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Billionaire businessman Andrej Babis has won parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, although his populist ANO party fell short of an overall majority, BBC reported.

ANO received just under 35% of the vote, earning them 80 seats in the 200-seat lower house – up from 72 seats four years ago, according to preliminary results.

Babis – who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021 – is expected to be invited to lead talks on forming a new coalition.

"This is a historic success," Andrej Babis announced to cheering supporters at the ANO headquarters in the suburbs of Prague, according to BBC.

Japanese stocks have hit a record high after the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) named Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning the pro-business politician to be Japan's next prime minister, BBC reported.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped by more than 4% on Monday morning in Tokyo as it rose above 47,000 for the first time.

Takaichi is known for her support of higher public spending and lower borrowing costs.

She is also a long-time admirer of former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her free market approach to economics, according to BBC.

President Donald Trump has sent federalised troops from California to Oregon after a court denied his attempt to deploy the National Guard in Portland, BBC reported.

The deployment circumvents a judge's order that blocked deploying troops in Portland by instead using National Guard members who were already serving in Los Angeles after summer protests there.

California Gov Gavin Newsom vowed to file a lawsuit over the manoeuvre, which he called a "breathtaking abuse of the law and power".

Portland is the latest US city - many of which are Democrat-led - targeted as part of the president's crime crackdown. He has argued troops are necessary to restore peace amid ongoing protests over immigration enforcement, according to BBC.

US President Donald Trump has urged everyone involved in efforts to end the Gaza war to "move fast" as mediators are set to meet in Egypt on Monday for indirect peace talks between Hamas and Israel, BBC reported.

The talks come after Hamas agreed to some parts of a 20-point US peace plan, including freeing hostages and handing over Gaza governance to Palestinian technocrats, but is seeking negotiations on other issues. 

The group's response did not mention the key demands of its disarmament and playing no future role in Gaza's governance, according to BBC.

Writing on social media that talks had been "very successful", Trump said: "I am told the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to move fast."