Author: Admin

Pakistan has been quietly working to bring together Libya’s rival factions in an effort that, if successful, would significantly boost Islamabad’s standing on the world diplomatic stage, two Pakistani sources have revealed.

The mediation push comes as observers have watched for months as the United States has worked to find a diplomatic resolution in Libya — a country that has been divided between competing eastern and western governments ever since a civil war erupted following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that brought down Muammar Gaddafi.

Pakistan has already played a notable role this year as a go-between in separate talks involving the U.S. and Iran, a contribution that has been repeatedly acknowledged by the Trump administration. One of the Pakistani sources said the U.S. is “fully aware and involved” in Pakistan’s efforts in Libya as well.

Saudi Arabia is also supporting the initiative, both sources confirmed. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence agreement last year, and Riyadh has long sought to extend its influence in Libya.

According to both sources, the mediation effort got underway late last year, with both Libyan sides requesting Pakistan’s participation. How closely Pakistan has been coordinating with other regional players remains unclear.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry, its military media wing, officials from both Libyan factions, and the foreign ministries of Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United States did not respond to requests for comment.

What a Unity Plan Could Look Like

Analysts say any workable plan to reunite Libya would need to satisfy the competing interests of outside powers while resolving long-standing disputes over government posts, election rules, and oil revenues — issues that have derailed previous attempts at reconciliation.

“The United States has been pushing hard in Libya,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a contributor to Britain’s Royal United Services Institute think tank, “but the format it is trying to impose is still loose and ill-defined.”

A summary of a proposed “Libya Reunification Plan” obtained by Reuters would create a 36-month transitional power-sharing arrangement under a body called the Government of National Consensus and Presidential Council.

Under the proposal — which one Pakistani source noted is still being refined — Abdulhamid Dbeibah of the U.N.-recognized, western-based Libyan Government of National Unity would serve as prime minister, while Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the eastern-based Libyan National Army, would chair the Presidential Council.

The faction loyal to Saddam Haftar’s father, Khalifa Haftar — the Libyan National Army’s commander-in-chief — controls a large portion of Libya’s oil infrastructure. The plan would give him authority over the national budget.

One Pakistani source said Pakistan intends to play “an active role in making sure this whole arrangement stays in play,” though details are still being worked out.

Pakistan’s Diplomatic Moves

Last month, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir held a meeting with Saddam Haftar in Rawalpindi. Just days afterward, Haftar traveled to Washington, where he sat down with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The State Department said at the time that Rubio welcomed the efforts of Libyan leaders to overcome their divisions and reaffirmed Washington’s support for a unified Libya.

While analysts consider Pakistan a secondary player in Libya — where the U.S., the UAE, Turkey, and Egypt have competed for influence for years — Islamabad has maintained ties with both Libyan sides, something other regional actors may not be able to claim.

As Reuters reported in December, Pakistani officials have pursued defence ties with the eastern-based Libyan National Army, including discussions about the possible sale of JF-17 fighter jets and Super Mushshak trainer aircraft, despite an active U.N. arms embargo.

Meanwhile, the rival western government recently sought direct talks with Pakistan as well, according to an unreported document reviewed by Reuters.

Qatar and Turkey — one of the western government’s most significant backers — were among those who encouraged Pakistan to take on a mediation role, two Pakistani sources familiar with the situation said.

Tarek Megerisi, director of geopolitical advisory firm Informmi, offered a note of caution, warning that there is no guarantee any agreement reached would hold. He pointed to a deal struck last year between the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo that fell apart within months.

LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom moved Monday to impose sanctions on nine Russian individuals and organizations accused of developing chemical weapons used in two high-profile poisoning cases — one targeting opposition leader Alexei Navalny and another aimed at a former Russian intelligence officer living in England.

Britain’s Foreign Office announced the measures against seven individuals and two scientific research institutes, saying they played roles in producing the epibatidine toxin used to poison Navalny at an Arctic prison facility in 2024, as well as the Novichok nerve agent deployed in a 2018 attack in the English city of Salisbury. That attack targeted former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and left him and his daughter seriously injured. A local woman named Dawn Sturgess also died as a result of the attack.

Among those sanctioned were the Russian state scientific research institute SC Signal and GNIII VM, also known as the State Scientific Research and Testing Institute for Military Medicine, along with multiple senior officials and scientists.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the actions, stating that “Russia’s repeated use of chemical weapons is a sickening violation of international law and a direct threat to global security.”

Separately on Monday, Britain’s defense ministry released photographs showing U.K. F-35 fighter jets intercepting a Russian Bear-F maritime patrol aircraft that had approached a British carrier strike group in the Norwegian Sea. The HMS Prince of Wales and other British ships are currently operating in the Arctic as part of NATO missions.

According to the ministry, the incident occurred on Thursday when the Russian aircraft “passed at low altitude and unnecessarily close to HMS Prince of Wales and dropped a large number of sonobuoys in close proximity to the carrier.” Sonobuoys are floating monitoring devices that use sonar technology to detect submarines and other vessels.

“This activity was unsafe and unprofessional. The Russian aircraft was intercepted and escorted by two UK F-35 jets from HMS Prince of Wales until it left the area,” the defense ministry said in an official statement.

Hamas announced Monday that it has dismantled its de facto governing body in Gaza, signaling a willingness to hand power over to a group of Palestinian technocrats as part of a U.S.-backed peace plan — while simultaneously pressing Israel to follow through on its own obligations under the stalled agreement.

The governing body that Hamas dissolved had been overseeing ministries in Gaza for more than a decade. Its elimination was a key requirement under a post-war framework laid out by U.S. President Donald Trump following the start of a fragile ceasefire with Israel in October.

Hamas clarified, however, that the ministries themselves and their staff would remain in place. The group also said it would continue to oversee security and policing in areas of Gaza still under its control as a result of the U.S.-brokered truce.

The Trump-appointed Board of Peace, which was created to monitor implementation of the plan, acknowledged Hamas’s action but stopped short of endorsing it. The board stated that “ultimately, our assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.”

Israel had not issued an immediate response to Hamas’s announcement. Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly breaking the terms of the ceasefire and failing to carry out other elements of the agreement, which requires Israeli forces to pull out of Gaza in exchange for Hamas laying down its weapons.

At a press conference in Gaza City on Monday, Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government media office, confirmed that the head of the “Government Emergency Committee” oversight body had stepped down and that the body had been formally dissolved.

Al-Thawabta described the move as “a demonstration of the seriousness of these measures, in implementation of the agreed arrangements, and to facilitate the administrative transition process” to the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

Under the Trump-backed plan, Hamas is expected to transfer governmental oversight to that National Committee — a body made up of Palestinian technocrats backed by the United States.

Ali Shaath, who leads the 15-member National Committee, said his group was prepared to take on its responsibilities in Gaza once the “necessary resources and enabling conditions for its work are in place.” In a Facebook post, Shaath wrote that “the fundamental requirements for the commission’s success are the existence of one authority and one law under a clear reference framework, and one weapon subject to that authority.”

The situation on the ground in Gaza remains dire. Israeli forces currently control more than 60% of the territory, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes as a buffer zone meant to prevent Hamas attacks. Netanyahu has stated that Israel will not withdraw from Gaza.

Israel’s military campaign has displaced nearly the entire population of approximately 2 million people, most of whom are now living in tents or damaged structures along a narrow coastal strip still under Hamas control.

On Monday, Gaza health officials reported that an Israeli airstrike killed a couple inside an apartment in the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City. Two additional strikes — one hitting a tent sheltering displaced civilians and another targeting a vehicle in Khan Younis in the south — left three people dead and at least 20 others wounded, according to medics. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incidents.

Hamas has refused to disarm until Israel stops its attacks in Gaza. Israel maintains that its military operations since the ceasefire have been aimed at neutralizing militant threats. The small coastal territory has been in ruins for more than two and a half years since the current conflict was ignited by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

A confidential European intelligence report is warning that Russia could be headed toward a full-blown banking crisis, with the country’s ongoing war against Ukraine placing enormous financial strain on its lenders.

The two-page document, recently prepared to brief European officials on the condition of Russia’s financial sector, outlines how vulnerable Russian banks have become to additional Western penalties. Reuters obtained a copy of the report.

Although Russian banks have largely managed to survive the wave of sanctions that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the June report cautions that worsening loan quality and rising household debt levels have created an “explosive” risk. The warning comes just as the European Union is finalizing a 21st round of sanctions — expected to be completed in July — that would target banks and cryptocurrency networks.

Russia’s central bank did not respond to requests for comment on the report’s findings, though officials there have recently downplayed the likelihood of a major financial collapse.

With the financial toll of a four-year conflict steadily draining government funds, Russia has leaned more heavily on its banks to prop up businesses and borrowers. According to the report, this has loaded those banks with significant risk at a time when the broader economy is showing signs of strain.

Russia’s Economy Ministry has already lowered its growth projections, cutting its gross domestic product forecast to 0.4% for 2026 — down from an earlier estimate of 1.3% — and to 1.4% for 2027, compared to a previous forecast of 2.8%.

The intelligence document, officially titled “Note on the probability of a banking crisis in Russia in 2026,” describes how banks have been pressured into offering discounted loans to defense contractors, homebuyers, and other borrowers. The report’s authors noted that government-backed lending programs, loan restructuring arrangements, and state support have obscured just how fragile the banks really are.

“The situation creates the illusion of a dynamic economy that, in reality, conceals an explosive situation which an economic shock, such as an ambitious package of sanctions against banks … could trigger,” the report stated.

Loans extended to defense firms, government-backed regional projects, and homeowners have swelled the volume of credit that may go unpaid, the report’s authors said. They estimate that roughly 10% of corporate loans are now considered doubtful — a significant jump from 2024 — while some major banks reported retail non-performing loan ratios as high as 15% in 2025.

The report also revealed that more than 500,000 Russians filed for personal bankruptcy in 2025, a figure nearly one-third higher than the year before. Meanwhile, state programs have encouraged more than 13 million Russians to carry at least three loans at the same time.

Russian central bank Deputy Governor Filipp Gabunia pushed back on those concerns last month, saying that “vulnerabilities in the financial sector are not critical.” He pointed to bank capital reserves being at their highest level in three years, and noted that corporate bad loans had held steady at around 4% over the past year and a half.

Outside analysts offered a mixed assessment. “Russia’s economy is stagnating but the dominance of the state and defence spending means there is no immediate financial crisis to hand,” said Chris Weafer, a Russia expert at consultancy Macro Advisory.

Weafer was skeptical that new Western measures would push Russia over the edge. “Asia ignores sanctions. So the idea that a fresh round will tip Russia into crisis is wishful thinking,” he said, adding that defense expenditures were helping keep unemployment low and wages elevated.

