Hamas says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal
CAIRO — The Hamas militant group says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt the seven-month war with Israel. It issued a statement Monday saying its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had delivered the news in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister. The two Middle Eastern nations have been mediating months of talks between Israel and Hamas. There was no immediate comment from Israel. The announcement came hours after Israel ordered Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah ahead of an Israeli military operation. Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold.
King Charles III's coronation anniversary marked by ceremonial gun salutes
LONDON — King Charles III's coronation anniversary has been marked in London under soggy skies with ceremonial gunfire. A 41-gun salute by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park rang out next to Buckingham Palace at noon on Monday. It was followed an hour later by the Honorable Artillery Company cracking off 62 shots from Tower Wharf next to Tower Bridge. Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned on May 6, 2023 in Westminster Abbey in a glitzy spectacle that echoed medieval times as he was anointed as monarch after the 2022 death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
Boeing set to launch NASA astronauts after years of struggle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing is counting down for its first astronaut launch after years of struggle. Two NASA test pilots will climb aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday night. They'll head to the International Space Station for a weeklong stay before returning to Earth. Starliner's first test flight without a crew in 2019 failed to reach the space station and Boeing had to repeat the flight. Then the company had to fix the capsule's parachutes and yank out flammable tape. NASA wants more than one company transporting its astronauts to the space station. SpaceX has been at it since 2020.
Macron puts trade and Ukraine as top priorities as China's Xi visits France
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader arrived in France to open his European tour. The discussions will be closely watched from Washington a month before President Joe Biden is expected to pay his own state visit to France. Xi first joined a meeting with Macron and the European Commission president meant to address broader European Union concerns on trade and security issues. Xi’s European trip is his first in five years. He will go to Serbia and Hungary next.
Italy's RAI journalists strike over budget streamlining, complain of censorship
ROME — Some journalists at Italy’s state-run RAI are on strike to protest budget streamlining and what they say is an increasingly repressive atmosphere in Italy for media. The 24-hour RAI strike Monday is the latest protest by Italian journalists against what they say are threats to freedom of the press and expression in Italy. The threats include criminal investigations of journalists and suspected episodes of censorship. The strike came just days after media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders downgraded Italy five notches in its annual index of press freedom. At No. 46, Italy moved into to the “problematic” category of countries alongside other EU members Poland and Hungary.
Russia warns Britain, plans nuclear drills over West's possible deepening role in Ukraine
Russia is threatening to strike British military facilities and says it plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons. Monday's statements came after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine. Moscow warned that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory using U.K.-supplied weapons could bring retaliatory strikes against British military facilities and equipment on the Ukrainian territory or elsewhere. It was the first time Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, though its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises. Tactical nuclear weapons have a lower yield compared to massive warheads that arm intercontinental ballistic missiles intended to obliterate entire cities.
Memorial march at former death camp at Auschwitz overshadowed by Israel-Hamas war
OSWIECIM, Poland — U.S. university presidents have joined Holocaust survivors and thousands of Israelis for a yearly memorial march at the site of Auschwitz. The March of the Living honors the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and celebrates the state of Israel. This year mood of the march was overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war after the Oct. 7 attack on Israelis, the deadliest violence against Jews since Adolf Hitler’s regime sought to destroy the entire Jewish population of Europe. A small group of pro-Palestinian protesters waving Palestinian flags stood along the side of the road as participants marched with Israeli flags.
