Jun 2, 2024

This summary of global news covers the ANC's refusal to replace Ramaphosa for a coalition, Australia's diminishing trust in the U.S., Netanyahu's acceptance of Biden's Gaza plan, and Zelenskiy calling for support at a security conference. Other key stories include Mexicans voting for their first female president and Iceland electing Halla Tomasdottir. Reuters | Updated: 02-06-2024 18:27 IST | Created: 02-06-2024 18:27 IST SHARE South Africa's ANC says it won't ditch Ramaphosa to form coalition South Africa's once dominant African National Congress acknowledged that it had been humbled by an election that ended its 30-year majority but vowed not to replace President Cyril Ramaphosa as a condition to forming a new governing coalition. Official results from Wednesday's vote, due on Sunday evening, will confirm the end of the ANC's unchallenged grip on political power and start the clock on a race to strike a deal with one or more opposition parties. Australian trust in US fell, but security alliance vital, says poll An annual poll of how Australians view foreign relations showed trust in the United States has dipped, although most (83%) saw the U.S. alliance as important for security, and 63% said it makes Australia safer from attack or pressure from China. Cyberattacks from other nations were seen as the top threat (70%), while concern over potential conflicts over Taiwan (59%) and the South China Sea (57%) also loomed large. Netanyahu aide: Biden's Gaza plan 'not a good deal' but Israel accepts it An aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israel had accepted a framework deal for winding down the Gaza war now being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden, though he described it as flawed and in need of much more work. In an interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu, said Biden's proposal was "a deal we agreed to — it's not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them". Ukraine's Zelenskiy dominates Asia security conference as China, Taiwan trade barbs Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskiy's unscheduled appearance at Asia's biggest security conference dominated proceedings on Sunday after China's defence chief slammed "separatists" in Taiwan, drawing a sharp response from the government in Taipei. Dressed in his trademark olive green T-shirt, Zelenskiy addressed the last day of the Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore, asking for support and participation at a summit in Switzerland later this month aimed at bringing peace to his war-ravaged nation. Australia seeks military talks with China, ties with Philippines Australia has asked for military talks with China and is comfortable growing closer to the Philippines, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. China and the Philippines are locked in confrontation in the disputed South China Sea and their encounters have grown more tense as Beijing presses its claims to shoals in waters that Manila says are well within its exclusive economic zone. South Africa's potential kingmakers struggle with white image Looking out of his window at Cape Town's False Bay, Nick Searra acknowledges that things do work better in South Africa's second biggest city, a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). But that doesn't mean he is ready to see the party or its 48-year-old leader John Steenhuisen running the rest of the country. At Shangri-La Dialogue, Ukraine's allies - and Zelenskiy - push for more defence aid Ukraine's allies will step up to provide military assistance as the country weathers attacks by Russia, officials said at the Shangri-La Dialogue global defence forum in Singapore, where Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskiy was a surprise visitor. More than two years after Russia invaded, Kyiv faces renewed assaults on its territory, particularly in the region around the northeastern city of Kharkiv. A greater flow of artillery ammunition has strengthened defences there, but more is needed - particularly surface-to-air missiles, said Germany's chief of defence, General Carsten Breuer. Mexicans vote in election seen crowning first female president Mexicans will vote in national elections on Sunday with the ruling party candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, commanding a hefty lead in the polls and expected to become the country's first female president. Sheinbaum's mentor and popular outgoing president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has loomed over the campaign, seeking to turn the vote into a referendum on his political project that Sheinbaum, a leftist, has vowed to continue. Iceland elects businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir as new president, beating former PM Halla Tomasdottir, an entrepreneur, has won Iceland's presidential election and will take over the mostly ceremonial role from incumbent Gudni Johannesson, broadcaster RUV reported on Sunday. Tomasdottir, 55, received 34% of the votes cast in Saturday's election in the North Atlantic nation, to beat former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, who stepped down as premier in April to run for president. She garnered 25% of votes, according to RUV. Rescue worker dies in southern Germany floods A firefighter died while trying to rescue residents trapped by major flooding in southern Germany after heavy rain that was expected to continue throughout Sunday. The man, 42, was in a rescue boat carrying four firefighters that capsized late on Saturday. His body was recovered early on Sunday, said a spokesperson for the Bavarian town of Pfaffenbach an der Ilm, around 50 km (30 miles) north of Munich. (This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) READ MORE ON: