French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, following defeat of his party in 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections, according to local media report.

“I have decided to give you back the choice of your parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly,” Macron said in a short speech.

“This is a serious, weighty decision. But it is above all an act of trust,”
He added that the elections to the National Assembly are to take place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7.

Macron’s Renaissance party gained 15.2 per cent of the votes in 2024 European Parliament elections, far behind far-right National Rally who received 31.8 per cent.

“The unprecedented gap between the presidential majority and the leading opposition party reflects a stinging rejection of the policies led by Emmanuel Macron,” RN President Jordan Bardella said after the EP elections results were unveiled, quoted by local media.

“We’re ready for it. I call on French people to join us in forming around the RN, a majority in the service of the only cause that guides our steps: France.” parliamentary party leader of RN, Marine Le Pen, said on Sunday evening on social media platform X.

‘’The EP elections were held from June 6 to June 9, with voters of the 27 EU member states selecting 720 lawmakers to the 10th’’.

Czech President, Petr Pavel, was released from hospital on Friday for home treatment after a motorcycle mishap.

The presidential office said on Thursday that Pavel was injured while riding a motorcycle.

He was admitted to the Military University Hospital Prague “with an injury that is not serious.”

The office said on social media platform X that the president’s injury was caused by a fall from a motorcycle at a low speed while practising off-road driving on a closed circuit.

“President Pavel was released from the hospital this morning for home treatment.

“His schedule for next week remains unchanged, including the planned foreign trip,” it said.

Pavel, 62, is known for his love of riding a motorcycle.

In April, Pavel was injured in the face during a visit to the southeast Zlin Region.

He suffered a minor laceration near his eyebrows while shooting a long gun, but the injury did not require medical treatment, the local media reported.

(Xinhua/NAN)

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday refuting claims that the Sudanese government had declined to grant an entry visa to U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello.

The ministry clarified, “The Sudanese embassy in Washington or any other capital did not receive a request from Mr Perriello for an entry visa.”

Earlier reports from Sudanese local media suggested that Perriello had stated during a meeting with a Sudanese civil group in Kampala, Uganda, that the Sudanese government had denied him a visa.

Responding to these reports, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry confirmed that the Sudanese embassy in Washington contacted the U.S. State Department, which affirmed that Perriello had not made such statements.

Perriello was appointed as the U.S. special envoy for Sudan on Feb. 26, 2024, with a mandate to lead U.S. efforts to resolve the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 15, 2023.

The clashes have killed 15,550 people and displaced 8.7 million others so far, according to recent estimates by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

(Xinhua/NAN)