Tag: World News

Chicago (TIP): The man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum told police after his arrest, “I did it for Palestine; I did it for Gaza,” federal authorities said on Thursday in announcing charges in the killings they called a targeted act of terrorism.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, shouted “Free Palestine” as he was led away after his arrest, according to charging documents that provided chilling new details of the Wednesday night shootings in the nation’s capital that killed an American woman and an Israeli man who had just left an event at the museum. They were set to become engaged.
The attack prompted Israeli missions to beef up their security and lower their flags to half-staff. It came as Israel continues to target civilians in the Gaza Strip amid heightened tensions across the Middle East and internationally, and that law enforcement officials have repeatedly warned could inspire violence in the US. Rodriguez faces charges of murder of foreign officials and other crimes and did not enter a plea during a perfunctory court appearance.
Additional charges are likely, prosecutors said, as authorities continue to investigate the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism. “Violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice. It is not an act of a hero,” said Jeanine Pirro, the interim US attorney for the District of Columbia.
“Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital.”
After the shooting, the suspect went inside the museum and stated that he “did it.” He was no longer armed by the time he was taken into custody, according to the affidavit. “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” he spontaneously said.

He also told detectives that he admired an active-duty Air Force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in February 2024, describing the man as “courageous” and a “martyr,” court documents said.
Investigators said they were still working to corroborate the authenticity of writings purported to be authored by Rodriguez, an apparent reference to a document circulating online that expressed outrage over Israel’s conduct in the war. The FBI is also contacting associates, family members and co-workers.
Rodriguez appeared in federal court in Washington in a white jail suit and listened impassively as the charges and possible punishments, which include the death penalty, were read. At a home listed in public records for Rodriguez’s mother in suburban Chicago, a sign taped on the door Thursday afternoon asked for privacy. The two people killed were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American. They were a young couple about to be engaged, according to Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US. (AP)

TOKYO (TIP): Japan’s agriculture minister was forced to resign on Wednesday because of political fallout over recent comments that he “never had to buy rice” because he got it from supporters as gifts.
The resignation comes as the public struggles with record high prices of the country’s traditional staple food.
Taku Eto’s comment, which many Japanese saw as out of touch with economic realities, came at a seminar Sunday for the Liberal Democratic Party, which leads an struggling minority government. The gaffe could be further trouble for the party before a national election in July.
A major loss could mean a new government or could mean Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would have to step down.
“I made an extremely inappropriate remark at a time when consumers are struggling with soaring rice prices,” Eto told reporters after submitting his resignation at the prime minister’s office. Eto’s resignation was the first under Ishiba’s leadership that began October.
The government has released tons of rice from its emergency stockpile in recent months, but the latest agricultural ministry statistics show little impact from the move. Some supermarkets have started selling cheaper imported rice.
Eto also sought to clarify the comments that got him in trouble. He said he does actually buy white rice himself and was not living on rice given as gifts. He said the gift comment referred to brown rice, which he wants people to become interested in because it can reach market faster.
Ishiba appointed popular former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of a former prime minister, to lead the ministry, noting his experience in agriculture and fisheries policies and enthusiasm for reforms. Koizumi told reporters Ishiba instructed him to do everything to stabilize the rice supply and prices to address consumer concern. “I was told to put rice before anything,” Koizumi told reporters. “At this difficult time, I will do utmost to speedily tackle high rice price that people feel and worry in everyday life.” He said he shares consumers’ concerns as he feeds his children packaged instant rice sometimes.
Ishiba, also a former farm minister, said he wants to strengthen Japan’s food security and self-sufficiency. He has proposed agricultural reforms, including increased rice production and possible exports, though critics say he should urgently fix the ongoing rice problem first. Noting the rice situation, Ishiba said he suspects the rice price surge is “not a temporary but a structural problem.” “It may not be easy to find an answer,” he said, but repeated his pledge to do the utmost to ease consumers’ difficulties and to reform rice policies.
Koizumi said the measures so far have proved ineffective and that he will speed the effort as soon as he formally takes office later Wednesday. (AP)