The European Union has rolled out extensive sanctions against Russia since the invasion began, targeting bank revenues, international financial transfers, energy exports, and the defense industry. Russia has shown resilience in the face of those measures, while Europe has struggled with enforcement due to the absence of a central oversight authority.

Adding to Europe’s challenges, the United States under President Donald Trump eased some sanctions, at one point temporarily allowing Russian oil sales — though that waiver lapsed in mid-June.

European diplomats are now working on a package that would expand sanctions to cover banks, cryptocurrency networks, drone manufacturing, and oil traders and refiners. The proposed measures would add scores of individuals and entities to the blacklist, including nearly 90 banks, pushing the total number of sanctioned lenders to more than 100 — representing over half of Russia’s internationally connected banking institutions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently declared that Russia would continue pursuing its goal of fully seizing four Ukrainian regions, dismissing what he described as a new Ukrainian proposal to scale back hostilities. Putin also indicated that Russia anticipates a resumption of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, pending resolution of what he called the “hot phase” of the U.S.-Israeli confrontation with Iran.

There are signs that the financial pressure is mounting. Russia’s second-largest lender, VTB, is planning to increase its financial reserves, according to the bank’s first deputy CEO, who spoke with Reuters on Friday. The move is intended to provide a buffer against higher fuel prices and potential loan losses.

Data from the Russian central bank also shows that the amount of cash being kept outside the banking system has climbed more than 17% compared to the same period last year, now exceeding 19 trillion roubles — roughly $243 billion. That trend is squeezing banks that depend on customer deposits to fund their lending operations.

Taras Skvortsov, chief financial officer of Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, acknowledged the pressures but suggested the banking sector has adapted. “All major banks are already under sanctions … and when they were introduced in 2022, there was stress,” he told Reuters. “By 2026, everyone has become so used to it. Many clients of the sanctioned banks do not even know about sanctions.”

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Tanzanian authorities have rounded up dozens of individuals in the days leading up to planned anti-government demonstrations, escalating a broader crackdown targeting calls for democratic reform and the freedom of a prominent opposition figure.

On Sunday, army spokesperson Sylvester Mangure issued a warning to the public against taking part in any demonstrations, following a government-imposed ban on political rallies announced the previous week. Mangure also accused unidentified individuals of “recruiting youth” to join the protests, while claiming those individuals had falsely suggested the military supported the planned demonstrations.

Young activists have called for protests on Tuesday, a date that coincides with the 72nd anniversary of the ruling party’s founding. Their demands include democratic changes and the release of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges after he publicly pushed for electoral reforms ahead of last year’s general election.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of the disputed October election with 97% of the vote, even as the two main opposition parties — Chadema, which Lissu leads, and ACT Wazalendo — boycotted the contest. A government-appointed committee found that more than 500 people died during three days of violent unrest that followed the election. Human rights organizations and opposition figures contend the actual death toll was considerably higher.

Mangure urged citizens on Sunday to report anyone they suspected of organizing or recruiting for the protests, while vowing that the military would protect the nation’s stability.

“The army encourages citizens to continue engaging in nation-building activities without fear, and it will not hesitate to take action against those disrupting peace as provided for under the constitution,” he stated.

Security forces have significantly increased their presence throughout Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub, with soldiers and police officers deployed along major roads and in public areas. Critics argue the show of force is designed to discourage would-be protesters, though authorities have stopped short of officially linking the heightened security to Tuesday’s planned demonstrations.

Tuesday also marks the opening of the city’s 50th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair, known locally as SabaSaba, one of the nation’s largest annual commercial gatherings.

Police spokesperson David Misime said on Saturday that law enforcement had stepped up operations and moved against groups allegedly working to mobilize participants for what officials are calling illegal demonstrations.

“Strong action will be taken against anyone who participates in the unlawful riots being mobilized through social media,” Misime warned.

Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba revealed last week that arrests had already been made in connection with efforts to recruit young people for Tuesday’s protests, though he declined to provide a specific number of those detained.

LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage is a politician who typically thrives in the spotlight, but he has gone noticeably quiet in recent weeks.

The leader of the anti-immigration party Reform UK has pulled back from his near-weekly press conferences and regular media appearances as scrutiny mounts over financial gifts he allegedly failed to disclose.

Farage, a well-known British supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, insists he has done nothing wrong. Still, the questions surrounding his finances have fueled speculation about whether his political future — once seen as a possible path to prime minister — could be in jeopardy.

Reform UK holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, yet the party consistently outpolls both the ruling Labour Party and the main opposition Conservatives in public surveys.

Farage is already the subject of a probe by Parliament’s standards watchdog over a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Then on Sunday, an opposition politician called on the same watchdog to launch a second investigation — this time over donations from a convicted fraudster.

Liberal Democrat lawmaker Josh Babarinde stated that “there is a serious question as to whether Mr. Farage met his obligations under the Code of Conduct” for members of Parliament.

The Sunday Times has published claims about Farage’s financial ties to George Cottrell, a 32-year-old aristocratic crypto-gambling entrepreneur who has served as an on-and-off aide to the Reform UK leader.

Cottrell was taken into custody at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in 2016 while traveling alongside Farage. He faced 21 counts related to money laundering, fraud, blackmail, and extortion after allegedly offering to launder money for undercover agents who were posing as drug traffickers. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a single wire fraud charge, admitting he had tried to deceive criminals on the dark web by pretending to be a money launderer. He spent eight months behind bars.

Despite his criminal history, Cottrell remains close to Farage. The Sunday Times reported that Cottrell provided funding for Farage’s staffing and security ahead of Britain’s 2024 general election, as well as access to a London townhouse located near Buckingham Palace.

Reform Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick described Cottrell as an “old friend” of Farage with no official role in the party. Jenrick confirmed that Cottrell had covered expenses for Farage’s security and staff but said those payments were made “before he became a Member of Parliament” in July 2024.

Under U.K. rules, newly elected lawmakers are required to disclose any gifts valued at more than 300 pounds ($400) that they received in the prior 12 months — unless the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to be connected to their political activities.

Farage responded to the allegations by calling the situation an “establishment hit job.”

“I have done no wrongdoing, followed the rules and I am now considering legal action against The Sunday Times,” he said in a statement.

Parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is separately investigating a 5 million pound ($6.6 million) donation Farage received from Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand. Farage has characterized that money as a personal gift used to pay for security, and says it was received before he won his seat in the House of Commons.

Should Farage be found in violation of parliamentary rules, he could face suspension. A suspension lasting 10 days or more would give voters in his Clacton constituency in eastern England the right to call a special election for his seat.

Such an outcome would deal a significant blow to a party whose rise mirrors the nationalist, anti-immigration approach associated with Trump. Farage has made the issue of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats a central part of his platform — calling it an invasion — though critics accuse him of inflaming the issue rather than solving it.

Reform UK, which has attracted several high-profile defectors from the Conservative Party, scored major gains in local and regional elections in May. Those results contributed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer being pushed out by members of his own Labour Party.

However, Reform UK has also dropped three consecutive special elections it had hoped to win, raising questions about whether its support is beginning to slip. The most recent defeat came against Labour’s Andy Burnham, who is expected to succeed Starmer as prime minister within weeks.

The controversy surrounding Reform UK’s funding has renewed calls to overhaul Britain’s political finance laws. While strict limits exist on election spending, political parties are currently allowed to accept unlimited donations so long as donors are U.K. voters or businesses registered in Britain.

In March, the government announced plans to ban cryptocurrency donations to political parties and impose an annual cap of 100,000 pounds ($134,000) on donations from British voters living abroad. Reform UK had received 12 million pounds ($16 million) from Harborne in the previous year alone.

On Monday, the government expanded that policy, saying the 100,000 pound cap would also apply to donors who relocate to the U.K. from abroad, for one year following their arrival.

A gang of masked thieves carried out a rapid smash-and-grab robbery at a French museum dedicated to the works of luxury glassmaker Rene Lalique and his family, museum staff confirmed — the latest in a string of bold art heists to strike France in recent months.

The burglars forced their way through the front entrance of Musee Lalique, located in the town of Wingen-sur-Moder in the Alsace region of eastern France, roughly 60 kilometers — or about 40 miles — northwest of Strasbourg. Once inside, they made off with around 20 pieces of jewelry collectively worth several million euros, according to France Info and other media outlets reporting on the Sunday morning incident.

The theft happened with remarkable speed. In a statement posted to Instagram, the museum noted that the jewelry was taken “in a very short space of time.” Officials confirmed that the break-in triggered security alarms, staff had already identified which pieces were missing, and law enforcement was actively reviewing closed-circuit television footage as part of an ongoing investigation.

The museum declined to provide further specifics about which items were stolen.

According to the museum’s website, the facility is home to more than 650 works, spanning Art Nouveau jewelry, Art Deco glass, and crystal pieces. Rene Lalique, who passed away at age 85 in 1945, launched his career as a jeweler and became celebrated for incorporating “glass, enamel, horn, ivory and semi-precious stones in his creations.”

In the wake of the robbery, the museum announced it would be shutting its doors temporarily. “The museum will be closed for the forthcoming days in order to make sure it can then be re-opened with full security,” officials stated.

The incident follows a similarly alarming break-in at Paris’s world-renowned Louvre museum last October. While several suspects in that case have since been arrested, the stolen items — described as priceless — have yet to be recovered.

As NATO allies gather for this week’s summit, Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to tout member nations’ commitment to ramping up military spending. However, the effort has been far from uniform, and the financial strain is already showing in several countries’ budgets.

Facing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, all 32 NATO members agreed at last year’s summit to push defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 — more than double the combined level for European nations and Canada in 2025.

Since that agreement, two distinct groups have formed. One group, led by Germany and many Nordic and eastern European countries, has managed to carve out the budget room to increase military spending. The other group includes several major economies that are finding the task much harder.

“The UK isn’t managing, for example. France isn’t and Italy isn’t either,” said Guntram Wolff, a senior fellow at the Bruegel economics think tank, referring to the three largest European economies after Germany.

NATO reports that its European members along with Canada spent $90 billion more on defence in real terms last year compared to 2024, as they work toward raising core military spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, with an additional 1.5% of GDP earmarked for security-related expenditures.

Ahead of the summit, Rutte highlighted that last year’s new spending amounts to $139 billion in nominal terms and expressed a “strong commitment” to reaching the combined 5% target on schedule.

Germany plans to use a rule change that exempts defence items from tight borrowing restrictions, allowing it to more than double its spending to over €200 billion (approximately $228.38 billion) between now and 2030, according to a budget draft reviewed by Reuters before a cabinet meeting Monday.

Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia — nations where concern about the threat from Russia runs highest — are already well on their way to meeting the new targets. Poland in particular devoted 4.3% of its GDP to defence last year.

Elsewhere, the drive faces both political and financial obstacles.

