France’s National Rally and its allies won a record 14 seats in the 348-member Senate in the Sept. 27 elections, allowing them to form a caucus for the first time. Co-leader Marine Le Pen called the result a “historic victory” and said the party’s senators would play a key role in the presidential campaign.

French politicsNational RallySenate election

The French Senate election largely left the balance of power in the upper house unchanged, but produced two firsts: a future National Rally-UDR group and France Unbowed’s symbolic arrival in the Luxembourg Palace.

FranceSenate electionNational RallyFrance Unbowed

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Lourdes during a four-day visit to France. Worshippers call the occasion emotional and unforgettable, with some saying his presence gives people unable to travel a rare chance to meet him.

Pope Leo XIVLourdesMass

Oxford Catholic Church historian Miles Pattenden says Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France reflects a broader recalibration of the papacy. While Francis focused on the Church’s peripheries and the needs of the Global South, Leo is subtly bringing Europe’s historic Catholic heartlands back into focus, with France especially significant.

Pope Leo XIVFrance visitCatholic Church

Thousands of pilgrims gathered in Lourdes on Sunday evening for a candlelit procession with Pope Leo XIV. The event marked the end of his four-day visit to France, while 150,000 people attended Mass.

Pope Leo XIVLourdespilgrimsMass

Eight US Marines were reportedly injured after an Iranian missile struck a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

IranUnited StatesStrait of Hormuzmissile strike

Treasury selling resumed Monday as oil prices rallied after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, heightening inflation concerns.

Treasuriesoil pricesIranStrait of Hormuz

Oil prices rebounded above $105 after Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal for peace over the Strait of Hormuz.

oil pricesDonald TrumpIranStrait of Hormuz

Abbas Araghchi warns that Tehran is fully prepared for war after Washington rejected a seven-day roadmap aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran warStrait of Hormuzdiplomatic talks

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump turned down an Iranian peace proposal intended to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil pricesDonald TrumpIranStrait of Hormuz

The Chinese president’s state visit to Washington appears to have generated more personal diplomacy than concrete breakthroughs.

US-China relationsstate visitdiplomacy

The Chinese president’s state visit to Washington appears to have generated more personal diplomacy than substantive breakthroughs.

ChinaUnited Statesstate visitdiplomacy

Ukraine says a massive Russian drone barrage on 27 September killed 14 people and injured 57, damaging schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure in Kyiv and Odesa.

UkraineRussian drone strikesKyivOdesa

Russian strikes killed eight people across Ukraine on Sunday, according to authorities, a day after Moscow pledged to press on with the war. Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched around 3,900 drones, aerial bombs and missiles over the past week. Ukraine accused Moscow of deliberately hitting civilians as winter nears.

Russia-Ukraine warRussian strikesUkrainecivilian casualties

Russian forces continued drone and missile attacks on Kyiv for a fourth consecutive night. Air defenses shot down a Russian drone over central Kyiv, with debris falling in Podil; debris was also reported in Dnipro and Darnytskyi districts. Officials said two people were injured, while emergency crews responded to a fire.

Russia-Ukraine warKyivdrone attacksmissile strikes

Russia’s Federal Security Service says former model Ksenia Maximova, who heads a London-based Russian émigré organization, has been placed on federal and international wanted lists. A criminal case alleges her participation in an organization designated as terrorist, while the FSB accuses her group of fundraising and other assistance for the Kyiv regime.

Russiainternational wanted listextremism allegations

The United States and China have released lists of goods eligible for proposed tariff reductions covering $60bn in trade, with $30bn in imports from each side. The lists include 77 Chinese products and more than 1,600 US products, though an analyst said they were unlikely to significantly alter overall trade flows.

US-China tradetariffsDonald TrumpXi Jinping

The United States and China agreed to reciprocal tariff cuts covering $30 billion of goods after the Trump-Xi summit.

US-China tradetariffsDonald TrumpXi Jinping

The US and China published lists covering $30 billion worth of goods whose tariffs they plan to cut, but gave no details on the size of the reductions.

USChinatariffstrade

The US released details of a plan reached with China to reduce tariffs on roughly $30 billion of imports from each country after a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

United StatesChinatariffstrade deal

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to launch its massive Starship rocket early Monday in a historic test flight aimed at reaching orbit for the first time.

SpaceXStarshiporbital flight

SpaceX plans to conduct Starship’s 14th test flight on Monday. If successful, it would be the first Starship to orbit Earth and the farthest one to fly, completing about six orbits during a 10-hour mission. Previous test flights have had many ups and downs.

SpaceXStarshiptest flight

Hundreds of supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado rallied in Caracas and other cities, demanding her safe return and presidential elections that could enable a democratic transition. Machado has lived in exile for nine months, while her party says repeated attempts to return have failed; the government denies blocking her.

VenezuelaMaria Corina Machadooppositionpresidential elections