SEOUL (TIP): North Korea is seeking to arrest those responsible for the failed launch of its second naval destroyer, as it denied the warship suffered major damage — a claim quickly met with outside skepticism.
A statement from North Korea on its handling of the botched launch came after leader Kim Jong Un expressed fury over an incident that he said was caused by criminal negligence.
The the main military committee said on Friday that those responsible would be held responsible for an “unpardonable criminal act.”
Satellite imagery on the site showed vessel lying on its side and draped in blue covers, with parts of it submerged.
North Korea says it’ll take about 10 days to repair its damage, but outside observers question that timeframe because damage to the ship appeared much worse than what North Korea claims.
Here is what you need to know about the failed ship launch:
How much damage was there to the ship?
North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, said Friday that the severity of the damage to the 5,000-ton-class destroyer was “not serious” as it cancelled an earlier assessment that the bottom of the hull had been left with holes.
It said the hull on the starboard side was scratched and some seawater had flowed into the stern section. But it said it’ll take a total of 10 days to pump up the seawater, set the ship upright and fix the scratches.
It’s almost impossible to verify the assessment because of the extremely secretive nature of North Korea. It has a history of manipulating or covering up military-related setbacks, policy fiascoes and other mishaps, though it has periodically acknowledged some in recent years.
Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said the North Korean warship likely suffered much worse damage, including the flooding of its engine room located in the stern section, and holes in the starboard. He said North Korea could simply set the ship upright, paint it and claim the ship has been launched, but that repairs could take more than a year as the replacement of an engine requires cutting the hull.
According to the North Korean account, the destroyer was damaged when a transport cradle on the ship’s stern detached early during a launch ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin on Wednesday.
Moon Keun-sik, a navy expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University, said North Korean workers are probably not familiar with launching a 5,000-ton-class warship, which is nearly three times heavier than its existing main navy ships. (AP)

BEIJING (TIP): China said Thursday it was ready to “expand practical cooperation” with the Russian army, after President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow for a lavish World War II Victory Day parade.
The two countries have drawn closer in recent years, including since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Xi’s trip to Russia last week drew ire from Kyiv’s allies, who have accused Beijing of giving Moscow economic and political cover to wage a war of aggression. Beijing says it is a neutral party to the conflict and has made indefatigable efforts for peace.

On Thursday, in response to a question linked to Xi’s visit asking how China would promote military-to-military ties with Russia, the defence ministry said the relationship was “operating at a high level.”
“The Chinese military stands ready to work with the Russian side to further deepen strategic mutual trust, step up strategic communication, and expand practical cooperation,” defence ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said in a response posted to social media platform WeChat.
The moves would “enrich the content of China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era”, Jiang said.
He added that they would also “contribute to maintaining and strengthening global strategic stability.”
After a lengthy meeting with President Vladimir Putin on his trip, Xi said China’s ties with Russia brought “positive energy” to a turbulent world. He added that both nations stood firm against “hegemonic bullying” — an apparent swipe at the United States.
Putin, for his part, told reporters he and Xi had held “traditionally warm, friendly” talks and addressed the Chinese leader as his “dear friend.” (AFP)

WARSAW (TIP): A war next door in Ukraine.Migration pressure at borders. Russian sabotage across the region. Doubts about the US commitment to Europe’s security. In Poland’s presidential election Sunday, security looms large. So do questions about the country’s strength as a democracy and its place in the European Union. One of the new president’s most important tasks will be maintaining strong ties with the United States, widely seen as essential to the survival of a country in an increasingly volatile neighborhood.
A crowded field, a likely runoff
Voters in this Central European nation of 38 million people will cast ballots to replace conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda, whose second and final five-year term ends in August.
With 13 candidates, a decisive first-round victory is unlikely. Some have appeared unserious or extreme, expressing openly pro-Putin or antisemitic views. A televised debate this week dragged on for nearly four hours. There are calls to raise the threshold to qualify for the race.
A runoff on June 1 is widely expected, with polls pointing to a likely showdown between Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023.
Poland’s geography gives the election added importance. Bordering Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, Belarus and war-torn Ukraine — as well as several Western allies — Poland occupies a critical position along NATO’s eastern flank and serves as a key logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine.
Fears are rising that if Russia prevails in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it could target other countries that freed themselves from Moscow’s control some 35 years ago. Against that backdrop, the election will shape Warsaw’s foreign policy at a moment of mounting strain on trans-Atlantic unity and European defense.
Both leading candidates support continued US military engagement in Europe. Trzaskowski puts greater emphasis on deepening ties with the European Union, while Nawrocki is more skeptical of Brussels and promotes a nationalist agenda.
When Law and Justice held power, it repeatedly clashed with EU institutions over judicial independence, media freedom and migration.
Why the presidency matters
While Poland is a parliamentary democracy, the presidency wields significant influence. The president serves as commander-in-chief, holds veto power, shapes foreign policy and plays a symbolic role in national discourse.
Under Duda, the office largely advanced the conservative agenda of Law and Justice. Since Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist coalition came to power in late 2023, Duda has blocked key reforms aimed at restoring judicial independence and repairing relations with the EU. (AP)