Britain recently unveiled plans to add an extra £15 billion ($20.01 billion) to its defence budget, with part of that offset by cuts in other areas. However, it came to light that one-third of the total remains without a funding source, presenting an early budget headache for likely incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Beyond the funding gap, the plan drew criticism from opposition politicians and former military leaders for not specifying when defence spending would reach 3% of GDP — a stepping stone to meeting Britain’s NATO obligation of 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

“Defence spending will likely remain one of the biggest fiscal pressures facing the UK in the medium term,” said Max Warner, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a think tank.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to announce at the summit that Italy — despite carrying one of Europe’s heaviest debt loads — will raise its combined core and non-core defence spending to 2.8% of GDP in 2026, roughly 0.71 percentage points above last year’s level. However, with increased military spending unpopular among many voters ahead of next year’s national elections, much of the increase will come from domestic security areas such as police operations.

France outlined plans in April to lift its defence spending from around 2% of GDP to 2.5% by the end of the decade, even as it works to bring its overall deficit in line with euro area rules — a difficult financial target as the country approaches its own presidential elections next year.

Spain’s Socialist government, meanwhile, is not expected to move from its position of refusing to spend more than 2.1% of GDP on defence, with any new resources likely directed heavily toward technologies that also have civilian uses.

Adding another layer of concern, NATO officials have questioned the spending figures submitted by the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Albania, who claimed to have met the alliance’s previous target of 2% of GDP. Those three countries have been asked to review and resubmit their numbers.

“For us, the challenge is to ensure that Allies remain on the credible path towards that 3.5% commitment. If you keep on bumping along at 2%, then you’re not on the credible path,” a senior NATO official said.

Bruegel’s Wolff noted that, unlike at last year’s summit in the Hague, European leaders can now face Trump and point to the fact that they have stepped up to support Ukraine’s war effort, which has demonstrated its ability to hold back Russian advances.

Even so, some observers caution that even if European publics are beginning to accept greater military spending, defence industry suppliers may need stronger assurances that government spending will stay elevated before they commit to the investments needed to expand production capacity.

“There has been a before Trump, and there will be an after Trump, so this 5% target can change any time,” said Ana Boata, head of economic research at Allianz Trade. “So I think there is a bit of scepticism from European defence companies to actually ramp up investments in order to ramp up production,” she added.

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has declared it will resist a Supreme Court order concerning a media regulatory body, bringing back to the forefront a contentious legal and political battle that had deeply divided Israel in the period before Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 attack.

The move comes as the country prepares for a national election anticipated by late October.

What Did the Government Say?

In a statement issued Sunday, the government described a June 17 Supreme Court ruling on the makeup of the Second Authority for Television and Radio as a clear example of the judiciary overstepping its boundaries.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi both stated that their government would not comply with the ruling.

Levin was the driving force behind a 2023 effort to limit the Supreme Court’s authority — a push that triggered widespread protests across Israel before being set aside following Hamas’ attack. In recent months, however, Netanyahu’s nationalist-religious governing coalition has begun reviving portions of that controversial judicial reform plan.

What Does the Declaration Actually Mean?

In practical terms, the declaration is expected to have little direct effect on the media regulator itself. However, opponents argue the broader implications are serious, saying the move undermines the rule of law and the democratic foundations of the Israeli state. They also warn it could push the country toward chaos and a constitutional standoff between the executive and judicial branches.

“Apparently nothing really happened, but essentially something very dramatic did happen,” said Dina Zilber, Israel’s former deputy attorney general. Zilber said the government had, for the first time, used its formal executive authority to openly disregard a court order, calling it “a harsh blow to the rule of law and to the separation of powers.”

What Is the Political Background?

Israel is scheduled to hold elections by late October, though no specific date has been confirmed. Polling data suggests Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition is likely to lose that vote.

Netanyahu’s Likud party is expected to hold internal primaries ahead of the election, and ministers competing for favorable placement on the party list may be looking to appeal to their base by taking strong stances against the judiciary and media — both of which Netanyahu’s coalition has frequently labeled as left-wing elitist institutions.

Where Does Netanyahu Stand?

Netanyahu himself has not made any public comments on the government’s declaration.

His Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs sought to soften the tone set by ministers Levin and Karhi, clarifying that the government statement did not call for outright disobedience of the court’s ruling, but rather expressed sharp criticism and pledged to pursue all available legal avenues to have the ruling overturned.

The issues of media and judicial power are particularly sensitive for Netanyahu, who is currently standing trial on corruption charges that he denies. Two of the three criminal cases against him involve alleged regulatory favors granted to media figures. Netanyahu has characterized his prosecution as a politically motivated left-wing effort to remove a democratically elected right-wing leader from power.

How Has the Public Responded?

Critics contend that the Netanyahu government is attacking democratic institutions while attempting to shift public focus away from the security failures surrounding the October 7 attack and the ongoing toll of more than two years of war in Gaza, Lebanon, and with Iran.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara have each publicly spoken out against the government’s declaration.

DUBAI — A British couple being held in an Iranian prison on espionage charges is continuing a hunger strike over conditions inside the facility, while also being denied proper medical care and communication with their loved ones, according to HRANA, a U.S.-based Iranian human rights news agency.

HRANA reported Monday, citing information from an unidentified source familiar with the couple’s situation, that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have lost approximately 16 kilograms and more than 14 kilograms respectively since beginning the strike. The organization said Lindsay Foreman had gone roughly 10 days without a medical examination despite experiencing dizziness, body tremors, and severe physical weakness.

According to HRANA, the couple was recently permitted to speak by phone with their attorney, but they remain prohibited from contacting family members or communicating with one another. Items sent by the British embassy — including medications, eyeglasses, books, and personal hygiene products — have not been delivered to the pair, even though prison medical staff and ward officials reportedly approved the items.

The Foremans were taken into custody in January 2025 while making their way through Iran on a motorcycle trip. They were each sentenced to 10 years behind bars on espionage charges, a verdict that was upheld on appeal in June. Both have denied any wrongdoing, stating that no evidence was presented against them and that they were not given a fair chance to defend themselves.

Iranian authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

Britain’s foreign minister Yvette Cooper spoke out against the couple’s sentencing in February, calling it “totally unjustifiable” and pledging that the British government would keep pushing for their release.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have a history of detaining foreign nationals and dual citizens, most often on charges related to espionage or national security. Human rights organizations have characterized such arrests as a tactic used to gain leverage in international disputes, describing the practice as part of a broader pattern of politically motivated imprisonment. Iranian officials have rejected that characterization, maintaining that the cases involve genuine security matters.

France appears ready to consider selling the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system to Turkey, marking a notable shift after years of political resistance, according to five sources with knowledge of the situation. The development opens the door to more serious discussions between the two countries.

Four of those sources indicated the change came after French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held talks during a summit on June 25, just ahead of this week’s NATO gathering in Turkey. However, negotiations are still in their earliest phases.

“Before, there was a clear lack of openness, now there is openness,” one source familiar with the discussions told reporters.

The French presidency, when presented with questions about the matter, said it could not confirm the information and pointed to what it called “significant inaccuracies” — though it did not identify what those inaccuracies were or elaborate further. France’s foreign ministry and defense ministry both declined to comment, deferring to the presidency. Turkey’s foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Sources said Paris has set aside some of the political concerns that had previously stalled progress, though some hesitations remain. Turkey, France, and Italy had launched cooperation on a potential long-range air defense program between 2017 and 2018, exploring the possibility of jointly developing and producing such a system. That effort ground to a halt as relations between Paris and Ankara deteriorated over conflicts in Syria and Libya, as well as disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean involving Greece and Cyprus.

The SAMP/T — also referred to as the Mamba — is manufactured by the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium, which includes MBDA France, MBDA Italy, and Thales. The system is capable of tracking dozens of targets at the same time, intercepting multiple threats simultaneously, and is the only European-built system that claims the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles. It is frequently compared to the American Patriot system, though analysts remain divided on its effectiveness, noting it has not yet seen combat use.

Turkey holds NATO’s second-largest military force, but air defense is a significant vulnerability — the country lacks a fully developed missile defense network of its own and depends heavily on NATO systems and aircraft. Ankara has been pursuing the SAMP/T as part of its broader “Steel Dome” integrated air and missile defense initiative.

One source said Italian Prime Minister Meloni and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also discussed the matter during a phone call on July 3. Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters in June that Ankara was weighing options including both the U.S. Patriot and the SAMP/T, and remained open to arrangements involving technology transfers and joint manufacturing.

A Turkish official noted the process had been frozen since 2020 due to Eastern Mediterranean tensions and European Union sanctions. “Now, it appears there is political will on all three sides — Turkey, Italy, France — for this process to advance,” the official said.

Outside of France and Italy, the SAMP/T has only been exported to Singapore. In recent years it has been transferred to Ukraine, and France deployed the system earlier this year to assist the United Arab Emirates in defending against Iranian missile attacks. Italy also sent the system to Turkey in mid-June as part of NATO defense planning.

Any potential agreement would likely involve the newer generation of the system, which is currently being introduced into French and Italian military service. Erdogan and Macron are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the NATO summit to address bilateral matters.

At NATO’s 2025 summit in The Hague, Erdogan had already pressed Macron to drop his opposition following a thaw in relations between the two leaders. Two sources cautioned that France would still need to address concerns from Greece and Cyprus — both countries with which France has signed strategic defense agreements — before any sale could move forward.

For years, Turkish officials viewed France as the primary political barrier to the program, while Italy has consistently supported sharing the SAMP/T with Turkey to deepen defense industry ties. Momentum has picked up over the past year as Ankara has stepped up efforts to bolster its missile defenses amid growing regional instability, and as NATO allies have taken a fresh look at defense cooperation needs.

Sources emphasized that France’s new openness should not be read as a green light for a sale. “This is just the beginning. It will be a long journey if France agrees to sell it,” said Murat Aslan, a defense and security researcher at Turkey’s SETA foundation.

Deadly violence erupted inside a prison on the outskirts of Sri Lanka’s capital, claiming the lives of at least 25 people and sending more than 100 others to the hospital, according to officials and a local television station reporting Monday.

Police confirmed the unrest broke out at the prison in Negombo, located roughly 35 kilometers — about 22 miles — north of the capital city of Colombo. The disturbance started Sunday and carried over into Monday. Police spokesman Chandana Herath acknowledged there were fatalities but said he could not immediately verify the death toll as reported by local television station Hiru.

According to the TV station’s reporting, those killed and wounded included both prisoners and prison staff members.

Authorities have not yet determined what triggered the violent outbreak.

A hospital official at the main state-run medical facility in the area confirmed that more than 100 people had been admitted for injuries connected to the prison violence. The official spoke without being identified, saying he was not authorized to give statements to the press, and did not provide details about the nature of the injuries.

Sri Lanka’s prison system is severely overcrowded. More than 39,000 inmates are currently held in facilities that were built to hold only 10,000 people.

Four people lost their lives on July 6 after an Israeli drone struck a vehicle in Nabatieh, a city in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s state news agency.

