VOA NEWS

This is VOA News. I'm Alexis Strope. France was on course for a hung parliament in Sunday's election with a leftist alliance [unexp...] unexpectedly taking the top spot ahead of the far-right. Olivia Zollino from Reuters reports. The leftist alliance gathers the hard left, the Socialists and Greens. They were forecast to win up to 215 seats out of 577, according to pollsters projections. These projections are usually reliable. At the headquarters for the far-right National Rally, or RN, the mood was far more somber, with early results placing them in third. The results are humiliation for French President Emmanuel Macron. His centrist alliance, which he founded to underpin his first presidential run in 2017, was projected to be narrowly second. He called the snap election after his ticket was trounced in European Parliament elections last month. Voters punished him and his ruling alliance for cost of living crisis and failing public services as well as over immigration and security. Olivia Zollino from Reuters. Hamas said it is waiting for an Israeli response after dropping a key demand in its response to a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal. VOA's Arash Arabasadi has the story. Hamas says it has given its initial support of the U.S.-backed cease-fire deal with Israel that stops short of Hamas's longstanding demand for a total Israeli commitment to the war's end. According to a joint report by the U.N. and IPC, 96 percent of Gaza's population faces acute food insecurity at crisis levels or higher. And as the Israel Defense Forces continue their operations in Gaza, claiming to seize weapons from Hamas and content VOA cannot independently verify. Protesters gathered in southern Israel Sunday with roughly 1,500 balloons. They say black represents those killed on October 7 and yellow the hostages still held in Gaza. Arash Arabasadi, VOA News. This is VOA News. Texas officials are warning residents to take Beryl seriously. AP Correspondent Julie Walker reports. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has a message for residents and visitors. "It will be a deadly storm for people who are directly in that path." He says the state is prepared, but people have to do their part. "Let's pray nothing happens where you live. But something is going to happen where some of you live and that something will be significant when significant rain and some flooding and again surge along the coast." In Port Lavaca, Jimmy May was boarding up his business. "Just boarding up protecting this glass in case we get a little bit too much wind, too much trash blowing." Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. I'm Julie Walker. A four-person crew reemerged on Saturday at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to applause after staying in a simulated Mars habitat to study and conduct experiments for about one year. The team entered their 3D-printed habitat on June 25, 2023 as part of the first Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog mission. Julie Kramer White, director of engineering at the Johnson Space Center: "Stay tuned for CHAPEA Mission 2, which will happen next year, and CHAPEA Mission 3, which will happen in 2027. We still have a lot left to learn, and we hope you'll join us on our journey. Please join me once more in welcoming CHAPEA Mission 1 crew home." During their stay, the crew simulated life and resource limitations on Mars, going on Mars walks and communication delays with Earth, according to NASA. A memorial concert was held in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Sunday for those killed in anti-government protests that were sparked by proposed tax hikes. David Doyle from Reuters reports. At least 39 people died during clashes with police during several days of unrest. The protests became violent after demonstrators briefly stormed parliament and the police opened fire. Boniface Mwangi organized this concert. "Government is listening now because of the protests, so we are, we are kinda happy, but there's also a lot of sadness because so many people died for the government to listen." During the concert, there were repeated calls for Ruto to resign. The government has blamed protest violence on opportunistic criminals. But activists say those responsible were thugs hired by politicians to discredit the protest movement. David Doyle from Reuters. The most notable thing about the annual Mercosur summit kicking off in Paraguay is an absence that of Argentine President Javier Milei. He became the first Argentine leader to skip the annual summit since his country's 2001 financial catastrophe. Although libertarian President Milei advocates free trade, he has bashed Mercosur as, quote, "defective" and advocated pulling Argentina out of the agreement altogether. I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News.