President Emmanuel Macron has named close ally Sébastien Lecornu as new French prime minister.

This was 24 hours after a vote of confidence ousted François Bayrou as head of his government.

Lecornu, 39, was among the favourites to take over the job, and has spent the past three years as armed forces minister, with a focus on France’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In a statement the Elysée Palace said he had been given the task of consulting political parties with the aim of adopting France’s next budget.

Bayrou had visited the president hours earlier to hand in his resignation, paving the way for Lecornu to become the fifth prime minister of Macron’s second term as president.

Lecornu will face the same challenges as his predecessor, including getting a cost-cutting budget past parliament without a majority.

France has a spiralling public debt, which hit €3.3tn (£2.8tn) earlier this year and represents 114% of the country’s economic output or GDP.

Bayrou had proposed €44bn in budget cuts, and his decision to put his plans to a vote of confidence was always going to fail.

In the end France’s National Assembly decided to oust his government by 364 votes to 194.

Lecornu’s appointment has already been condemned by parties on both the left and right, an indication of the difficulties he will face.

(BBC News)

Israel has carried out a targeted strike against senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, marking a dramatic escalation in regional tensions and the first known Israeli military action on Qatari soil.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the operation in a statement posted on X, stating it had “conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.” While the post did not explicitly name Doha, a senior Israeli official confirmed the location of the strike.

Footage circulating on social media showed smoke rising above parts of Doha, with multiple explosions reportedly heard in the city. The Qatari Foreign Ministry swiftly condemned the strike, describing it as a “cowardly Israeli attack” that targeted residential buildings housing members of Hamas’s political bureau. Officials called it “a blatant violation of all international laws and norms.”

A second Israeli official said the strike had been coordinated with the United States. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office insisted the attack was entirely an Israeli initiative, stating on X: “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”

Hamas leaders have long operated out of Qatar, which has also served as a key mediator in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, particularly over efforts to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attacks.

The IDF emphasized that it used “precise munitions and additional intelligence” to minimize civilian casualties during the operation.

The U.S. Embassy in Doha issued a security alert following reports of missile strikes in the city, urging American citizens to shelter in place and monitor official channels for updates.

The unprecedented Israeli strike inside the Gulf state represents a significant shift in the dynamics of the ongoing conflict and threatens to further destabilize an already volatile Middle East.

German police suspect a politically motivated arson attack after two high-voltage pylons caught fire in the Johannisthal neighbourhood of south-eastern Berlin, causing a widespread power outage affecting thousands.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Tuesday on Königsheideweg street, with emergency services alerted around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT). Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze within an hour, but the flames caused significant damage to thick electrical cables on the pylons.

A police spokesman confirmed that criminal investigators are currently at the scene, examining evidence which suggests the use of an accelerant in the attack.

Authorities believe the deliberate nature of the incident and the choice of target point to extremist involvement, though the political affiliation of the perpetrators remains unclear.

The power cut has impacted approximately 43,000 households and 3,000 businesses across several districts including Altglienicke, Grünau, Adlershof, Spindlersfeld, Alt-Johannisthal, and Oberschöneweide. Restoration of electricity supply is expected to take some time, according to fire brigade officials.

The outage has also disrupted local tram services and traffic lights, complicating movement and safety in the affected areas.

Emergency teams were dispatched to two nursing homes, where several patients were transferred to nearby hospitals as a precaution.

Police continue to investigate the incident as part of a broader effort to understand the motive and bring those responsible to justice.