The attack targeted the vehicle directly, resulting in four fatalities, the agency reported.

PARIS (AP) — A Paris appeals court is scheduled to deliver a ruling Tuesday that could determine whether French far-right leader Marine Le Pen will be allowed to compete in France’s 2027 presidential election.

If Le Pen is barred from the race, her 30-year-old protege and National Rally party president Jordan Bardella would step in as the party’s candidate.

Le Pen, 57, is contesting a March 2025 court decision that found her and fellow National Rally members guilty of misappropriating European Parliament funds by employing aides between 2004 and 2016 who allegedly performed party work rather than parliamentary duties. If the conviction stands, she could face a ban from holding elected office, an electronic monitoring tag, or both.

Here is a look at key moments in the careers of Le Pen and Bardella, and how the National Rally evolved into one of France’s most significant political parties:

Marine Le Pen was born on August 5 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris. She is the youngest of three daughters of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who would go on to lead the far-right National Front party.

Jean-Marie Le Pen established the far-right National Front, anchoring it in anti-immigration and nationalist ideology. Over the following decades, he repeatedly denied the Holocaust and faced multiple convictions for antisemitism, discrimination, and inciting racial violence.

Bardella was born on September 13 in Drancy, in the northeast of Paris, in what is considered mainland France’s poorest region. He was raised in public housing and is of Italian and Algerian descent.

Jean-Marie Le Pen stunned France by advancing to the presidential runoff, where he was defeated in a landslide by Jacques Chirac. That result signaled the far right’s emergence as a meaningful force in French politics.

Marine Le Pen took over from her father as president of the National Front, beginning a sustained effort to broaden the party’s appeal and shed its extremist reputation. She would later expel her father from the party following renewed controversial statements he made four years into her leadership.

Le Pen made her first presidential run, finishing third in the opening round with nearly 18% of the vote. That same year, a then-17-year-old Bardella joined the National Front.

Le Pen advanced to the presidential runoff for the first time but was defeated by centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, who captured 66.1% of the vote compared to her 33.9%. During this period, Bardella served as one of the party’s spokespersons, becoming a recognizable face on French television.

The National Front rebranded itself as the National Rally as part of Le Pen’s ongoing strategy to make the party more palatable to mainstream French voters.

At age 23, Bardella led the National Rally’s slate in European Parliament elections. The party finished first in France, earning him a seat as a Member of the European Parliament. He also rose to become one of the party’s vice presidents.

Le Pen reached the presidential runoff for the second time in a row, this time winning more than 41% of the vote against Macron — the best performance ever recorded by France’s far right in a presidential election. Bardella was elevated to president of the National Rally.

The National Rally became the largest single party in the powerful National Assembly but fell short of securing an outright majority.

On March 30, a Paris court found Le Pen and other National Rally officials guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. She was sentenced to prison and banned from seeking public office for five years, with that ban taking effect immediately. She filed an appeal.

The Paris Court of Appeal is now set to issue its decision Tuesday — a ruling that will determine whether Le Pen remains eligible to seek the presidency in 2027. The presidential election is scheduled for April 18 and May 2, to select a successor to Macron, who is constitutionally prohibited from seeking a third consecutive term.

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro traveled to Washington to ask the Trump administration at a Monday hearing to hold off on a proposed 25% tariff on Brazilian goods — at least until after Brazil’s October election — in an effort to separate himself from trade levies his political opponents have pinned on him.

Back in June, the Trump administration put forward the tariff proposal, citing alleged trade violations including illegal deforestation and what it described as unfair electronic payment practices. The announcement came shortly after Bolsonaro — son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and a presidential hopeful himself — had met with top U.S. officials.

That timing gave Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is widely expected to seek reelection, the opening to blame the right-wing senator for helping bring on the tariffs. Bolsonaro has rejected that accusation.

After the senator later met with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Brazilian government released a statement calling the visit troubling. “It is deplorable that, once again, members of the Bolsonaro family are traveling to the United States to advocate for foreign interference in Brazil,” the statement read.

The younger Bolsonaro’s effort to make U.S.-Brazil relations a central campaign issue fits into a broader pattern of Trump’s increasing involvement in Latin American politics, which has included the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and backing right-wing candidates such as Colombia’s Abelardo De La Espriella, who narrowly won his presidential race last month.

In a formal filing with the U.S. Trade Representative, Bolsonaro pushed back against new tariffs, writing that imposing them now “would hand the current Brazilian government precisely the political victory it has been engineering.”

Public opinion in Brazil appears divided on the matter. A survey released last month by polling firm Quaest found that 47% of Brazilians sided with Lula’s claim that Bolsonaro asked the U.S. to impose new tariffs, while 35% believed Bolsonaro’s counter-claim that he had actually asked for the opposite.

One academic observer described the senator’s Washington trip as an attempt at political damage control. “They are trying to do damage control,” said Leonardo Paz, a professor of international affairs at Ibmec and Fundacao Getulio Vargas, two academic institutions based in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazilian officials have spent months in negotiations with U.S. counterparts trying to head off the tariffs. But Bolsonaro contended that Brazil had not done enough to find common ground with Washington, and proposed that any decision on the levies be suspended for 180 days.

In his submission to the U.S. Trade Representative, Bolsonaro wrote: “Brazil holds general elections in October 2026, and the political landscape that determines the viability of any negotiated resolution will be redefined within roughly ninety days.”

The U.S. has until July 15 to decide whether to move forward with the so-called Section 301 tariffs. If imposed, the tariffs would still exempt certain products, including beef, coffee, rare earths, and aircraft parts.

This latest Washington visit is part of a continuing effort by the Bolsonaro family to cultivate support from the Trump administration. That effort has previously included negotiations to seek White House involvement in the legal case against the elder Bolsonaro, who faced trial over his attempt to reverse his 2022 election loss. Trump had imposed steep tariffs on Brazilian goods last year, characterizing that legal case as a witch hunt. The former president was ultimately convicted.

Despite the senator’s efforts, his push to prevent new tariffs appears to have gained little traction so far. In response to a letter Bolsonaro sent last month asking Washington not to pile on additional levies, Secretary of State Marco Rubio replied that U.S. officials “continue to have substantial differences in resolving the issues” that were cited as justification for the proposed tariffs.

The Danish government has formally stepped into a high-stakes legal battle at the European Court of Justice, filing a written intervention in a case that could determine whether major tech companies must pay for news content they host on their platforms, the country’s Culture Ministry announced Monday.

The lawsuit was originally brought in 2023 by Streamz, Google, Meta, Spotify, and Sony against the Belgian government. The tech companies argue that Belgium’s way of implementing Article 15 of the Digital Single Market Directive — a European Union rule governing press publishers’ rights — conflicts with broader EU law.

Denmark has chosen to side with Belgium in the dispute, which is commonly referred to as the Streamz case. The Danish government is also taking part in the oral hearing scheduled for July 6 and 7.

At the heart of Denmark’s position is the push to hold tech giants financially accountable when newspaper articles or other media content appear on their platforms. Danish officials argue that if the court rules in favor of the tech companies, it could significantly weaken the rights that news publishers currently hold under the Digital Single Market Directive.

At the oral hearing, Denmark plans to urge the court to clearly spell out the boundaries of press publishers’ rights and the obligations tech companies have to compensate publishers when their content is displayed on those platforms.

Denmark’s Culture Minister Zenia Stampe was direct in her criticism of the tech industry’s approach to media content. “In the end, it hits the Danish media hard and damages our democracy,” Stampe said, emphasizing that tech giants should not be permitted to profit from media content without providing payment to those who created it.

This is not Denmark’s first foray into European copyright disputes involving technology companies. The country has also taken part in a separate landmark European copyright case examining whether Google’s use of press releases to train artificial intelligence systems is legally permissible.

Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raul Castro, has signaled a willingness to enter into negotiations with the United States, according to an interview published by USA Today on Monday.

When asked about the possibility of talks, Rodriguez Castro was direct: “I can negotiate with anyone designated by the U.S. If given the opportunity, (of course with) Trump.”

Beyond diplomatic talks, Rodriguez Castro also indicated that Cuba would be willing to free individuals currently held as political prisoners — though he noted that such a move would depend on the right conditions being in place.

Twenty-five people have died and approximately 100 others were wounded after two groups of inmates clashed inside a prison in Sri Lanka, according to two police sources and a hospital source who spoke with Reuters.

The violence started Sunday between convicted prisoners and detainees being held at the facility, which is located in the coastal town of Negombo — roughly 35 kilometers, or about 20 miles, north of the commercial capital of Colombo. The fighting continued into Monday.

The cause of the confrontation had not been determined as of Monday.

According to police sources, sections of the prison were still being searched and officials were working to get a full accounting of those killed and injured.

Army spokesman Brigadier Waruna Gamage told Reuters that the military had been called upon to assist law enforcement, though troops had not yet been deployed. “Military has been requested to provide support to the police but at the moment they are on standby,” he said.

Footage aired by Derana TV showed a large police presence gathered outside the prison entrance. A police bus was seen departing the facility carrying injured inmates, with some of them lying on the floor of the vehicle.

China’s navy launched a long-range ballistic missile from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific on Monday, a rare move that triggered protests and alarm from several countries in the region.

According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, the missile lifted off at 12:01 p.m. and carried a simulated warhead. It was the second such test China has conducted in the Pacific in recent years — the country previously fired an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead two years ago, which itself was the first such test in international waters since 1980.

China’s Ministry of Defense, through a statement reposted from Xinhua, described the launch as part of routine annual training that followed international law and was not aimed at any specific nation or target.

Analysts noted that the 2024 launch mirrored similar ballistic missile testing carried out by the United States for its own submarine fleet, viewing it as a signal of China’s growing ambitions as a global superpower.

Australia, Japan, and New Zealand all spoke out against the test. The New Zealand government said it received advance notice of the launch only hours before it took place and pointed out that the missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone — a region protected under the 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which bans nuclear weapons throughout the area. China ratified the treaty’s protocols in 1987, committing not to test nuclear weapons within the zone or threaten its use against member nations with territory there.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters issued a pointed response, telling The Associated Press: “It appears that despite our long-standing concerns about this type of activity, China carried out the test within hours of informing us.”

The launch happened on the same day Australia and Fiji signed a new mutual defense agreement designed to push back against Chinese influence in the Pacific. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong, speaking to reporters in Fiji, said: “Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilizing to the region.”

Japan’s Defense Ministry called on Beijing to reconsider its missile testing practices to prevent projectiles from flying over Japan or creating other security risks. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stated: “China’s military activities, combined with its lack of transparency, has become a grave concern for Japan and the international society,” pointing to Beijing’s heightened military presence near Japan and its growing defense budget.

China’s government dismissed the criticism, with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson saying: “We hope that the relevant countries will avoid overinterpretation.”

