Turnout estimated at 67% for second round of France’s snap parliamentary elections
The second and final round of voting in France's snap legislative elections was under way on Sunday as a leftist coalition and President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party try to prevent a far-right majority. Turnout was almost at 60 percent at 5pm, the highest since 1981, with overall participation estimated at 67 percent, according to Ipsos Talan polling. The vote will determine France's next prime minister, who will likely come from the party or coalition winning the most seats.
- French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament and called for snap legislative elections after the far right trounced his centrist alliance in June 9 elections for the European Parliament.
- The National Assembly's 577 total MPs are elected for five-year terms in two rounds (June 30 and July 7). Still up for grabs on Sunday are 501 seats after dozens of MPs were elected outright in the first round.
- Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party led after the first round with 33% of the vote, according to interior ministry figures, with the New Popular Front leftist alliance following in second place with almost 28%. President Macron's ruling coalition trailed in third place with 20%.
- Initial polling projections are expected when the final voting stations close at 8pm Paris time (1800 GMT), with early official results expected late Sunday and early Monday.
Brazil apologises after three diplomats’ Black teenagers searched at gunpoint
Ministry of foreign affairs forced to say sorry to Canada, Gabon and Burkina Faso embassies after incident
Brazil’s ministry of foreign affairs has been forced to apologise to the embassies of Canada, Gabon and Burkina Faso after three diplomats’ teenage children – all of whom are Black – were searched at gunpoint by police officers.
The incident emerged when the mother of a Brazilian boy in the group posted a security camera video online, prompting outrage – but also a weary recognition that such experiences are all too typical for Black youths in Rio de Janeiro.
The three diplomats’ children were in Rio for a five-day holiday with a white Brazilian friend, celebrating the end of the school year. All attend the same school in Brasília, where they live. It was their first trip without their parents.
UK's Starmer says Rwanda deportation plan 'dead and buried'
New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scrapping the Rwanda deportation plan by the previous Conservative government, saying its policy to keep irregular migration at bay has had the "complete opposite effect."
Newly-elected United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday declared a controversial plan by the ousted government to deport migrants to Rwanda "dead and buried."
Starmer, the leader of the center-left Labour Party, took office on Friday after winning one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history during the UK election a day earlier.
The 5-year Rwanda plan, costing 370 million pounds ($494 million, €437 million), would have flown asylum seekers to the central African country to apply for refuge, rather than in Britain.
Koike secures her third four-year term as governor of Tokyo
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 7, 2024 at 20:06 JST
Yuriko Koike, the conservative governor of Tokyo, clinched a victorious third term on July 7 in a crowded election held in sweltering summer heat.
Voters had a record 56 candidates to choose from, of whom former Upper House member Renho posed a serious challenge to her leadership.
Koike, 71, was supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its junior coalition partner Komeito and Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First), a regional political party for which she serves as a special adviser.
Dozens killed across Gaza as Israel’s war enters 10th month
Israel carries out more deadly air strikes across the Gaza Strip amid fresh efforts to reach a truce.
At least 27 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza, marking another grim day as the war on the besieged territory enters its 10th month.
One of the attacks since dawn on Sunday targeted a school sheltering displaced people west of Gaza city, killing at least four Palestinians.
In central Gaza, the Israeli army struck a residential building in the al-Zawayda area, killing six people. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said the dead included two children.
Israel says its operation in Rafah is ‘limited’. Fighting there has left parts of it unrecognizable
Thick clouds of dirt and sand fill the air as our convoy of Humvees arrives in Rafah, the first time international reporters have been allowed in since the Israeli military launched its ground assault on this city two months ago.
As the dust settles, the scale of destruction is startling. But it is also all-too familiar.
This part of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city which became the last refuge for more than a million Palestinians earlier in the war, is now unrecognizable.
No comments:
Post a Comment