France’s Macron to name new PM in coming days, blasts far-right and left-wing parties for uniting to create ‘a mess’
It was unclear if a new government will be in place before a ceremony on Saturday to reopen Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has been renovated after a devastating fire. World leaders including US President-elect Donald Trump are expected to attend.
President Macron to replace PM Michel Barnier as France’s political crisis deepens
The fall of France’s government leaves the country without a clear path towards reducing its fiscal deficit and the most likely outcome is less belt-tightening than previously planned, credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said.
French government on verge of collapse asr left, far-right no-confidence motions
The parties announced their no-confidence motions after Barnier said earlier on Monday that he would try to ram a social security bill through parliament without a vote as a last-minute concession proved insufficient to win RN’s support for the legislation.
British R&Bs icon Elton John loses eyesight, struggles to see his new stage musical
John wrote the score for ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ a stage musical based on the 2006 movie about a young journalist navigating the glamour and egos of a glossy fashion magazine.
Swiss commodities firm Trafigura goes on trial over alleged bribes paid to secure Angola oil contract
Trafigura said it has invested “significant resources” in strengthening its compliance programme over a number of years. The defendants are entitled to a presumption of innocence as the court case plays out in Switzerland.
Al Qaeda affiliate kills at least six Russian mercenaries in central Mali, group says
Russia has capitalised on deteriorating relations between the West and coup-affected Sahel nations in West Africa to send fighters and assert its influence. Wagner has been active in the Sahel, the vast expanse south of the Sahara Desert.
Deployment of North Korean troops to Kursk by Russia informed Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use long range missiles
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A State Department spokesperson declined to say whether Biden had authorised the longer-range strikes but said Russia was escalating the conflict by deploying North Korean troops.
Russia raises stakes in war with Ukraine as it hits Dnipro city with intercontinental ballistic missile
Ukrainska Pravda, a Kyiv-based media outlet, cited anonymous sources saying the missile was an RS-26 Rubezh, a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,800 kilometres, according to the Arms Control Association.
Hours after Ukraine hit Russia with US-supplied ATACMS, it followed with UK Storm Shadow cruise missiles
The Storm Shadows have a range in excess of 250 kilometres (155 miles) and would give Ukraine the ability to hit targets far deeper into Russia than before.
Top Russian officials reveal Putin’s willing to discuss Ukraine peace if Kyiv abandon ambitions to join Nato
While Moscow claims the four regions as wholly part of Russia, defended by the country’s nuclear umbrella, its forces on the ground control 70-80 per cent of the territory with about 26,000 square kilometres still held by Ukrainian troops, open-source data on the front line shows.