ISTANBUL (TIP): A low-ranking Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday, while a Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and including other senior government figures landed in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was not part of the Moscow delegation, according to a list released by the Kremlin Wednesday night, prompting criticism from Western officials that the Kremlin isn’t serious about the peace effort.
Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, will lead the Russian team that will also include three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the talks.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy challenged the Russian leader to meet in person in Turkey to talk about ending the more than three-year war. Zelenskyy said he would travel to Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and wait for Putin.
Also in the Ukrainian delegation are Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and the head of the Ukrainian presidential office Andriy Yermak, the official said.
He spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons as the team had not yet arrived in Ankara.
“Now, after three years of immense suffering, there is finally a window of opportunity,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a NATO meeting taking place separately in Turkey. “The talks in Istanbul hopefully may open a new chapter.”
But Zelenskyy will sit at the table only with Putin, Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said.
Details about whether, when and where the Ukrainian delegation might meet their Russian counterparts are still unclear but is expected to be clarified after Zelenskyy and Erdogan meet, according to a Ukrainian official who requested anonymity to speak openly about the day’s plan.
Tass said that the talks were to take place in a presidential office on the Bosporus. (AFP)

DEIR AL-BALAH (tip): Israeli airstrikes pounded northern and southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 70 people, including almost two dozen children, according to hospitals and health officials, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “no way” he would halt Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory before Hamas is defeated.
At least 50 people, including 22 children, were killed in strikes around Jabaliya in northern Gaza alone, according to hospitals and Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The strikes came after Hamas on Monday released an Israeli-American hostage, a gesture that some thought could lay the groundwork for a ceasefire, and as US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia during a multi-day trip to Gulf countries.
Israel’s military refused to comment on the strikes. It warned Jabaliya residents to evacuate late Tuesday, citing militant infrastructure in the area, including rocket launchers.
In Jabaliya, rescue workers smashed through collapsed concrete slabs using hand tools, lit by the light of cellphones, to remove children’s bodies.
In comments released by Netanyahu’s office Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission…It means destroying Hamas.”
There had been widespread hope that Trump’s visit to the Middle East could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The war began when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in a 2023 intrusion into southern Israel. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 52,928 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. Almost 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a ceasefire on March 18, the ministry said.
Israel’s offensive has obliterated vast swathes of Gaza’s urban landscape and displaced 90% of the population, often multiple times.
Israeli media reported that one target in a strike on a hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday was Mohammed Sinwar, younger brother of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces last October.
The military would not comment beyond saying it had targeted a Hamas “command and control center” which it said was located beneath the European Hospital.
Mohammed Sinwar is believed to be Hamas’ top military leader in Gaza. Israel has tried to assassinate him multiple times over the past decades.
A senior health official in Gaza said Wednesday that ambulances were no longer able to reach the hospital due to damage from the strike, which had also forced the facility to suspend surgical operations. (AP)

