While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 20
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Electoral posters in front of a polling station during the second round of voting in parliamentary elections, in Paris, on June 19, 2022.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
French President Macron projected to lose outright majority in parliament in 'democratic shock'
French President Emmanuel Macron lost control of the National Assembly in legislative elections on Sunday, a major setback that could throw the country into political paralysis unless he is able to negotiate alliances with other parties.
Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition, which wants to raise the retirement age and further deepen EU integration, was set to end up with the most seats in Sunday’s election.
But that was well short of the absolute majority needed to control parliament, initial projections and first results showed.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called the outcome a “democratic shock” and added that if other blocs did not cooperate, “this would block our capacity to reform and protect the French.”
China conducts successful anti-ballistic missile test
China successfully conducted a mid-range anti-ballistic missile test late Sunday, its defence ministry said.
The land-based test "achieved its expected objectives" and was defensive in nature and not targeted at any one country, according to the statement.
The country conducted a similar test in February 2021 and brings the tally of publicly announced Chinese land-based anti-ballistic missile technical tests to six, state media Global Times reported.
Spain's conservative People's Party wins a resounding solo victory in Andalusia
Spain's opposition People's Party won an absolute majority in Andalusia's regional elections on Sunday for the first time in Spanish democracy, boosting the new Conservative leader's odds for the national elections in late 2023.
Andalusia, with 8.5 million inhabitants, is the most populated region in Spain. For 40 years it was a stronghold of the main socialist party, which ceded power in 2018 to a conservative coalition government led by the People's Party (PP).
The regional leader, Juan Manuel Moreno, won a historic victory by securing 58 seats and 43% of the votes with 99.5% of the votes counted.
Parades, street festivals and speeches mark Juneteenth across US
With street parties, the trumpets and drums of marching bands, speeches and a few political rallies, people across the United States marked Juneteenth this weekend, a jubilee commemorating the end of the legal enslavement of Black Americans.
Events started on Friday and continued through Sunday featuring concerts at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, freedom walks in Galveston, Texas, and jazz music in New York City's Harlem neighbourhood.
"This is America's holiday, not just African Americans'holiday," said Gerald Griggs, the Georgia state president of the NAACP civil rights organisation. "It's the true Independence Day, the day when all Americans were free."
Formula One: Verstappen wins Canadian Grand Prix to tighten grip on title race
Max Verstappen tightened his grip on a second successive world championship with an assured win in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz took second with Lewis Hamilton in third for Mercedes.
This was Verstappen's sixth win of the season in his 150th Grand Prix.
