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Today’s news briefs include Russia bombs children’s hospital; India and Russia; Housing slump and more.
Russia bombs Ukrainian Children’s hospital
Russia launched dozens of missiles at cities across Ukraine on Monday in an attack that targeted a children’s hospital and residential buildings, and killed at least 30 people in Kyiv, officials said. The rare day-time Russian barrage came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was out of the country and expected to meet NATO officials who are departing for a meeting in Washington DC. The Ukrainian Air Force said the attack included Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, one of the most advanced weapons in the Russian arsenal, according to CBS News.
French left prevents the right’s takeover
A last-minute coalition on the left that ahead of France’s snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in Sunday’s vote. The surprise result put President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. The lack of majority for any single alliance has now plunged France into political and economic turmoil as Macron has lost control of parliament. With no clarity about who might partner with Macron as prime minister in governing Europe’s second largest economy. He faces the prospect of leading the country alongside a prime minister opposed to most of his domestic policies.
India moving closer to Russia
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives Monday in Moscow for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, a sign of the growing relationship between the two countries, CNN reports. India’s Ministry of External Affairs says Modi and Putin will “exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest.” India remains heavily reliant on the Kremlin for military equipment — a vital link given its ongoing tensions along its shared Himalayan border with China — and has ramped up purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, giving Putin’s nation a major financial lifeline as it faces isolation from the West.
Housing slump continues
The AP reports the housing market shows few signs of recovering from its three-year “funk” after a disappointing spring season and amid a gloomy outlook for the summer and fall. “Home shoppers came into 2024 with optimism that mortgage rates would ease further after a decline late last year.” Those hopes faded as inflation remains a huge issue and uncertainty of a possible rate cut by the Federal Reserve. By April, the average rate on a 30-year home loan moved above 7% for the first time since November. That, plus record-high home prices, forced many would-be homebuyers to put their house hunt on hold — some indefinitely.
–Dwight Widaman and wire services
