Macron to name new prime minister within 48 hours after deepening political crisis

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to name a new prime minister within 48 hours. This decision Wednesday follows the abrupt resignation of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Monday. Macron’s move aims to avoid snap legislative elections, which could destabilize France’s economy. Lecornu, after consulting with Parliament, found that most lawmakers prefer to avoid elections and could agree on a 2026 budget by the end of the year. Macron’s camp lacks a majority in the National Assembly, but Lecornu believes a governing coalition is still possible. Macron has not yet revealed his choice for the new prime minister.

Myanmar’s military strikes village in glider raid, killing at least 24, including children

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military carried out a paraglider strike on a village that killed at least 24 people including children, and wounded more than 50 others, according to a member of a resistance group, villagers and media reports. The Monday night attack was carried out by a motorized paraglider, and targeted a village in the country’s central Sagaing region that was celebrating a Buddhist festival that included a rally calling for the release of political prisoners held by Myanmar’s military government, the reports said. Myanmar is in a civil war that began after the army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Much of the country, including where the attack took place, is under the control of resistance forces.

Nobel Prize in chemistry goes to discovery that could trap C02 and bring water to deserts

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their development of new molecular structures that can trap vast quantities of gas inside, laying the groundwork to potentially suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere or harvest moisture from desert environments. Heiner Linke, chairperson of the committee that made the award, compared the structures called metal-organic frameworks to the seemingly bottomless magical handbag carried by Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” series. Another example might be Mary Poppins’ enchanted carpet bag. These containers look small from the outside but are able to hold surprisingly large quantities within. The committee said Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi were honored for “groundbreaking discoveries” that “may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges,” from pollution to water scarcity.

Manchester synagogue attacker pledged allegiance to Islamic State group, police say

LONDON (AP) — Counter terrorism police in Britain say that the assailant in last week’s attack on a synagogue in the city of Manchester that left two people dead had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. The attacker, Jihad Al-Shamie, called emergency dispatchers during his deadly attack on Oct. 2. to pledge his allegiance to the terror group, counter terrorism police said in a statement. Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police outside the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue in Manchester after he rammed a car into pedestrians, attacked them with a knife and tried to force his way into the building.