French PM faces day of reckoning, but likely to survive no-confidence votes
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu appears likely to survive two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday after offering to suspend President Emmanuel Macron's landmark pension reform to win support from the left, Reuters reported.
Lecornu, already France's shortest-serving prime minister in modern times before he was re-appointed last week, had faced the prospect of an even shorter second stint in office until he made the pensions reform concession on Tuesday.
The Socialists, who hold the key to Lecornu's political survival, welcomed the move, saying they would not support two no-confidence motions due to be voted on Thursday, one from the far-left and the other from the far-right National Rally, according to Reuters .
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger dies aged 90
Jim Bolger, New Zealand's prime minister from 1990 to 1997 who helped usher in a new era of reconciliation with indigenous Maori, died on Wednesday aged 90, his family said in a statement, Reuters reported.
Bolger had suffered kidney failure last year and had been undergoing dialysis. He died surrounded by his wife Joan, nine children and 18 grandchildren, the statement said.
Bolger entered parliament in 1972 and became leader of the National Party in 1986 before becoming prime minister in 1990 when the party took power. He retired from politics in 1998 and served as New Zealand's ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2002, according to Reuters.
US military tells Hamas to stop violence against Gaza civilians, disarm 'without delay'
The U.S. military's Middle East command on Wednesday called on Hamas to stop its violence against civilians in Gaza and disarm "without delay" as the militant group reasserts itself by deploying security forces and executing those it deems collaborators with Israel, Reuters reported.
Hamas, which has not publicly committed to disarming and ceding power, has gradually sent its men back into the streets of Gaza since the ceasefire began on Friday.
It has killed more than 30 members of "a gang" in Gaza City, a Palestinian security source said on Monday, without identifying the gang involved. Hamas has cited crime and security concerns for its actions as thousands of Palestinians return to the enclave's shattered north, according to Reuters.
Hamas returns two more bodies but says it cannot retrieve remaining dead hostages
Hamas says it has handed over the bodies of two more Israeli hostages under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, but says it needs time and specialised equipment to recover the rest of the deceased from the ruins of Gaza, BBC reported.
The group's armed wing said in a statement it was committed to the deal but had returned all the bodies of hostages it was able to reach.
US President Donald Trump has said Israeli forces could resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas does not uphold the agreement, according to BBC.