Global Power Shifts: EU Debates, Netanyahu's Moves, Farage's Agenda

This material covers a wide array of key events shaping global politics. EU leaders are setting future policies, Netanyahu disbands his war cabinet, and Nigel Farage reveals his party's election plans. Additionally, there are updates on Russia-U.S. prisoner talks, Australia-China relations, and other significant global interactions.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

EU leaders to discuss top jobs with line-up seemingly set

European Union leaders will debate policy goals for the next five years from defence to the economy, and who to place in top EU jobs, when they convene in Brussels on Monday. The informal meeting will be the first leaders gathering since the European Parliament election, which proved good for the centre-right and right-wing nationalists, but humiliating for French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Netanyahu disbands his inner war cabinet, Israeli official says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the six-member war cabinet, an Israeli official said on Monday, in a widely expected move that came after the departure from government of the centrist former general Benny Gantz. Netanyahu is now expected to hold consultations about the Gaza war with a small group of ministers, including Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer who had been in the war cabinet.

'Join the revolt': UK's Farage to lay out election policies

Nigel Farage, whose entry into the British election has damaged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's already faint hopes of victory, will on Monday set out his Reform UK party's policies, saying they should form the opposition to a Labour government. Farage is one of Britain's most recognisable and divisive politicians and has pressured successive governments into more aggressive stances on cutting immigration. He played a pivotal role in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.

Russia in contact with U.S. over possible swap for WSJ reporter Gershkovich, Kremlin says

The Kremlin said on Monday that contacts had taken place with the United States over a possible prisoner exchange involving Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich but that they should remain far from the media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted President Vladimir Putin's remarks earlier this month at a meeting with senior international news agency editors. Putin said then that Russia and the United States were in contact on the issue.

Australia's Albanese, China's Li hold talks on trade, rights

Australia and China will take steps to improve military communication to avoid incidents, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after meeting Premier Li Qiang on Monday, in the first visit to the country by a Chinese premier in seven years. The visit by Li, China's top-ranked official after President Xi Jinping, marks a stabilisation in relations between the U.S. security ally and the world's second-biggest economy, after a frosty period of Beijing blocking $20 billion in Australian exports and friction over defence encounters.

Serbia's parliament speaker seeks debate over Rio Tinto's lithium project

Serbia's parliament speaker and former prime minister Ana Brnabic on Monday sought a debate and approval in the assembly for a contested Rio Tinto lithium project in the Balkan country. Regarded as a critical material by the EU and the United States, lithium is used in batteries for EVs and mobile devices.

Russia's Putin to visit Vietnam, sparking US rebuke of Hanoi

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Hanoi this week, Vietnamese and Russian state media said on Monday, highlighting Communist-ruled Vietnam's loyalty to Russia and triggering a U.S. rebuke. The visit follows Hanoi avoiding a Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland last weekend, while sending its deputy foreign minister to a BRICS meeting in Russia earlier last week.

Kremlin says NATO chief's nuclear weapons remarks are an escalation

The Kremlin said on Monday that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's remarks about talks on deploying more nuclear weapons were an escalation. NATO is in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons, taking them out of storage and placing them on standby, in the face of a growing threat from Russia and China, Stoltenberg told The Telegraph newspaper.

Gaza hostilities continue despite Israeli armed forces announcement, UNRWA chief says

Hostilities continue in Rafah and southern Gaza despite the Israeli military's announcement on Sunday of tactical pauses in operations to allow humanitarian aid to enter, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Oslo on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized plans announced by the military to hold daily pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into the Palestinian enclave.

Campaigning kicks off in France for snap election

Campaigning kicked off on Monday for France's snap parliamentary election which opinion polls suggest the far-right National Rally will win, with President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance coming third, behind a leftwing ticket. Political uncertainty has triggered heavy selling of French bonds and stocks after Macron unexpectedly called the election, following a trouncing of his ruling centrist party by Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) in European Parliament elections.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)