some Mexican pharmaceuticals. President Trump has also levied a 25% "fentanyl tariff" on Mexico, citing border security.
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🇮🇱🇱🇧Israeli air strikes hit southern Lebanon
Israel has carried out a large wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon, saying it was targeting positions of the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah.
The attacks came after evacuation warnings were issued for several locations. There has been no immediate report of casualties.
Israel has carried out air strikes on people and places it says are linked to Hezbollah almost every day despite a deal that ended the war with the group in November.
The Lebanese prime minister called on the international community to urge Israel to stop what he described as intimidation and attacks, and to fulfil its ceasefire obligations.
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🇷🇴Coup plot charges for former Romanian presidential candidate
Romanian far-right former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu has been charged with attempting to stage a coup after the first round of the presidential election was annulled last December.
Horatiu Potra, a former French legionnaire and militia chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 20 other people were also charged.
The case rests on a planned raid on the Romanian capital Bucharest on 8 December, which police foiled.
Romanian prosecutors describe a plot targeting Romania's constitutional order, involving Georgescu, Potra, their group, and alleged foreign intelligence links.
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🇶🇦🇮🇱Qatar hosts Arab-Islamic emergency summit over Israeli strike on Doha
An emergency meeting of Arab and Islamic states is taking place in Qatar in response to Israel's air strike on Hamas leaders in Doha last week.
A draft resolution seen by the Reuters news agency condemns what it calls Israel's "hostile acts including genocide, ethnic cleansing, [and] starvation", which it says threatens "prospects of peace and coexistence". Israel has strongly denied such allegations.
It is not clear what practical decisions could be taken, as analysts say any kind of military response is out of the question.
Earlier, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani urged the international community to stop applying "double standards" and to punish Israel.
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🇯🇵Japan stocks hit record after ruling party names pro-business leader
Japanese stocks have hit a record high after the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) named Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning the pro-business politician to be Japan's next prime minister.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 4.75% higher on Monday, ending the day above 47,000 for the first time.
Takaichi, who has held senior government roles including minister for economic security and internal affairs, is known for her support of higher government spending and lower borrowing costs.
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🇩🇪Munich airport resumes flights after suspected drones force second closure in 24 hours
Flights have resumed at Germany's Munich airport after unconfirmed drone sightings forced it to suspend operations for the second time in 24 hours.
In a statement on Friday evening, the airport said that flights were stopped at 21:30 local time (20:30 GMT), with around 6,500 passengers affected.
At least 17 flights were also grounded in Munich on Thursday evening due to multiple drone sightings in nearby airspace.
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🇮🇳🇨🇳India and China to resume direct flights after a five-year ban
India and China will restart direct flights between the countries this month, India's foreign ministry has said, in another step towards ties being gradually normalised.
There have been no direct flights between the two countries since 2020, following deadly troop clashes on their shared Himalayan border.
But over the past year or so, Delhi and Beijing have been working towards re-building ties, including taking steps to de-escalate tensions at the border.
On Thursday, India's biggest budget airline IndiGo said that it would restart direct flights between the cities of Kolkata and Guangzhou from 26 October.
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🇰🇪🇺🇬Kenyan activists abducted in Uganda, opposition leader says
Two Kenyan human rights activists have gone missing in Uganda after reportedly being abducted by armed men while attending opposition leader Bobi Wine's campaign event.
Bobi Wine strongly condemned the "abduction" of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, saying the pair had been "picked up mafia-style" at a petrol station and driven off to an unknown destination.
Ugandan police spokesman Kituma Rusoke told the BBC the two were not in their custody. Kenya's Michael Muchiri said he was not aware of the matter.
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🇿🇦South African firebrand MP Malema convicted of firing a gun in public
South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been found guilty of illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public, offences which carry a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
In 2018, a video emerged showing the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader using a semi-automatic rifle to fire several shots in the air during his party's fifth anniversary celebrations held in the country's Eastern Cape province.
He was charged alongside his former bodyguard Adriaan Snyman, who was acquitted.
Malema was convicted of hate speech less than two months ago and often lashes out at the white minority in a country where, 31 years after apartheid ended, racial tensions still run high.
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🇺🇸🇨🇴US revokes Colombian president's visa during UN visit
The US State Department said on Friday it would revoke the visa of Colombia's President Gustavo Petro.
The decision was based on the leftist leader's "incendiary actions" during a pro-Palestinian street protest in New York, the State Department added.
Petro was already en route to Bogota from New York on Friday night, according to Colombian media cited by Agence France-Presse.
