Happy Wednesday and welcome to your morning wrap of the latest political and business headlines from around the world.
First up, Israel has struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Associated Press reported.
Qatar is a US ally and host to the largest US military facility in the Middle East. It has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.
Qatar condemned what it referred to as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” as smoke rose over its capital, Doha.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to publicly claim the strike. “Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it and Israel takes full responsibility.”
He said the decision was taken after a shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed six people and an attack on Israeli forces in Gaza that killed four soldiers.
AP reported that the US was alerted before the attack but American officials sought to distance themselves from the strike. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Donald Trump believed the strike did not advance peace in the region.
Al Jazeera reported that Hamas had confirmed that its leadership survived the attack while six others, including a Qatari security officer, were killed.
Israel has long threatened to strike Hamas leaders wherever they are.
In other news, Nepal’s parliament has been set on fire after its Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned earlier this week amid anti-corruption protests.
BBC reported that crowds set fire to the parliament in Kathmandu, while government buildings and the houses of political leaders were also attacked around the country.
The demonstrations were triggered by a ban on social media platforms, which the Government said aimed to address fake news, hate speech and online fraud. The move was criticised by young people who saw it as a move to silence a growing online anti-corruption movement.
Although the ban was hastily lifted, the protests gained unstoppable momentum and turned violent. At least 19 people have died.
To France, where President Emmanuel Macron has named loyalist Sébastien Lecornu, a one-time conservative protégé who rallied behind his 2017 presidential run, as Prime Minister, defying expectations that he might choose someone from the left, Reuters reported.
Macron was forced to appoint his fifth prime minister in less than two years after parliament ousted François Bayrou nine months into the role after disagreeing with his plans to tame the country’s ballooning debt.
In handing the job to Lecornu, Macron risks alienating the Socialist Party and leaves the president and his government depending on Marine Le Pen’s far-right party for support, Reuters reported.
The Socialists’ response was scathing: "Macron naming one of his followers has the whiff of an end-of-reign,” Socialist lawmaker Philippe Brun told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Le Pen posted on X that the “president [was] firing the last shot of Macronism, holed up with his small circle of loyalists”.
Lecornu’s first job will be to forge a consensus on a budget for 2026 – a task that was his predecessor’s undoing.
Emmanuel Macron.
In business news, the health of the US economy looks to be worse than first thought, CNBC reported.
The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported that the economy added 911,000 fewer jobs than previously reported for the year ended March. Downward revisions since the cutoff date suggest that the reduction in payroll growth has been around 1.2 million for the past 16 months.
“Had Fed officials had that data available in real time, policy rates would be lower today,” wrote Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst.
He thought the data could justify a jumbo 50-basis point cut when the Federal Open Market Committee meets next week, but he expects Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will have an easier time building consensus around a 25-basis point cut with signals that rate cuts will continue at upcoming meetings.
Wall Street’s main indices climbed higher despite the news, as it solidified expectations of future rate cuts.
Jerome Powell.
Finally, tech giant Apple has unveiled its latest iPhone, which, at 5.6mm in width, is its slimmest design yet, The Guardian reported.
The iPhone Air is one of several upgrades the company unveiled at its annual product showcase. Apple executives said despite the product's thinness, it would be durable, crack-resistant and would also come with the same features as its thicker phones.
It also debuted the iPhone 17, new watches, and the latest version of earphones, which will include a live translation feature that will allow wearers to hear a translated version of a conversation with a person speaking another language.
