Sébastien Lecornu has been appointed France’s fifth prime minister in two years, assuming office on Wednesday against a backdrop of widespread anti-government demonstrations that underscored the country’s deepening political crisis. Lecornu, a conservative ally of President Emmanuel Macron and former defence minister, arrived at the Hôtel de Matignon at midday to meet his predecessor, François Bayrou. Bayrou was removed from office by parliament on Monday following controversy over plans to…

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has urged the suspension of free trade with Israel, citing Europe’s “painful” inability to respond effectively to the war in Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis.

A South Korean court has overturned the 1965 conviction of Choi Mal-ja, a woman who was found guilty six decades ago of causing grievous bodily harm after biting off part of a man’s tongue during an alleged sexual assault. The Busan District Court ruled on Wednesday that Choi’s actions constituted justifiable self-defence under South Korean law. The incident occurred in 1964 when Choi, then 19, was attacked by a 21-year-old…

Poland activated its own and NATO air defences on Wednesday morning to intercept and destroy multiple drones that entered its airspace, in what officials described as the most serious spillover of Russia’s war on Ukraine into NATO territory since the full-scale invasion began more than three years ago. Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting of the council of ministers at 8am local time and said he was in…

US President Donald Trump has called on the European Union to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from India and China in a bid to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, according to multiple media reports. The proposal was made during a meeting in Washington on Tuesday between senior US and EU officials to discuss further measures aimed at tightening economic…

A flotilla attempting to break Israel’s aid blockade of Gaza has claimed it was targeted by a drone for the second time in less than a day. The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), carrying pro-Palestinian activists including Greta Thunberg, said in a statement early on Wednesday that one of its vessels, the British-flagged Alma, was struck while moored in the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said. The group alleged that a…

Six people have been shot dead in two days in a crime-ridden area of Cape Town, intensifying concerns over the city’s entrenched gang-related violence. Police said that at 11.30pm on Monday, two women aged 19 and 25 were killed and a 24-year-old woman injured in a shooting in Wallacedene, an informal settlement on the city’s north-eastern outskirts. Around ten minutes later, two other women in their 20s were found shot…

A California woman, Laura Yourex, appeared in court on Tuesday over charges stemming from her decision to register her deceased dog, Maya Jean, to vote — an act that could land her in prison for up to six years. Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, south of Los Angeles, posted images on social media in 2021 showing Maya wearing an “I voted” sticker following California’s gubernatorial election. A later post in…

By Eniola Amadu Thailand’s former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been ordered to return to prison after the Supreme Court ruled that the six months he spent in a police hospital did not count toward his sentence. The decision on Tuesday marks the latest setback for the Shinawatra political dynasty, which has dominated Thai politics for a quarter of a century but is now in sharp decline. Thaksin, 76, was…

By Eniola Amadu Ayanna Pressley has called on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to urgently address new labour data showing a disproportionate increase in unemployment among Black workers, particularly Black women. According to figures from the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), 319,000 fewer Black women were employed in July compared with February, pushing their unemployment rate up by 1.3 percentage points. The rate for Black men rose by 1.5 points…

By Eniola Amadu The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a lower court order that barred federal agents from conducting sweeping immigration operations in Los Angeles. In a 6–3 ruling, the court’s conservative majority granted a stay against the injunction issued by US District Judge Maame E. Frimpong, who had found “a mountain of evidence” that roving patrols of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting indiscriminate arrests based on…

The World Health Organization Foundation has accepted an increasing volume of undisclosed corporate donations since its creation in 2020, prompting warnings from public health experts and campaigners about the potential influence of big business on the UN agency’s work. According to a new report by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, the foundation received approximately $83m (£65m) from corporate donors by the end of 2023, with the identities of contributors…