China officially maintains a policy of not being the first to use nuclear weapons, but it continues to invest heavily in nuclear technology and weapons as part of a broader effort to modernize its military forces.

According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based think tank, China operates a fleet of six ballistic-missile submarines along with 59 nuclear-powered attack submarines. A Pentagon report to Congress released in late 2025 estimated that China held approximately 600 nuclear warheads in 2024, with projections showing the country on pace to surpass 1,000 warheads by 2030.

Britain’s Royal Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Norwegian Sea was repeatedly approached by a Russian patrol plane last week before British fighter jets stepped in to escort the aircraft out of the area, in the latest flashpoint between NATO and Russia.

The UK government labeled the encounter “unsafe and unprofessional.” The incident took place on July 2 and comes just days before a NATO gathering in Ankara on Tuesday, where alliance members are expected to commit €70 billion in military support to Ukraine for 2026.

According to British officials, a Russian “Bear-F” maritime patrol aircraft flew at low altitude and came “unnecessarily close” to HMS Prince of Wales — the aircraft carrier at the heart of a naval formation known as a carrier strike group.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence released a statement saying the Russian plane “dropped a large number of sonobuoys in close proximity to the carrier.” Sonobuoys are devices designed to detect and track submarines operating underwater.

In response, two F-35 fighter jets launched from HMS Prince of Wales to intercept the Russian aircraft and remained on scene until it departed the area.

The British carrier strike group is currently operating under NATO command in the High North, a mission aimed at strengthening security across the North Atlantic amid growing concern over Russian military activity in the region.

Earlier this year, Britain deployed naval vessels to guard against potential attacks on undersea cables and pipelines after Russian submarines spent more than a month in and around UK waters.

In a separate announcement Monday, Britain confirmed that defence minister Dan Jarvis had recently traveled to visit UK forces aboard the carrier while it was stationed in waters near Iceland.

Enormous crowds gathered in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Monday for a funeral procession honoring Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the slain supreme leader, marking the largest single event in a week of sweeping memorial ceremonies that have underscored the continued hold of Iran’s clerical establishment.

State television broadcast drone footage capturing tens of thousands of people packed tightly along a central Tehran boulevard. A large truck carrying the coffins of Khamenei and four of his family members moved slowly through the crowd, while fire hoses sprayed water from above to help keep mourners cool in the heat.

At one point, as the procession passed beneath a bridge, mourners hurled stones at a billboard hanging overhead. The sign depicted U.S. President Donald Trump with a bullet pointed at his head and carried the message: “The U.S. killed our father. We won’t let you go!”

Participants waved Iranian flags and red banners bearing a slogan calling on the “avengers of Khamenei” — a phrase rooted in a central event of Shi’ite Islam, referencing the killing of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson in battle during the seventh century.

On Sunday, three of Khamenei’s sons prayed beside his coffin at a large Tehran prayer hall. Notably absent, however, was Mojtaba Khamenei, the son who has since taken over as Iran’s supreme leader. Believed to have been seriously wounded in the attack that killed his father, Mojtaba has not been seen publicly since the conflict began on February 28 with airstrikes by Israel and the United States on Iranian territory.

The formal mourning period began Friday, when the coffins of the elder Khamenei, one of his daughters, her 14-month-old child, a son-in-law, and the wife of Mojtaba were placed on display for Iranian officials and visiting foreign dignitaries. Large outdoor ceremonies followed on Saturday and Sunday before Monday’s major procession through Tehran’s streets.

Later this week, Khamenei’s remains are scheduled to travel to Qom, a significant Shi’ite seminary city in Iran, and then to two Shi’ite shrine cities in neighboring Iraq, before returning to Iran for burial inside a medieval shrine complex located in the city of Mashhad.

The conflict that triggered these events has since concluded. A preliminary peace agreement reached last month left Iran’s clerical government intact and claiming victory, with the country asserting new influence over global energy markets through its control of the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump has also declared victory in the conflict, though the goals he outlined at the start — dismantling Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, halting its ability to strike neighboring countries, and fostering conditions for Iranians to overthrow their government — have not yet been fully realized. Trump stated over the weekend that formal peace negotiations with Iran had been pushed back by one week due to the ongoing funeral ceremonies.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Monday that Khamenei was killed because he directed a program aimed at destroying Israel. “Any Iranian leader who will again try to pursue plans to destroy Israel will be killed as well,” Katz warned.

GENEVA — The United Nations Human Rights Council voted Monday to formally condemn rising violence carried out by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the city of al-Obeid, while also launching an emergency investigation into human rights abuses in the area.

Britain, which chaired the special session, had already sounded the alarm over what it described as the potential for mass atrocities, warning that the RSF’s buildup of forces around one of Sudan’s largest cities echoed the violence that devastated al-Fashir in North Darfur the previous year.

Britain’s Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders addressed the council directly, stating: “These horrors must not be repeated.”

CAIRO — The United Nations children’s agency announced Monday that more than 300 children have been killed or wounded over the past six months in Sudan’s ongoing war, with drone strikes accounting for the majority of those casualties.

Sudan has been locked in a devastating conflict between its national military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. Fighting is now centered in the Kordofan, Darfur, and Blue Nile states, where drone warfare is responsible for roughly 60% of all casualties, according to UNICEF.

The United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations have raised serious concerns about possible atrocities as the Rapid Support Forces and the military battle for control of el-Obeid, a strategically important city in North Kordofan.

The war has claimed the lives of at least 59,000 people, forced approximately 13 million from their homes, and driven large portions of Sudan into famine conditions. More than 30 million people currently require humanitarian assistance.

Drone attacks and artillery fire have struck civilian infrastructure — including schools, markets, and fuel and water stations — putting more than 500,000 people at risk. Civilians in affected areas have endured near-siege conditions for over a year.

“Children are being caught in a relentless cycle of violence, displacement and deprivation,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF’s representative for Sudan.

The U.N. urged all parties involved to shield civilians and civilian infrastructure from attack, open pathways for fast and unrestricted humanitarian aid delivery, and take every available step to keep children out of harm’s way.

The global economy handled the loss of more than one billion barrels of oil supply since the start of the Iran war far better than many had feared — but with strategic reserves now largely depleted and lasting peace still uncertain, the risk of future price surges remains very real.

When Tehran moved to choke off the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. and Israeli military strikes launched on February 28, the move sparked widespread alarm about a devastating worldwide energy shortage.

The four-month conflict that followed did produce the most severe energy disruption ever recorded, according to the International Energy Agency. At its peak, the supply shortfall reached 14 million barrels per day.

Despite those staggering figures, the nightmare scenario of empty fuel stations across Asia and Europe never came to pass. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices did climb sharply, reaching around $126 per barrel in April — though that remained roughly $20 short of the all-time record set in 2008. Prices have since fallen back below where they stood when the war first began.

“This suggests traders viewed the disruption as serious but manageable, reflecting confidence in today’s more resilient energy and economic systems,” said John Baffes, senior economist at the World Bank.

World Bank figures show that since the oil crisis of the 1970s, the role oil plays in driving economic activity has dropped by more than half in most developed nations and by about 20% in emerging and developing economies.

Three key factors helped prevent the worst outcomes during the Gulf crisis. Saudi Arabia and the UAE found new export routes around the blockage. China and other Asian nations cut back on oil purchases. And countries worldwide likely drew down roughly one billion barrels from their strategic reserves, including through a record-breaking coordinated release led by the IEA.

When the war erupted, China held nearly 1.4 billion barrels of oil in storage, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration — more than the combined 1.2 billion barrels held by all 32 IEA member nations, including the United States’ 413 million barrels.

China’s rapid shift toward electric vehicles in recent years, along with its flexibility in oil and petrochemical production, also played a role, according to Ilia Bouchouev of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

“They are managing the market a lot better than (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) used to,” said Bouchouev, a former head of derivatives trading at Koch Global Partners.

China, the world’s largest oil importer, helped ease demand pressure globally. The IEA’s release of 400 million barrels of reserves provided additional relief at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump was repeatedly declaring that the war’s end was near.

“Traders always took the view this can’t go on much longer,” said Neil Atkinson, a former IEA official.

Analysts at Societe Generale noted that Washington’s messaging — that more oil supply was on the way — made hedge funds reluctant to place large bets on rising prices.

Following the signing last month of a preliminary peace agreement, markets have moved quickly back toward normal conditions.

“The market seems to have decided that this peace deal is for real,” Atkinson said.

Yet the situation remains far from what it was before the conflict began.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, and Bahrain are resuming production and exports, but repairing the damage Iranian attacks caused to their energy infrastructure could take years in some cases.

While oil prices suggest traders expect a swift return to pre-war supply levels, tanker traffic data through the Strait of Hormuz tells a more cautious story.

The current 60-day ceasefire between Washington and Tehran is also ticking down, with progress toward a permanent agreement moving slowly and major issues — including the future of Iran’s nuclear program — still unresolved.

On top of all that, the world faces the enormous challenge of restoring oil inventories. The global economy weathered the crisis by drawing down stockpiles at a record rate, according to IEA data, depleting the very safety cushions meant to guard against supply emergencies.

“It doesn’t mean we can’t operate without one, it just means that forward prices could be more prone to spikes,” Bouchouev said.

That kind of price volatility carries a heavy cost. Reuters calculations based on oil demand of 104 million barrels per day show that every $5 rise in oil prices adds approximately $190 billion in annual expenses to the global economy.

Refilling oil reserves was never inexpensive, and the war has likely made it more costly. Before the conflict, the European Central Bank had projected 2027-2028 oil prices at $63 to $64 per barrel. A June ECB report now puts that estimate at $65 to $75 per barrel on average.

At current Brent prices, replacing the reserves drawn down during the Iran war would likely cost upward of $70 billion.

Until that replenishment happens, the world is essentially operating without a financial safety net in a still-uncertain environment.

“The markets may be underestimating the risk of further oil flow disruptions,” said Saul Kavonic, head of research at MST Marquee. “Iran is likely to continue to find pretexts to stymie flows through the strait.”

A raging wildfire in southwestern France has driven 10,000 people from their homes across approximately two dozen small towns and villages situated near the border with Spain, and officials are warning that powerful winds Monday could make the situation significantly worse.

The blaze has already consumed around 4,600 hectares in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, according to local prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, who shared the update on the social media platform X.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez appeared on French television network TF1 Monday morning to deliver a grim assessment. “This morning conditions are deteriorating again,” he said. “Today the battle resumes.”

Unusually intense heat waves that swept across France and much of western Europe during May and June have left large stretches of land parched and highly susceptible to wildfire this season.

The fire, known as the Trevillach blaze, is burning close to the route of the Tour de France’s third stage. Local authorities have shut down that portion of the race to the general public so that emergency responders can move through the area freely. While the race itself will continue, the convoy of team support vehicles that normally accompanies it will be significantly reduced.

