The far right’s election gains rattle EU’s traditional powers, leading Macron to call snap polls
By: Raf Casert, Lorne Cook And Samuel Petrequin
BRUSSELS (AP) — Far-right parties rattled the traditional powers in the European Union with major gains in parliamentary seats, dealing an especially humiliating defeat to French President Emmanuel Macron, who called snap legislative elections.
Some ballots in the vote for the European Parliament were still being counted Monday, but the outcome showed the 27-nation bloc’s parliament membership has clearly shifted to the right. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni more than doubled her party’s seats in the assembly. And despite being hounded by a scandal involving candidates, the Alternative for Germany extreme right party still rallied enough seats to sweep past the slumping Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Sensing a threat from the far right, the Christian Democrats of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already shifted further to the right on migration and climate ahead of the elections — and were rewarded by remaining by far the biggest group in the 720-seat European Parliament and de facto brokers of the ever-expanding powers of the legislature.
But the surge by nationalist and populist parties across Europe will make it much harder for the assembly to approve legislation on issues ranging from climate change to agriculture policy for the next five years.
Undoubtedly however, the star on a stunning electoral night was the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen, which dominated the French polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections to start later this month. It was a massive political risk since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.
Missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels strike 2 ships in the Gulf of Aden, U.S. military says
By: Jon Gambrell
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck two ships in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said Sunday, the latest assaults on shipping in the region.
One anti-ship ballistic cruise missile hit the Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship Norderney forward station late Saturday, starting a fire that those on board put out, the U.S. military’s Central Command said. It added that a second anti-ship cruise missile also hit the Norderney.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center similarly reported the attack and fire in the same area off Aden, saying “damage control is underway.”
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack in a prerecorded video message Sunday, saying the vessel had been targeted with both missiles and drones. Tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Norderney was still in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday afternoon.
In a second attack, a Houthi ballistic missile hit the Tavvishi, a Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned-and-operated container ship in the Gulf of Aden, Central Command. Saree claimed the attack happened in the Arabian Sea, but provided no evidence. Tracking data suggested the Tavvishi was in the Gulf of Aden at the time of the attack.
The “Tavvishi reported damage but has continued underway,” Central Command said. A second ballistic missile fired by the Houthis at the ship was intercepted by a coalition warship, it added.
Islamic State group-allied militants kill dozens in eastern Congo
By: Moses Sawasawa
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Militants allied with the Islamic State group in eastern Congo have killed at least 41 people in several villages in North Kivu province, the national government said Monday, as residents openly wondered why security forces weren’t protecting them.
The statement said Friday’s attacks were carried out by Allied Democratic Forces militants in the villages of Masala, Mahihi and Keme.
Local civil society members asserted that the true toll was higher, with as many as 80 killed.
Richard Kirimba, a civil society official in the area that was attacked, said the militants appeared to be expanding their operations and that local mines were drawing them in. “There’s no state authority in this area, and in many villages there are no police, no soldiers, no national intelligence agency,” he told The Associated Press.
“The population is worried because the enemy is roaming around the neighborhood,” said Kambale Vunyatsi Kiongozi, who represents some civil society groups.
Residents have long called on the Congolese army to protect the local population. The government statement said Congo’s government has launched an operation to pursue the militants responsible and has killed a number of them and freed hostages in the process, without providing figures.
About 90 countries to take part in the Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace summit. Russia won’t attend
By: Jamey Keaten
OBBÜRGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Nearly 90 countries and organizations, half from Europe, have confirmed attending the Swiss-hosted Ukraine peace summit over the weekend, Switzerland’s president said Monday. However, Russia won’t be there.
Moscow has not been invited but says it would not have attended anyway as the conference is based on the peace proposals of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia rejects.
President Viola Amherd told reporters in the Swiss capital, Bern, that the summit, on Saturday and Sunday, will aim to chart a path toward possible peace nearly 28 months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine and with the war grinding on.
“This is not about propaganda,” said Amherd. “This is about the basis of humanitarian aid provided by Switzerland, based on fostering peace (and) to provide a platform to initiate a dialogue.”
The Swiss president said that most participants would be top country leaders, with about half represented at the head of state or government level, and “a handful” from organizations like the United Nations.
A van falls into a river in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing 16 people, mostly children
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A van fell from a mountain road into a river in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing 16 people, mostly children, and injuring several others, Pakistani police and government officials said Monday.
The incident happened in the Neelam Valley on Sunday, according to a statement released by the disaster management authority. The dead included nine children and four women, while four people were injured when they jumped from the van before it fell into the fast-flowing Neelam River, it added.
Kashmir is divided between neighbouring India and Pakistan, with both claiming the entire territory.
Authorities said divers had so far found six bodies and the search for the other bodies was still underway. According to police, there was no chance of finding any survivors.
Road accidents are common in Pakistan due to poor road infrastructure and disregard for traffic laws and safety standards.
Last month, 28 people were killed and 20 others injured when a speeding passenger bus fell from a highway into a rocky ravine in the southwestern Baluchistan province.
India investigates attack by suspected militants in Kashmir that killed 9 on Hindu pilgrimage
NEW DELHI (AP) — India is investigating an attack in which suspected militants fired at a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing nine and injuring 33, officials said Monday.
The attack caused the vehicle to fall into a deep gorge Sunday in Jammu province’s Reasi district. The bus was carrying pilgrims to the base camp of the famed Hindu temple Mata Vaishno Devi.
A team from the National Investigation Agency has reached the site of the attack, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Security forces also were trying to track down those suspected to be responsible.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Gov. Manoj Sinha announced compensation of $11,975 each for families of those killed, as well as nearly $600 to those who were injured.
Federal minister Amit Shah said Sunday he was in touch with Sinha and the local administration was providing speedy medical attention. “The culprits of this dastardly attack will not be spared and will face the wrath of the law,” he posted on social media platform X.
A police officer said some of the victims had gunshot wounds and blamed the attack on Muslim militants who are fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which left 33 others injured.
Over 4,000 residents flee a town in southern Mexico after armed gangs start shooting, burn homes
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged Monday that authorities have had to set up camps for displaced people after some 4,200 residents fled a town in the southern state of Chiapas.
Residents of the town of Tila fled over the weekend after armed gangs shot up the town and burned many homes last week, state prosecutors said. It was probably the biggest mass displacement in Chiapas since 1997.
Some residents recounted spending days trapped in their homes before army troops and state police showed up over the weekend to allow them to leave.
Photos distributed by state authorities showed people fleeing with just purses on their shoulders, or sometimes small backpacks or shoulder bags.
López Obrador depicted the assault as “a conflict between the very same people” of the town of Tila, an apparent reference to a longstanding land dispute between farmers.
