A federal judge temporarily blocked Elon Musk and some of his team at the Department of Government Efficiency from access to sensitive Treasury payment systems. Last week Mr Musk claimed DOGE was cancelling “illegal” payments, sparking concerns that he had gained access to systems handling trillions of dollars of Social Security and Medicare funds. The ruling follows a lawsuit by 19 state attorneys-general challenging DOGE’s authority.
The Israel Defence Forces said that Hamas had handed over three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in central Gaza on Saturday. The announcement came nearly three hours late. Hamas had accused Israel of delaying the humanitarian provisions of their ceasefire agreement. In exchange for the release of hostages, Israel freed 183 Palestinian prisoners, including 18 serving life sentences and 111 detained during the war.
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won Delhi’s state elections for the first time in nearly three decades, securing 48 of 70 seats in the assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party, which previously had the majority, won 22. The BJP’s campaign focused on middle-class voters and Hindu nationalism. The AAP was hurt by corruption allegations and anti-incumbent sentiment. Voter turnout was 60.4%, the lowest in Delhi’s state elections since 2013.
Mr Trump signed an executive order to cut financial aid to South Africa, accusing its government of “racial discrimination” against Afrikaners, an ethnic group descended from European settlers. The order instructs the Department of Homeland Security to promote the resettlement of “Afrikaner refugees”. South Africa’s government said the directive lacks “factual accuracy” and “fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid”.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania disconnected from Russia’s power grid on Saturday, cutting their final energy link to the country. The Baltic states will synchronise with the European Union’s grid on Sunday. The move, decades in the making, gained urgency after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The transition required nearly €1.6bn ($1.7bn) in infrastructure spending.
Leaders of Patriots for Europe, a far-right alliance in the European Parliament, gathered in Madrid under the slogan “Make Europe Great Again”. Speakers railed against immigration and the EU establishment. Leaders of the bloc, formed after the 2024 elections, include France’s Marine Le Pen and Hungary’s Viktor Orban. Some important right-wing parties, including Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, have refused to join.
Sam Nujoma, the first president of Namibia, died in the country’s capital, Windhoek, aged 95. He led the South West Africa People’s Organisation, a rebel movement that freed Namibia from rule by South Africa and became a political party. Mr Nujoma, the last of a generation of African leaders who achieved independence for their countries, was Namibia’s president for 15 years from 1990. SWAPO remains in power.
Word of the week: pig-butchering, a scam in which fraudsters build trust with victims over weeks or months before luring them into fake investments and stealing their money. Read the full story.
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