HO CHI MINH CITY (TIP): Chinese, Laotian and Cambodian troops marched behind Vietnamese army formations, including some wearing uniforms similar to what was worn by northern Vietnamese troops during the war.
Helicopters carrying the national flag and jets flew over the parade near Independence Palace, where a North Vietnamese tank smashed through the gates on the final day of the war.
Sitting next to Vietnam’s leader were Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and Laotian Communist Party General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith.
To Lam said beyond a victory over the U.S. and South Vietnam, the fall of Saigon was a “glorious landmark” that ended a 30-year fight for independence that began with the fight to oust French colonial troops.
He said Vietnam owes its position in the world today to support from the Soviet Union, China and solidarity from Laos and Cambodia, as well as “progressive” people all over the world including the U.S., he said.
Vietnam’s changing global approach
The emphasis on reconciliation and not, like previous years, on military victory reflected how Vietnam was approaching the changing tides of the global economy and geopolitics today, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. He added that the Vietnam War remains central to how the Communist Party framed its legitimacy, not just as a military triumph but also as a symbol of national unity. But To Lam’s comments underlined that the reconciliation remains unfinished.
“The war still defines Vietnam’s unity, and its unresolved divides,” Giang said.
For Pham Ngoc Son, a veteran who fought for the communists, today there is “only space for peace and friendship” between the U.S. and Vietnam.
“The war is over a long time ago,” said the 69-year-old who, during the war, served as an army truck driver bringing troops and supplies from the north to the south along the Ho Chi Minh trail — the secret supply route used by North Vietnam.
Passage of time has led to improved relations with U.S.
This year also marks the 30-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the U.S.
In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the U.S. to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, the highest diplomatic status it gives to any country and the same level of relations as China and Russia.
There are new signs of strain in the relationship with Washington, however, with President Donald Trump’s imposition of heavy tariffs and the cancellation of much foreign aid, which has affected war remediation efforts in Vietnam.
Vietnamese officials say the relationship with the U.S. is anchored in American efforts to address war legacies such as Agent Orange contamination and unexploded ordnance in the countryside that still threaten lives.
The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID.
Moreover, the export-dependent country is vulnerable in a global economy made fragile amid Trump’s tariff plans.
Vietnam was slammed with reciprocal tariffs of 46%, one of the highest. This puts a “big question mark” on what the U.S. wants to achieve in Asia, said Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think tank.
Previously, close ties with Washington have helped Vietnam balance its relations with its much larger and more powerful neighbor China, she said.
Vietnam is one of the countries, along with the Philippines, that has been involved in direct confrontations with China over conflicting maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Focus on economic and not strategic competition may mean that Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia become less important for the U.S.
“It really will be shaping up (on) how the new administration sees the strategic picture in the Indo-Pacific and where countries like Vietnam would fit in,” she said. (AP)

BEIJING (TIP): China on Friday said it is assessing whether to start trade talks with the US on tariff reductions following recent approaches by Washington, a move that would possibly ease the tit-for-tit tariff war between the world’s two largest economies.
“China is making assessments as the United States has recently reached out to convey messages to China through relevant parties many times, expressing hope to engage in talks with Beijing over tariff issues,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement here. “The tariff and trade wars were unilaterally initiated by the United States. If the US wants to negotiate, it must demonstrate sincerity, and make preparations and take concrete actions on issues such as correcting its erroneous practices and lifting the unilateral tariffs,” the statement by its spokesperson said.
US President Donald Trump slapped 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese exports.
Later the White House said tariffs on Chinese goods amounted to 245 per cent.
Beijing retaliated by imposing 125 per cent levies on US exports.
China has been denying any talks with the US on tariffs while Trump said talks were on and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to him.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied any such talks between the two Presidents.
Both the US and China have been steadily increasing tariffs on each other’s goods since the US raised tariffs on dozens of countries.
China now faces 245 per cent taxes on exports to the US, while other countries were given a 90-day reprieve for most duties.
On April 16, China appointed a new top international negotiator after Trump said the ball is in Beijing’s court to work out a deal to end the tariff deadlock.
According to a fact sheet issued on April 16, the White House said, more than 75 countries have already reached out to discuss new trade deals.
As a result, the individualised higher tariffs are currently paused amid these discussions, except for China, which retaliated.
China is the only country to have retaliated with tit-for-tat levies.
For China, the US is the third largest export market.
Despite China putting a brave front, there is considerable concern here about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on China’s economy, which is struggling with slowdown due to falling exports, low domestic consumption and collapse of the housing market. (pti)