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Secret Service disrupts telecom threat near UN General Assembly
The US Secret Service disrupted a network of telecommunications devices that could have shut down cellular networks as leaders gather for the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
The agency said on Tuesday that last month it found more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards that could have been used for telecom attacks within the area encompassing parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
"This network had the power to disable cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City," said special agent in charge Matt McCool.
The devices were discovered within 35 miles (56km) of the UN, where leaders are meeting this week.
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🇧🇫🇲🇱🇳🇪Three West African countries to quit International Criminal Court
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have announced they will immediately withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), labelling it an "instrument of neo-colonialist repression".
The three military-led countries issued a joint statement, saying they would not recognise the authority of the UN-backed court, based in The Hague.
"The ICC has proven itself incapable of handling and prosecuting proven war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide, and crimes of aggression," the three leaders said.
The court has not yet responded to the decision by the three countries, all of which with close ties to Russia whose leader Vladimir Putin has been subject to an ICC arrest warrant.
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🇨🇦🇵🇸Canada first G7 nation to recognise Palestinian state
Canada became the first G7 nation to recognise a Palestinian state, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying on Sunday the country "offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future".
Australia and the UK quickly followed with their own announcements. All three nations had previously signaled they would make the historic recognitions.
International pressure is ramping up on Israel over an unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza and settlement building in the West Bank. The issues will be a major focus at a United Nations meeting this week.
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🇬🇧🇵🇱RAF jets join Nato air defence mission over Poland
British fighter jets have conducted a Nato air defence mission over Poland as part of an allied response to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace, the Ministry of Defence said.
The RAF Typhoon jets were deployed over Poland on Friday night as part of the military alliance's mission to bolster its eastern flank.
Tensions have escalated following repeated Russian violations of Nato members' airspace this month - with a drone detected over Romania and then warplanes in Estonia's airspace following the incursions into Poland. Russia has denied or downplayed the violations.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the RAF flights sent "a clear signal: Nato airspace will be defended".
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🇺🇸US blocks UN call for Gaza ceasefire for sixth time
The US has for the sixth time vetoed a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would have demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.
US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said the text did not go far enough in condemning Hamas or recognise Israel's right to defend itself.
All 14 other members of the Security Council voted in favour of the draft resolution - which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "catastrophic" and called on Israel to lift all aid restrictions.
It comes as the UN's humanitarian office warns that the last lifelines for civilians are collapsing in Gaza City as Israel expands its military offensive.
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🇦🇫Taliban ban books written by women from Afghan universities
The Taliban government has removed books written by women from the university teaching system in Afghanistan as part of a new ban which has also outlawed the teaching of human rights and sexual harassment.
Some 140 books by women - including titles like "Safety in the Chemical Laboratory" - were among 680 books found to be of "concern" due to "anti-Sharia and Taliban policies".
The universities were further told they were no longer allowed to teach 18 subjects, with a Taliban official saying they were "in conflict with the principles of Sharia and the system's policy".
The decree is the latest in a series of restrictions which the Taliban have brought in since returning to power four years ago.
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🇨🇦Canada's Chrystia Freeland quits cabinet to become Ukraine envoy
Canadian minister and member of parliament Chrystia Freeland has announced she will step down from Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet and will not run for re-election.
Freeland will instead take on a new role as Canada's special envoy to Ukraine, Carney said.
She has been a fixture of Canadian politics since 2015, serving as former finance and foreign affairs minister, as well as deputy prime minister. Freeland is also credited with forcing former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's exit after abruptly resigning from his cabinet last year.
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🇺🇸📱Deal is done to keep TikTok in the US, says Trump
A deal has been made between the US and China to keep TikTok running in the US, according to President Donald Trump.
"We have a deal on TikTok, I've reached a deal with China, I'm going to speak to President Xi on Friday to confirm everything up," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a state visit to the UK.
The social media platform, which is run by Chinese company ByteDance, was told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.
However, Trump has repeatedly delayed the ban since it was first announced in January. Later on Tuesday, he ordered the deadline extended again, until 16 December.
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🇺🇸🇮🇱Rubio in Israel as IDF destroys more Gaza City buildings
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said US-Israeli relations have "never been stronger", as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits to discuss the war in Gaza following Israel's attack on Hamas members in Qatar.
He told reporters the relationship was as strong and "durable as the stones in the Western Wall", while at the holy site in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Earlier, Rubio said US President Donald Trump was unhappy with the Israeli strike on the key US ally, but stressed that the US-Israeli relationship was "very strong".
His visit comes as Israeli forces continue to destroy residential buildings in Gaza City, forcing thousands to flee ahead of an expected ground offensive to seize the city.
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