On Sunday, Javier Milei’s party suffered a crushing defeat in local elections in the capital of Buenos Aires, less than two years into his term of office. The results, announced on Sunday, put the left-wing challenger at 47.4%, far ahead of Milei’s candidate, Diego Valenzuela, who got 34 percent of the vote.
On Monday, Norwegians headed to the polls to elect the country’s next parliament. Results showed that Norway’s Labour Party won a second term, with incumbent Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s Labour and four smaller, left-leaning parties winning 87 seats, above the 85 needed for a majority, with 99 per cent of ballots counted. Despite the left’s victory, Monday’s ballot showed a shift further to the right among conservative voters, with the populist, anti-immigration Progress Party of Sylvi Listhaug, 47, making its best-ever showing in an election. Progress secured 48 seats in the 169-seat parliament, more than double its allocation from four years ago, as the party’s promise of significant tax cuts appeared to have resonated with many voters.
On Tuesday, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, was officially inaugurated. The project, announced in 2011, was completed despite strong protest from Ethiopia’s northern neighbours, Sudan and Egypt, which depend on the Nile for water and agriculture. GERD, located on the Blue Nile, is 14km away from the Sudanese border and has an installed capacity of 5.15 gigawatts. Last week, Sudan and Egypt released a joint statement calling Ethiopia’s actions “unilateral” and saying the dam posed a “continuous threat to stability”. In the past, Egypt has threatened military action on the dam.
On Tuesday, Israel confirmed it targeted senior Hamas leadership in Qatar after explosions were reported in Doha. It seems the target of the strike was Hamas’ Qatar-based leader Khalil al-Hayya. Al-Hayya survived the strike, but his son, Hammam, was killed. Israeli jets fired air-launched ballistic missiles over the Red Sea, which struck the target. The U.S. military picked up the jets and missiles on its radars in the region and alerted President Trump, who had a warning sent to the Qataris.
On Wednesday, after Russian drones entered Polish airspace overnight, Poland said it would invoke NATO Article 4 to consult with other members over the threat to its territorial integrity. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that there were 19 aerial incursions into Polish airspace overnight, with at least four Russian drones shot down within its territory.
On Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen gave a fiery speech to EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France. Here are some quotes from that speech: “Europe is in a fight,” she said. “A fight for our values and our democracies. A fight for our liberty and our ability to determine our destiny for ourselves. Make no mistake — this is a fight for our future.” “Battle lines for a new world order based on power are being drawn right now,” she said, adding that the EU “must fight for its place in a world in which many major powers are either ambivalent or openly hostile to Europe.”
On Thursday, Britain’s embattled prime minister, Keir Starmer, fired his ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson has described Epstein as his “best pal,” and has supported Epstein after his conviction in 2008 for prostitution charges.
On Thursday, Belarus freed 52 prisoners, and they crossed into Lithuania, the Lithuanian president said. Among those released were 14 foreigners - six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, two Germans, one French national and one UK national - according to the Belarusian presidency’s press service.
On Friday, Russia and Belarus launched their Zapad 2025 joint military exercise. The exercise will last until Tuesday. There are around 6500 soldiers taking part; an exact breakdown of troops is not available at this time.
On Saturday, Romania said a Russian drone breached Romanian airspace during an attack on Ukraine. In response, Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets, but did not shoot down the drone, which was over Romania for 50 minutes before heading back into Ukraine. On Sunday, Romania summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the incursion.