Across the border in Spain, the fire burned through 2,200 hectares — with 97 percent of that damage occurring within the protected natural area of Les Gavarres. Catalan officials reported late Saturday that the fire on the Spanish side had stabilized and was expected to be fully extinguished by the end of the week.

Authorities have arrested a worker employed by a company contracted by Catalonia’s regional government. The suspect is believed to have accidentally ignited the wildfire while using an angle grinder along the side of a road.

Further south, in Spain’s eastern Castellon province, another wildfire prompted the evacuation of 500 people after it spread into the Sierra de Espadan national park, an area known for its significant cork oak forest.

Leaders from all 32 NATO member nations are set to convene in Ankara, Turkey on Tuesday and Wednesday for a high-stakes alliance summit. The gathering comes as President Donald Trump continues to press European nations to dramatically increase their defense spending, and following months of friction between the U.S. and its European partners over the Iran war and the situation in Greenland.

Trump’s repeated criticism of the alliance, combined with announced withdrawals of American troops from Europe and a six-month review of U.S. military presence on the continent, has created significant uncertainty among alliance members heading into the summit.

What’s on the Agenda?

The Trump administration has been pushing hard for European nations to take on greater responsibility for their own defense and to significantly increase their defense investment. Officials anticipate that leaders will spend considerable time discussing progress toward spending targets, ramping up weapons manufacturing, and how to shift more of the defense burden from the United States to Europe.

Who Will Be in the Room?

In addition to the 32 NATO member nation leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, European Council President Antonio Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are all expected to join NATO leaders for a dinner on Tuesday evening.

What Will Leaders Say About Defense Spending?

European leaders are expected to demonstrate to Trump that they are making good on a commitment made at last year’s summit in The Hague — a pledge to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense and defense-related measures by the year 2035.

According to a draft of the summit declaration reviewed by Reuters, leaders are expected to announce: “In 2025, European Allies and Canada increased their investments in core defence requirements by more than $139bn.”

The declaration is also expected to include this statement: “We are building the future: a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO — a modernised Alliance. European Allies and Canada, working with the United States, are assuming greater responsibility for the Alliance’s defence.”

Support for Ukraine

NATO members are expected to reaffirm their backing for Ukraine and commit to further military assistance. The draft declaration indicates leaders plan to say: “For 2026, Allies pledge €70bn in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine and affirm their sovereign commitments to sustaining at least equivalent levels in 2027.”

A portion of that funding will come from existing bilateral commitments and an EU loan facility providing €60 billion for Ukrainian defense investment and procurement covering 2026 through 2027. The United States is not expected to contribute to that funding pool.

Defense Industry Focus

While last year’s summit centered on agreeing to new spending pledges, this year’s focus is expected to shift toward actually scaling up weapons production and accelerating defense innovation. A defense industry forum will be held in Ankara on Tuesday, where deals worth tens of billions of dollars are anticipated to be announced.

Will Iran Be Discussed?

European officials are worried that the ongoing Iran conflict — and Trump’s frustration with European governments over their handling of it — could cast a shadow over the summit. The expected declaration states that “allies reiterate that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and call on Iran to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

What Does Host Nation Turkey Want?

As the host country, Turkey is expected to use the summit to showcase its growing defense manufacturing capabilities and renew its longstanding push for alliance members to remove all restrictions on defense trade within NATO.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is also expected to seek progress with allies including France and Italy on the potential purchase of SAMP/T missile defense systems and broader defense cooperation agreements.

In one-on-one talks with Trump, Erdogan is expected to highlight the improving relationship between Ankara and Washington while pushing for the removal of U.S. sanctions and restored access to the F-35 fighter jet program.

Other Meetings on the Sidelines

On the margins of the summit, NATO foreign ministers are expected to meet with counterparts from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, and to hold a dinner discussion with Ukraine’s foreign minister and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. NATO defense ministers are also scheduled to hold talks with ministers from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

BEIJING — China’s military launched a missile from a nuclear submarine into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, according to the country’s state-run media, prompting concern and criticism from several nations in the region.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy fired the missile — fitted with a dummy warhead — into international Pacific waters at 12:01 p.m. local time (0401 GMT), the official Xinhua news agency reported. The missile came down in what Xinhua called “designated waters,” though no specific location was provided.

Xinhua characterized the launch as a “routine arrangement” tied to China’s yearly military training schedule, emphasizing that it was not directed at any particular country or target.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that China had given advance notice of the planned test, but she still labeled the launch as “destabilising” for the broader region.

“Australia has been clear that this proposed test is in the context of a rapid military buildup by China, which is lacking in the transparency and reassurance as to intent that the region expects,” Wong told reporters at a press conference in Suva, the capital of Fiji.

Japan’s government also said it had been notified ahead of the launch and called on China to reconsider. “We expressed our grave concern over the Chinese military’s increased activity,” Tokyo stated. Japanese authorities added that China had separately alerted Japan’s Coast Guard on Sunday about possible falling space debris that could land within Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Japan’s Kyodo news agency later reported, citing a government source, that the missile had landed outside that zone.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters described his country as “deeply concerned” by the test, noting that New Zealand had been informed “within hours” of the launch.

“New Zealand considers this an unwelcome and concerning development. We, like our neighbours in other Pacific countries, have no interest in China using the South Pacific as a testing site for missile capability,” Peters said in a written statement.

China’s most recent intercontinental ballistic missile test before this one took place in 2024 — an uncommon launch that drew international attention to the country’s growing military strength.

BALLOUNEH, Lebanon — Long before she became one of the most celebrated food writers in the Middle East, Anissa Helou never imagined a career in cooking or writing. She stumbled into both worlds almost by chance when she was in her late 30s.

Now 74, Helou has built a devoted following across the region and around the globe, publishing close to a dozen books since the 1990s on the cuisines of the Middle East and beyond. Just last month, she was honored with Britain’s prestigious Guild of Food Writers Lifetime Achievement Award.

Born to a Lebanese mother and a Syrian father, Helou grew up in a Christian household where she spent countless hours watching her mother, grandmother, and paternal aunt work in the kitchen. Those early experiences gave her a deep appreciation for the culinary traditions of both Lebanon and Syria — two countries celebrated throughout the region for their rich and flavorful food.

“I was always fascinated by the kitchen, by their movements (and) by how they put things together, by the chopping,” Helou said of those early mentors. “I love being in the kitchen with them and of course I loved eating.”

Her newest book, “Lebanon: Cooking the Foods of My Homeland,” had its official launch in late June in Beirut at a ceremony held at Lebanon’s Tourism Ministry. The event drew a crowd that included food critics and restaurant owners.

The book arrives at a difficult moment for Lebanon, which has endured two wars in the past three years involving Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. One section of the book focuses specifically on food traditions in some of the southern Lebanese villages that have suffered the most severe destruction.

During multiple visits to the south — the most recent in October 2023 — Helou found that residents had developed their own distinct takes on traditional dishes. One example is mujadara, a dish built primarily around lentils. While it is commonly prepared with rice elsewhere, southern Lebanese cooks are more likely to use bulgur wheat.

“I discovered more, like, variations and added dishes, rather than something that was a complete revelation,” Helou said.

She has gathered walnuts from a tree growing beside the massive barrier that divides southern Lebanon from northern Israel, and she has spoken with residents who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the Hezbollah-Israel conflict.

One person who left a lasting impression on her was Moussa Ibrahim, from the southern village of Dibbine — an area that has seen intense fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. The violence in 2024 cost Ibrahim his business, which produced mouneh: a traditional Lebanese method of preserving vegetables, fruits, grains, and dairy through techniques such as sun-drying, salting, pickling, and submerging in olive oil.

A world traveler with a wide-ranging palate, Helou said she also has a deep love for Korean and Japanese food in addition to Middle Eastern cuisine.

“Lebanese, Iranian and Moroccan are among the greatest cuisines,” Helou said earlier this month from her late mother’s apartment in the Mount Lebanon town of Ballouneh.

“Lebanese cuisine is kind of a little bit more sophisticated, a lot fresher, more vibrant” than some other Middle Eastern food, she added, while preparing a traditional Lebanese lamb confit known as awarma.

When asked which city in the region produces the finest food, Helou didn’t hesitate — and her answer took her outside Lebanon entirely. She pointed to Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Aleppo is known for its centuries-old covered market — which sustained heavy damage during Syria’s civil war that began in March 2011 — and for a complex, layered cuisine shaped by Persian, North African, and Armenian influences.

“I think that Aleppo is undoubtedly the gastronomic capital of the Middle East, regardless of me being Syrian,” she said.

Helou’s work has also been shaped by global events. When the Islamic State group seized large portions of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014 — sparking a wave of deadly attacks and a surge in anti-Islamic sentiment worldwide — she responded by writing a book featuring roughly 300 recipes from Muslim countries.

“I was thinking, one way of presenting Islam and Muslim people positively could be through their foods,” she said.

Helou left Lebanon at 21 and now holds citizenship in Lebanon, Syria, and the United Kingdom. She has spent much of her adult life in Britain and Italy, though she continues to visit Lebanon regularly, cooking alongside locals and learning how they prepare specific dishes.

For years as a young woman, she refused to cook at all — even telling a partner at the time not to count on her for meals.

“I didn’t want to be domesticated. I was like a feminist and so I didn’t cook for a very long time,” she said.

Her attitude shifted after watching a friend cook a meal and seeing the joy it brought her partner. That moment nudged her toward the kitchen.

Her path to food writing began in 1992, when a conversation with a group of Lebanese expatriates sparked the idea of creating a cookbook filled with her mother’s recipes — filling a gap she noticed in Lebanese culinary literature. As luck would have it, a publisher was already searching for someone to write exactly that kind of book.

“That’s how I started, by sheer coincidence,” Helou said.

MALINDI, Kenya (AP) — The walls are concrete, the beams are wood, and the building isn’t finished yet. But 54-year-old Nuru Mohammed is already envisioning the future. As her daughter clears away the last traces of sand, Mohammed directs other women hanging fishing nets along the walls as decoration. Within days, a new beachside restaurant on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast will welcome its first customers — another way to earn a living beyond the sea.

“For us women, this is hope,” says Mohammed, who spent most of her life as one of the rare fisherwomen in Malindi, a town located northeast of the port city of Mombasa. “It will help support many families that have depended on the ocean for decades.”

All along East Africa’s coastline, fishing communities are turning to tourism, ecosystem restoration, and conservation-based enterprises, reshaping their connection to the sea as climate change, overfishing, and deteriorating ocean health put their traditional ways of life at risk.

In Kenya, women are transforming restored mangrove forests into revenue streams through beekeeping and ecotourism. In Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago, fishing villages are safeguarding coral reefs through community-managed closures. In Mozambique, sea grass restoration is generating employment while breathing life back into marine habitats. Taken together, these initiatives are redefining what it means to be resilient — not by walking away from the ocean, but by healing it while building lasting livelihoods.