Darfur, Sudan (TIP): At least 542 civilians have been confirmed killed in Sudan’s North Darfur region in the past three weeks, the United Nations said Thursday, warning the actual death toll was likely “much higher”. “The horror unfolding in Sudan knows no bounds,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement, referring to the country’s ongoing civil war.
Darfur in particular has become a key battleground in the war that erupted on April 15, 2023 between the regular army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The war has left tens of thousands dead and triggered what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises. The battle for El-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur to elude RSF control, has intensified in recent weeks as the paramilitaries have sought to compensate for their loss of the capital Khartoum last month.
Turk pointed to an attack three days ago by the RSF on El-Fasher and the Abu Shouk camp that killed at least 40 civilians.
“This brings the confirmed number of civilians killed in North Darfur to at least 542 in just the last three weeks,” he said.
“The actual death toll is likely much higher.” He also cited “the ominous warning by the RSF of ‘bloodshed’ ahead of imminent battles with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their associated armed movements.”
“Everything must be done to protect civilians trapped amid dire conditions in and around El-Fasher.”
Turk also highlighted “reports of extrajudicial executions in Khartoum state”, which he described as “extremely disturbing”.
“Horrific videos circulating on social media show at least 30 men in civilian clothing being rounded up and executed by armed men in RSF uniforms in Al-Salha in southern Omdurman,” he said, adding that in a subsequent video, “an RSF field commander acknowledged the killings.”
Those videos came after “shocking reports in recent weeks of the extrajudicial execution of dozens of people accused of collaborating with the RSF in southern Khartoum, allegedly committed by the Al-Baraa Brigade”, a pro-SAF militia, Turk said.
“Deliberately taking the life of a civilian or anyone no longer directly taking part in hostilities is a war crime,” he insisted.
The UN rights chief said he had “personally alerted both leaders of the RSF and SAF to the catastrophic human rights consequences of this war”.
“These harrowing consequences are a daily, lived reality for millions of Sudanese. It is well past time for this conflict to stop.” (AFP)

DAMASCUS (TIP): Israel’s air force struck near Syria’s presidential palace early Friday hours after warning Syrian authorities not to march toward villages inhabited by members of a minority sect in southern Syria. The strike came after days of clashes between pro-Syrian government gunmen and fighters who belong to the Druze minority sect near the capital, Damascus. The clashes left dozens of people dead or wounded.
Friday’s strike was Israel’s second on Syria this week, and attacking an area close to the presidential palace appears to send a strong warning to Syria’s new leadership that is mostly made up of Islamist groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
On Thursday, Syria’s Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri harshly criticized Syria’s government for what he called an “unjustified genocidal attack” on the minority community.
The Israeli army said that fighter jets struck adjacent to the area of the Palace of President Hussein al-Sharaa in Damascus. Its statement gave no further details. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strike was a message to Syrian leaders. “This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow a withdrawal of forces from south of Damascus and any danger to the Druze community,” their joint statement said.
Pro-government Syrian media outlets said the strike hit close to the People’s Palace on a hill overlooking the city.
The clashes broke out around midnight Monday after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticizing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric. But cleric Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio, which angered many Sunni Muslims.
Syria’s Information Ministry said 11 members of the country’s security forces were killed in two separate attacks, while Britain-based war monitor The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 56 people in Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana were killed in clashes, among them local gunmen and security forces.
The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria, largely in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus.
Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. (AP)

PARIS (TIP): France’s parliamentary speaker has written of her “immense disappointment” over the methods used by President Emmanuel Macron — an ally — during his almost eight years in power.
Yael Braun-Pivet, a senior figure in Macron’s centrist party, expressed the view in a book published on Thursday, becoming one of the first figures within the ruling elite to air such grievances publicly.
Her book, “A ma place” (“In my Place”), covers the challenges she faced on becoming the first woman speaker of the National Assembly and the sexism she had to overcome — as well as her assessment of the president’s style of rule.
“While I have immense respect for Emmanuel Macron, I can’t help but also feel immense disappointment over the method,” said Braun-Pivet.
“From the very beginning, there were insiders from the palace who managed to take control more easily by restricting access for others,” she said.
Such complaints have long circulated in Paris about Macron, but behind the scenes, never published openly by a Macron ally such as Braun-Pivet.
She accuses Macron’s powerful chief of staff Alexis Kohler of seeking to convince her not to stand for the post of speaker, followed by then prime minister Elisabeth Borne.
In 2017, a close Macron ally, Stephane Sejourne, who would later become a foreign minister and is now an EU commissioner, tried to insist she not take a position at the head of a parliamentary commission, invoking sexist arguments including that she would not have time for her five children, she alleged.
In the book, Braun-Pivet gives no concrete hint over whether she could stand in France’s 2027 presidential elections, in which Macron cannot compete because of a two-term limit.
But she stated that “women need to take the lead,” and said she is determined to “fight… so that the Republican promise is kept for everyone”.
Her intervention comes at a delicate time for Macron, who is seeking to regain fresh momentum domestically and internationally ahead of his final two years in office.
In a major change, Kohler is stepping down from the post he held since the head of state was first elected in 2017.
A series of articles in Le Monde in late 2024 accused Macron of making racist, homophobic and sexist remarks behind closed doors at the Elysee. His office vehemently rejected the allegations in the articles. (AP)