President Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal brokered by world powers in 2015 to roll back Iran’s nuclear-weapons programme, saying it was “rotten”. He reimposed all sanctions and gave foreign firms up to six months to stop doing business with the country. Other signatories—Britain, France and Germany—said they would continue to honour the agreement, to which Iran seemed to be adhering. “If we achieve the deal’s goals in co-operation with other members of the deal, it will remain in place,” said President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. See article.
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, applauded Mr Trump’s “bold decision”. Twenty rockets were fired from Syria into the Israeli-controlled side of the Golan Heights. Israel blamed Iran and struck back at dozens of targets in Syria. It was the biggest exchange of fire across the border since 1974. See article.
Hizbullah and its allies gained seats in Lebanon’s parliament, according to preliminary election results. The Iranian-backed militia-cum-political party increased its share of power at the expense of the country’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, whose party sustained heavy losses.
An outbreak of Ebola killed at least 17 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is the ninth outbreak of the disease in the country since its discovery in the 1970s.
Zimbabwe, which has suffered a crippling liquidity crisis in financial markets because of a shortage of foreign currency, is now at risk of suffering an acute liquidity crisis in its alcohol market. Delta, its biggest brewer, is running out of ingredients because it cannot get dollars to pay for imports; it may have to cut beer supplies.
A friendly start
The leader of the protests against Armenia’s government, Nikol Pashinian, was elected as prime minister by parliament. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, congratulated him. Mr Pashinian has promised that he will not break with the Kremlin.
Mr Putin was re-inaugurated as Russia’s president, after winning a landslide election victory in March. His fourth term lasts six years; it is supposed to be his last. Protests against him were violently broken up. See article.
Italy remained without a government; but the odds for one led by a technocrat appointed by the president receded. A coalition between the radical Five Star Movement and the right-wing Northern League seemed to be back on the cards.
A night to remember
Malaysia’s opposition won a stunning upset victory at the polls, paving the way for the country’s first ever change of government. The ruling party used all manner of dirty tricks to pervert the vote, but still lost. Najib Razak, the prime minister, whom American officials had accused of embezzling nearly $700m, is out. Mahathir Mohamad, a sprightly 92-year-old former prime minister who had quit the ruling party in disgust, will replace him. See article.
A Malaysian investor whose firm has done public-relations work for the Cambodian government bought the Phnom Penh Post, the last daily newspaper in Cambodia that regularly criticises the government. Many of its journalists resigned in a row about its coverage of the acquisition. See article.
Pakistan’s interior minister, Ahsan Iqbal, survived an assassination attempt after being shot in the shoulder. Mr Iqbal’s outspoken defence of minorities has earned him the enmity of Muslim radicals.
North Korea released three Americans speciously accused of espionage and “hostile acts”. Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, returned to America with the three after visiting North Korea to discuss arrangements for a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, the North’s dictator. Mr Kim went to China for a second meeting with President Xi Jinping. He was the first North Korean leader to go abroad by plane in 32 years.
Sun Zhengcai, a former member of China’s ruling Politburo, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of taking bribes worth $27m.
The place they called home
The Trump administration said it was ending a “temporary protected status” programme for 57,000 Hondurans living in America. They will have to leave by 2020. The government gave the status to Hondurans after a hurricane struck their country in 1998. The administration also announced plans to separate children and parents caught entering the country illegally.
Marco Rubio, a senator from Florida, suspended American funding for a UN-backed anti-corruption commission in Guatemala known as CICIG. Mr Rubio said the long sentences given to a Russian family convicted of buying false passports suggested that the Kremlin influenced the commission. Supporters of CICIG say Mr Rubio is the one being manipulated by allies of the Guatemalan president, Jimmy Morales. See article.
Not too Trumpy, please
A number of party primaries were held across America. The most closely watched result was for the Republican Senate candidate in West Virginia. Don Blankenship, a former coal baron and jailbird who campaigned on a message of being “Trumpier than Trump”, lost to Patrick Morrisey, who had the support of the party hierarchy, including Donald Trump. See article.
The Senate held a hearing on whether to confirm Gina Haspel as the next director of the CIA. She was asked about her role overseeing a secret site where prisoners were tortured and ruled out any return to a similar programme. Ms Haspel offered to withdraw from consideration days before the hearing, an offer that was rejected by Mr Trump. See article.
Eric Schneiderman resigned as the attorney-general of New York state, after women with whom he had been romantically involved claimed he had slapped them in the face and choked them. Mr Schneiderman was a prominent backer of the #MeToo movement. He denies the allegations, and says he has “never engaged in non-consensual sex”.
An unholy row in the House of Representatives over the sacking of its chaplain came to a miraculous end when Paul Ryan, the Speaker, decided to allow him to stay in the job. Mr Ryan had asked Father Patrick Conroy to resign, reportedly for praying that the benefits of the recent tax reform should be “shared by all Americans”.