“Communities that depend on the ocean are also its best stewards,” said Andreane Martel, project director for a conservation initiative known as ReSea. “When local people, especially women, lead conservation, they protect biodiversity while creating more resilient and inclusive livelihoods.”

Mohammed said she has had boats stolen and now finds it nearly impossible to compete against large industrial trawlers. A nearby Chinese-owned fish processing facility stands as a stark symbol of how dramatically the industry has changed.

“I can’t compete with that kind of power or scale,” she says.

“It has been tough,” Mohammed says, her eyes on the water. “I fought to remain a fisherwoman. But I think it’s a fight I can no longer win.”

About ten kilometers — roughly six miles — away, where the Sabaki River flows into the Indian Ocean, Beatrice Mwanyiro manages a mangrove nursery and restaurant constructed by ReSea, a 30-member women’s cooperative supported by the Canadian government.

“We have to adapt to the changing times,” Mwanyiro says. “The number of fish coming into the shallow waters are falling every year. Without another source of income, we won’t be able to feed our families.”

Mangroves, coral reefs, sea grass meadows, and nearshore fisheries do far more than provide food. They shield coastlines from storms and lock away enormous quantities of carbon. But rising ocean temperatures, pollution, habitat destruction, and overfishing are putting all of those ecosystems in jeopardy.

Mohamed Somo, a fishing community leader in Lamu — a UNESCO heritage site — says boats that once returned with catches of up to 100 kilograms, or about 220 pounds, of fish now frequently bring back fewer than 30 kilograms, or around 66 pounds.

Kenyan law bars trawlers from operating within 5 nautical miles, or 9 kilometers, of shore, yet fishers say some vessels regularly venture much closer. The problem reaches far beyond Kenya’s waters. According to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing drains an estimated $23 billion from the global economy each year, while endangering marine life and the food security of billions of people who rely on fish as their main source of protein.

“The trawlers fish offshore during the day, but at night they move into the shallow waters where artisanal fishers work,” Somo says. “By morning, there’s very little left for us.”

The mounting pressure on coastal communities has elevated ocean conservation as a political priority, as people fight both for survival and for the protection of the marine economies they depend on.

“Coastal communities are on the frontlines of climate change and declining ocean health, but they are also among the strongest drivers of resilience,” said Jerry Mang’ena, co-founder and executive director of Action for Ocean, a Tanzania-based organization focused on mangrove restoration along the country’s coastline.

“Supporting sustainable livelihoods, from aquaculture and eco-tourism to ecosystem restoration, helps families adapt while reducing pressure on the ocean. If we’re serious about protecting our seas, we must invest in the people who have cared for them for generations.”

At a recent gathering called the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, conservation organizations called on African governments to ratify the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement — also known as the BBNJ Agreement or “High Seas” treaty. The landmark United Nations pact establishes marine protected areas in international waters and provides for the fair sharing of marine resources. It took effect in January, and as of April had been signed by 145 countries and formally ratified by 81.

How negotiations over additional ratifications unfold could significantly affect the lives of fishers like Mohammed as they work to build futures less dependent on increasingly unpredictable catches.

“The BBNJ Agreement gives African governments a historic opportunity to protect the high seas and safeguard the future of our fisheries,” said Aliou Ba, oceans campaign lead at Greenpeace Africa.

“But protecting the ocean also means confronting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that is stripping African waters of marine life and robbing coastal communities of food and income,” he said. “Governments cannot afford to delay.”

PARIS (AP) — A French appeals court is set to rule Tuesday on whether Marine Le Pen will be allowed to pursue what would be her fourth presidential campaign — and what many believe would be her best shot yet at leading the country. If the court blocks her, she has already been preparing a potential replacement.

That replacement is Jordan Bardella — but he is far from simply a younger version of Le Pen.

Perhaps the most significant difference between the two is one that cannot be changed: Bardella does not carry the Le Pen name. For a substantial portion of French voters, especially those on the political left, that surname carries deeply negative associations. Marine Le Pen inherited both the name and the party from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the organization and was widely despised for his far-right views and repeated legal violations, among them Holocaust denial.

If Tuesday’s court ruling bars Le Pen from next year’s election — the race to succeed two-term President Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally prohibited from seeking another term — or if it leads her to step aside in favor of Bardella, French voters will be weighing the two National Rally figures against one another.

Bardella currently serves as president of National Rally, the party Jean-Marie Le Pen originally founded in 1972 under the name National Front. Under Bardella’s leadership, the party has continued pushing its anti-immigration message. He has spoken of a France he describes as being overwhelmed by immigration, particularly from Africa, saying there are “many people who today no longer recognize the France that they loved.”

Where Bardella differs from Le Pen is in his approach to economic issues. He has worked to appeal to business owners and wealthier conservative voters with a more pro-business tone, while Le Pen has traditionally concentrated on cost-of-living concerns and government intervention — themes that tend to resonate with working-class supporters.

Le Pen handed the party’s leadership to Bardella in 2022, after years of working to make the organization more appealing to mainstream voters. That effort included distancing herself from her father — ultimately expelling him from the party — and walking back some of her more controversial policy positions, such as calls for France to exit the European Union and abandon the euro in favor of the old French franc.

The party has operated under the National Rally name since 2018 and became the largest single party in the National Assembly in 2024.

Luc Rouban, a senior researcher at Sciences Po, a Paris school of political sciences, who studies the party, says not carrying the Le Pen name could actually work in Bardella’s favor. “Symbolically, it would signal a break with the legacy of the old National Front, of Jean-Marie Le Pen,” he said.

That legacy has long been a liability for Marine Le Pen. Critics and historians have repeatedly tied her to her father’s associations with those who collaborated with Nazi occupiers during World War II, as well as his hate-speech convictions. Bardella, as the first party leader without the Le Pen name, may not face that same line of attack as effectively.

“Jean-Marie Le Pen’s legacy is a very heavy burden to carry,” Rouban said. “If you move beyond the Le Pen family, you’re entering different territory.”

Le Pen herself, who is 57, has spoken positively about Bardella’s age — he is 30. “We are complementary,” she said in a recent interview. “I have a certain experience, but Jordan has an absolutely incredible dynamism; he has the strength and energy of his youth.”

Bardella also has a stronger presence on social media. His Instagram following is nearly double Le Pen’s, and his 2.3 million TikTok followers surpass her 1.5 million. That digital reach could help him connect with younger voters — a group that has increasingly tuned out national elections. France’s national statistics agency found that only 17% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 cast ballots consistently in 2022, when Macron defeated Le Pen in the presidential runoff for the second time. That figure is a sharp drop from 31% who voted consistently back in 2002.

Le Pen grew up surrounded by politics. Her father served in the legislature from 1956 to 1962, before she was born in 1968. She joined the National Front as a teenager and, after earning a law degree, first ran as a candidate at age 24 in the 1993 legislative elections.

Bardella, by contrast, has built his political career primarily in the European Parliament. Some analysts argue his comparatively limited experience could make it harder for him to connect with older voters, and that he might struggle under the intense pressure of a first presidential campaign.

However, Victor Mallet, the author of “Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe,” cautions against underestimating him. “A lot of people thought the same thing about Donald Trump,” Mallet said. “They thought, you know, this guy has no experience of government, his policies don’t make any sense, and he was elected twice.”

At least eight Rohingya Muslims — among them several children — were killed and a number of others wounded early Monday morning after intense monsoon rainfall triggered a series of landslides across refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh, according to officials.

The camps, located in Cox’s Bazar, are home to more than 1.2 million Rohingya people and make up the largest refugee settlement on the planet. The vast majority of residents fled Myanmar in 2017 following a military crackdown in that neighboring Buddhist-majority nation, where Rohingya are considered outsiders.

Most families in the camps are sheltered in temporary structures built from bamboo and plastic sheeting, perched on steep, treeless hillsides that become extremely dangerous during the yearly monsoon season.

The slides struck four different areas within the camps, collapsing shelters and burying them in mud while residents were still asleep. In a separate but related incident, a Bangladeshi man was also killed and two of his family members were hurt when a section of hillside gave way and crashed into their home in Cox’s Bazar, police reported.

“Eight people have died in landslides caused by heavy rain,” said Tumpa Das, a police official based in Cox’s Bazar.

Das added that ongoing rainfall has raised the likelihood of additional slides, with thousands of refugees still occupying unstable terrain.

Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, the Bangladeshi official responsible for refugee relief and repatriation efforts, said authorities are acting quickly to protect lives. “We’re moving people out of high-risk areas as quickly as possible to prevent any more casualties,” he said.

The tragedy comes at a particularly tense time, as renewed violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is raising fears that a new wave of Rohingya refugees could attempt to cross into Bangladesh. Bangladeshi authorities have increased their presence along the border after reports emerged of people gathering nearby hoping to enter the country.

Bangladesh’s meteorological agency has predicted continued heavy rainfall in the days ahead, keeping officials on high alert for additional landslides and flash flooding.

Deadly landslides and floods are a recurring threat each monsoon season in the refugee camps, routinely claiming lives and destroying homes, roads, and essential services.

KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine (AP) — From a basement command post in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, drone pilots stare at thermal camera feeds streamed from aircraft flying hundreds of kilometers away over Russian-held territory, patiently waiting for vehicles to appear on the roads that keep enemy forces alive and fighting.

When a target comes into view, the pilots guide their aircraft into a dive, striking deep behind Russian lines to disrupt the flow of fuel, food, ammunition and other critical supplies.

“Our mission is to cut logistics,” said Kat, commander of Ukraine’s K-2 brigade, which operates midrange drones. “Cut off their supply lines, and the infantry on the front line have no food, no ammunition, no night vision, no batteries. Nothing. That’s how we’re wearing them down in every sense.”

Soldiers who spoke with The Associated Press agreed to be identified only by their military call signs rather than their real names, as required by military regulations.

Ukrainian commanders say the sustained strikes on major highways carrying fuel, ammunition and reinforcements have made Russian logistics slower, more expensive and far less predictable. That pressure, they say, has helped slow Russian advances and supported Ukrainian counterattacks, including strikes into illegally annexed Crimea aimed at cutting the peninsula off from the mainland.

Until recently, much of that territory was out of Ukraine’s reach. Short-range front-line drones couldn’t cover the distance, while long-range drones were saved for high-value strategic targets far away. That left a corridor roughly 25 to 200 kilometers (15 to 125 miles) wide where Russian troops and supplies could move with little interference.

Fixed-wing midrange drones outfitted with Starlink satellite communications have begun filling that gap, effectively turning Russia’s logistical rear into a contested zone.

“They’re ensuring that the Russians are constantly pressured along their supply logistics lines and that they are unable to supply certain parts of the front so that the situation may be more controllable,” said Samuel Bendett, a researcher at the Center for Naval Analyses.

