Day News Recap: Israel, Serbia and Ukraine dominate a day of conflict, politics and regional tension

A United Nations mandated commission accused Israeli authorities and forces of crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank, including extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as the report also described a clampdown in Hebron.  🔗

In Gaza, at least five people were killed in Israeli ground and air attacks, with medical sources and first responders saying civilians were among the dead as the toll continued to rise.  🔗

Israel also voted in a parliamentary election shaped by the Gaza war and the legacy of the 7 October attacks, with Benjamin Netanyahu's future and accountability for the conflict at the centre of the campaign.  🔗 Palestinians in Gaza were watching closely, hoping the result might bring some change in policy, while Israeli diaspora groups organised travel home so citizens abroad could cast ballots.  🔗 🔗

Netanyahu denied reports of a rift with the army chief over possible action against Iran, even as Donald Trump urged Israelis to back him and repeated his support for strikes on Iran.  🔗 🔗 Separately, Iran's hardline Paydari Front called for steps toward withdrawal from the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, and Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish security officials held talks with Iranian counterparts in Tehran amid wider regional tensions.  🔗 🔗

In the wider Middle East, Saudi led coalition strikes hit Houthi missile facilities in Yemen after renewed cross border attacks, while the US said more than 3,000 commercial vessels had transited the Strait of Hormuz with its support over the past six months.  🔗 🔗 North Korea also escalated its dispute with South Korea over an alleged DMZ landmine blast by taking the issue to the UN Security Council.  🔗

Europe was focused on the war in Ukraine, with defence ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom meeting in Paris to discuss more military assistance.  🔗 That came as Ukraine and Russia exchanged strikes, and as a planned Brussels visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks with the US, EU and NATO was thrown into doubt after Washington changed its plans.  🔗 🔗 Vladimir Putin meanwhile floated the idea of a three way summit with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss an end to the war.  🔗

Serbia saw the biggest political shift of the day, with the Student List winning an outright majority and ending 14 years of rule by the Serbian Progressive Party.  🔗 Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat, and the movement said it would begin coalition talks after its landslide win.  🔗 🔗 In the Czech Republic, several thousand people protested in Prague as a government bill to overhaul public media funding advanced.  🔗

In the Americas, Brazil's electoral court declared Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the winner of the presidential runoff, confirming a fourth term after a tight count and presenting the result as a setback for the far right.  🔗 🔗 In the United States, a federal appeals court questioned a Justice Department challenge to California voter rolls, while Trump said his tariff dispute with Canada could be resolved soon despite defending higher duties on Canadian goods.  🔗 🔗

Elsewhere, a US Marine was indicted in Japan over the murder and robbery of a woman in Okinawa, drawing fresh scrutiny of the American military presence there.  🔗 In Africa, more than 60 Christians were killed in attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region, a nurse was killed during Ebola response work in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda ordered a 21 day quarantine for returnees from the DRC.  🔗 🔗 🔗 Sudan's Rapid Support Forces also struck five power stations with drones, causing widespread outages in the east of the country.  🔗

In Asia Pacific, South east Queensland faced a second round of storms with flash flooding, large hail and wind gusts of up to 90 km/h possible, while Pakistan and Iran partially resumed border trade after a weeklong suspension.  🔗 🔗 In the UK, around 90,000 properties were still without power after Storm Boelo hit Scotland and northern England.  🔗 Finland's Alexander Stubb used a Bruges address to discuss Europe, war, democracy and artificial intelligence.  🔗

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