Bendett noted that Ukraine will need to keep up the pressure while Russia works to develop countermeasures. He expects Moscow to eventually adapt, but said Russia’s larger military allows it to absorb greater losses in the meantime.

“The question is whether Ukraine can keep this pressure up over the next few weeks and months,” he said.

The infrastructure behind Ukraine’s midrange drone campaign blends into the surrounding landscape. Ordinary offices double as command centers. A carpenter’s workshop serves as a drone assembly point. A modest village home becomes a launch site.

The headquarters of K-2, one of Ukraine’s most elite drone units, is housed in an unremarkable workspace littered with coffee mugs, energy drink cans and e-cigarettes. In May alone, the unit launched 800 midrange drones from that room, with 650 successfully hitting their intended targets.

The pilots work in civilian clothes under bright fluorescent lights, eyes locked on computer monitors — looking more like office workers than combatants. But the grids on their screens are target lists and satellite maps. After plotting each flight path, a separate team launches the drones more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) away. Control then shifts to the Kharkiv pilots, who fly the aircraft for up to four hours, reaching more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) behind Russian lines.

Some pilots were forced from their hometowns by Russia’s invasion and now find themselves peering down at familiar streets through a drone’s camera — passing old schools and childhood neighborhoods as they search for hidden Russian troops and weapons caches.

A whiteboard in the unit tracks an ongoing competition among its 10 drone crews. The current record stands at 17 consecutive successful strikes.

Missing a high-value target leaves a mark too. After one such miss, brigade commander Col. Kyrylo Veres got on the line with the crew and asked bluntly: “Are you drunk?”

Some days the camera reveals little more than a fuel truck or a single soldier on a motorcycle. Other days, operators spot more significant targets — a loaded multiple rocket launcher or a gathering of Russian troops.

Among the unit’s top pilots is Pharaon, 20, who says the work feels like a natural extension of the video games he grew up playing.

“When I was a kid, I used to go to computer clubs where we played Counter-Strike over a local network,” he said. “The competition here is pretty much the same. It’s about who can kill more enemy troops or take out the biggest target.”

A major turning point came earlier this year when SpaceX cut off Russian forces’ unauthorized use of Starlink satellite services, disrupting Russian drone operations and communications. That shift gave Ukraine a significant advantage, allowing its upgraded drones to better evade detection, resist jamming and strike with greater accuracy while Russia scrambled to respond.

“The blocking of Starlink for Russian forces was one of the most significant battlefield developments of the year,” said Rob Lee, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program.

Pharaon said the impact on mission success has been dramatic. “What’s changed is that now eight out of every 10 sorties are successful,” he said, noting that just a few months ago the success rate was the reverse.

K-2 operates the Dart, one of the more affordable drones in Ukraine’s growing midrange fleet. Built from polystyrene, wood and 3D-printed components, the Dart is designed primarily to hit Russian logistics convoys. Larger models, such as the Hornet, carry heavier payloads and are used to strike bridges and other infrastructure.

Before each mission, crews inspect batteries, cameras, flight controllers and the Starlink terminal — the most critical piece of equipment keeping the drone connected during flight. The drones are then transported to hidden launch sites near the front, where a soldier with the call sign Buckwheat checks each Starlink connection before the aircraft are catapulted into the air.

“It’s gotten a little quieter now. You can tell the pressure from the enemy has eased,” Buckwheat said.

Russian forces were caught off guard when the campaign ramped up three months ago. Since then, they have begun deploying mobile fire groups and other countermeasures to intercept the drones. But Ukraine’s speed, scale and element of surprise have so far kept it ahead.

Bendett pointed to coordination problems within the Russian military as a key vulnerability. Even if one sector identifies the drone threat, that information may not reach neighboring units in time to intercept the aircraft.

Ukraine’s campaign targets the major highways connecting occupied Mariupol, Berdyansk, Melitopol and the Crimean Peninsula — the primary supply arteries for Russian forces fighting in southern and eastern Ukraine. Commanders say the sustained strikes have pushed Russia onto slower, less efficient resupply routes.

Ukrainian military intelligence says the drones have made portions of the land corridor linking Russia to Crimea too hazardous for normal operations, slowing the movement of fuel, ammunition and reinforcements.

In response, Russia is “significantly increasing the number of their mobile anti-aircraft units and fixed machine-gun positions, and are deploying more interceptor crews near major cities,” Pharaon said. Drone pilots now plan their routes around known enemy positions and can sometimes see the flashes of anti-aircraft fire through their cameras as their aircraft slips past.

Lee said Russia has been testing electronic warfare systems against Starlink since 2024 and has now begun deploying them more broadly. So far, their effectiveness has been limited.

“I think they have some success, but we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry is returning to the United Kingdom this week, and as usual, his arrival is generating plenty of attention from the British press.

The son of King Charles III is scheduled to attend several charity events beginning Tuesday. But for many royal observers, the bigger story is whether his wife, Meghan, and their two children — Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet — will be joining him, and whether the young royals will finally get some quality time with their grandfather, King Charles.

British tabloids and television news programs have spent the past 10 days buzzing with speculation about the family’s travel plans, but much remains uncertain as Harry works to secure protection for his family after a government committee declined to approve taxpayer-funded security.

“With just days to go until Harry’s first public engagement in the UK on Tuesday … very little is guaranteed at all,” the Times of London reported Saturday. The Telegraph put it more bluntly: “For Archie and Lilibet to meet the king, it’s now or never.”

Harry, who served in the British Army in Afghanistan, organized the trip partly to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games — the Paralympic-style athletic competition he created to inspire and support military veterans recovering from injuries sustained in combat.

Also drawing attention this week is a Tuesday ruling at the High Court in London, where a judge is set to deliver a verdict in Harry’s privacy lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

According to reports sourced from off-the-record briefings and unnamed individuals close to the royal family, the decision about whether to bring the children largely depends on whether the British government agrees to extend security coverage to Harry and his family. This has been a recurring issue every time the prince has returned to Britain since he and Meghan relocated to North America six years ago.

British authorities have maintained that Harry is not entitled to automatic protection because he is no longer an active working member of the royal family, and that his security needs will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, as they would be for any high-profile celebrity. Harry, however, argues that his children cannot safely travel to Britain without protection, as their royal status continues to make them targets.

The decision on security rests with a government committee called Ravec, which determines who qualifies for state-funded protection.

The outcome could create headaches for the royal family, which has been trying to demonstrate its public value amid months of damaging headlines about the connections between the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Royal commentator Tina Brown weighed in on the situation on X, writing: “In the paranoid atmosphere of waiting for more Andrew shoes to drop, Ravec and the royals themselves are terrified of public blowback if taxpayers are asked to fund protection for the House of Sussex. The issue is not a hill that either the king or the government wants to die on, and who can blame them?”

Early reports suggested that Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, would be making the trip, but those plans appeared to fall apart after the Daily Telegraph reported that Ravec had once again turned down Harry’s request for protection.

The Times of London reported that Harry was described as “distraught” following the decision and told friends he would not allow his children to be “chased by paparazzi” through the streets of London.

By Sunday, it had become apparent that Meghan and the children would not be with Harry when he arrives in London on Monday, though there remained some possibility they could join him at a later point during the visit.

Despite the security dispute, Harry has expressed a desire to repair his relationship with his 77-year-old father, who is currently receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. Harry has also said he wants his children — who first encountered the king during the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 — to now spend meaningful time with their grandfather while they are old enough to form lasting memories of the experience.

Relations within the royal family have been strained since Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties and moved to California to pursue media opportunities outside the constraints of life as working royals.

Things deteriorated further after Harry released a tell-all memoir containing unflattering portrayals of royal family members and serious allegations about the damaging relationship between the monarchy and the British press.

Among the more explosive claims in his book, titled “Spare,” was the accusation that members of the royal family leaked information about one another to journalists in exchange for favorable coverage. Harry was particularly critical of Queen Camilla, alleging she shared private conversations with the media as part of an effort to improve her public image following her long-running affair with Charles while he was heir to the throne.

After losing a legal battle over the security issue last year, Harry expressed hope for a family reconciliation, while also suggesting that the royals had tried to block him from receiving police protection as punishment for stepping away from his royal role.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia and Fiji have officially signed a new bilateral defense agreement, marking the second major diplomatic achievement in less than a year for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in his effort to limit Chinese influence across the South Pacific.

Albanese and Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka put pen to paper on the Ocean of Peace Alliance in Fiji’s capital city of Suva. The two leaders also signed a separate economic agreement called the Vuvale Union, through which Australia has committed to investing more than 1 billion Australian dollars — roughly $693 million U.S. — in Fiji over the next ten years.

The Ocean of Peace Alliance is the first mutual defense treaty Fiji has ever entered into. For Australia, it is the fourth such agreement, coming after a 1951 treaty with the United States and New Zealand, and a bilateral defense pact signed with Papua New Guinea just last year.

Albanese described the weight of the new commitment, telling reporters: “The Ocean of Peace Alliance introduces a mutual defense obligation and there’s no higher obligation than to come to each other’s aid at a time of need.”

Rabuka expressed confidence that China would not react harshly to the newly signed agreements. “I do not expect China to have any severe pushback on either government. And I believe that they will welcome the understanding that is between Australia and Fiji,” he said. He added, “It does not threaten Fiji’s relationship with China nor Australia’s relationship with China.”

The Fijian prime minister described the agreements as being built on three core principles: deeper cooperation on security matters, stronger economic ties, and closer connections between the people of both nations.

“This is a clear affirmation of Australia’s sustained commitment to the stability, resilience and prosperity of the Blue Pacific region at a time of global uncertainty,” Rabuka said. He further noted, “These treaties reflect our shared understanding of the evolving and interconnected challenges that are facing our region.”

Australia has been working since 2022 to reinforce its position as the preferred security partner in the Pacific, following China’s signing of a secretive security agreement with the Solomon Islands that year. That deal sparked concerns about the potential construction of a Chinese naval base in the South Pacific.

Albanese is scheduled to travel to the Solomon Islands on Tuesday to meet with Prime Minister Matthew Wale after both nations agreed to pursue further talks on a security arrangement. Wale indicated during a visit to Australia last month that his new government plans to review the existing deal with Beijing.

On Wednesday, Albanese is set to host Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Tongan Prime Minister Fatafehi Fakafānua in the Australian city of Brisbane. That same day, Australia’s defense treaty with Papua New Guinea — its closest neighbor — officially takes effect.

Just last week, Australia and Vanuatu signed a long-anticipated bilateral security and economic agreement known as the Nakamal Agreement. The deal, signed between Albanese and Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat in the Australian capital, explicitly blocks China from establishing a military base on the island nation. The agreement was finalized nine months after Vanuatu rejected an earlier version, citing concerns that it could restrict the country’s ability to draw in infrastructure investment. China voiced concern last week that the Nakamal Agreement may be aimed at Beijing.