AP News in Brief at 6:09 a.m. EDT

Tanker set ablaze after being struck by projectile in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran mourns Khamenei

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A tanker traveling off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire early Tuesday morning after being struck by a projectile, the British military said.

The attack was the latest targeting a vessel moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe and is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore.

The U.S. is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war launched Feb. 28. But previous attacks in the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the U.S., which then saw Iran attack Gulf Arab states — raising the risk of an escalation.

Talks between Iran and the U.S., meanwhile, appear to be on hold until after the burial of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war. Signs have been increasing that mourners at his funeral were calling for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump.

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NATO unveils billions in arms deals to prove its firepower to Trump

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — NATO on Tuesday showcased a series of military projects worth billions of dollars in an attempt to persuade President Donald Trump that U.S. allies are converting fresh defense spending into real firepower.

“It’s money well spent,” an energized NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told government ministers and defense industry officials on the sidelines of a summit in Turkey. He was speaking at a defense industry forum billed as NATO’s “big reveal,” to the thrum of techno music and a slick video display.

Trump, who is slated to arrive in Ankara later Tuesday, has branded NATO a “paper tiger” that would cease to function without American arms and leadership.

NATO as an organization does not own any weapons — these are the property of the 32 member countries — but it does have a fleet of 14 AWACS early warning radar surveillance planes that are about 50 years old, along with some newer surveillance drones.

A deal to replace the aging planes was announced Tuesday. Swedish manufacturer Saab will be supplying up to 10 new GlobalEye surveillance aircraft for a 10-nation consortium, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced.

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Explosions rock Damascus, wounding 18, as French President Macron visits Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Explosions rocked Damascus on Tuesday as France’s president met with his Syrian counterpart in a landmark visit, wounding at least 18 people, Syria’s Interior Ministry said.

Emmanuel Macron had entered the presidential palace to meet Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa when the explosions happened near the Four Seasons Hotel, where Syrian media report that the French president is staying.

An Elysee official said Macron was safe and that his meeting with al-Sharaa was continuing. He is the first major Western leader to visit Syria since al-Sharaa came to power and his visit comes before he heads to a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Macron’s whereabouts and security.

But the explosions are a blow for al-Sharaa, who came to power after leading an insurgency that ousted Bashar Assad in 2024.

He has since pushed to assert full control and bring stability in war-torn Syria, appeal to minorities skeptical of his Islamist-led rule, and win the support of Western governments who were skeptical of his past as leader of the formerly al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule.

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Marine Le Pen’s 2027 bid for French presidency is at stake in Paris court ruling

PARIS (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen ’s political future is on the line Tuesday as a Paris appeals court rules on her eligibility to stand in the next presidential election.

The verdict will be delivered from 1:30 p.m. and could take several hours to read. It could reshape the 2027 contest to replace President Emmanuel Macron if it forces the popular Le Pen out of the picture. The constitution prevents Macron from seeking a third consecutive term.

Le Pen, 57, is appealing a March 2025 conviction that found her and other members of her National Rally party guilty of misusing European Parliament funds by paying party staff with money intended for EU parliamentary assistants between 2004 and 2016.

The lower court sentenced her to prison time, suspended pending appeal, and imposed a five-year ban on holding elected office.

Le Pen has denied any wrongdoing and still hopes to mount a fourth bid for the presidency. But a verdict that upholds a lengthy ban could make that impossible and suspend her career that has transformed the National Rally into a major political force.

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Democrats begin pulling Platner endorsements after Maine candidate faces sexual assault allegation

A woman who previously dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a Politico report released Monday, leading prominent supporters to pull their endorsements and throwing a must-win race for the party into turmoil.

Platner denied the allegation, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign.

“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we’re taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” he said in a video released on social media.

Jenny Racicot, who lives in Maine, told Politico that Platner entered her home in 2021 while drunk and assaulted her. Racicot said she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner, but she cut off contact with him after that night and told him the incident wasn’t consensual. A voicemail left at a number listed for Racicot seeking comment did not receive an immediate response, but she said in a CNN interview on Monday evening that she opted not to fight back for fear of Platner, a former Marine, becoming more violent.

“He violated multiple layers of consent that night,” Racicot said.

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Yacht owners and public housing residents once shared Venezuela’s coast. Now they share its ruin

CARABALLEDA, Venezuela (AP) — The rich and poor shared paradise in Caraballeda on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. Their apartments, a few with direct marina access and hundreds in public housing towers, stood on the same curving street and offered idyllic views of the white sandy beaches and crystal waters.

The yacht owners and public transit riders who shared this road epitomized the social integration that the government set out to accomplish. Many of them enjoying a holiday or resting at home on June 24 met the same fate when the ground shook so violently that their homes flattened in seconds.

Now, about 17,000 who survived also share the uncommon status of being homeless in Venezuela. As the official death toll climbs above 3,500, many must rely on a government that has been excoriated for its response to the tragedy and that has politicized housing in the past to figure out where they will live — if they will have a new home at all.

Housing has generally been the first aspiration for Venezuelan adults since the second half of the 20th century, when an oil bonanza allowed the government to fund housing complexes, the poor to build brick and cement shacks locally known as “ranchos,” and the rich to buy second and third homes.

Even when the country’s economy came undone in 2013, most Venezuelans still had a roof over their heads, be it by getting one handed out by the country’s self-described socialist government, buying one at a deep discount from people desperate for cash to migrate, building ranchos on top of each other, and even invading abandoned homes.

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World markets are mixed while Korean shares slump despite an AI-led rebound on Wall St

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares and U.S. futures were mixed on Tuesday following a rebound for AI stocks that lifted benchmarks on Wall Street.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX shed 0.5% to 25,695.64, while the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.3% to 8,507.95. Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.4% to 10,695.02.

The future for the S&P 500 lost 0.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.2% higher.

Asian shares markets retreated, with South Korea’s Kospi closing 4.9% lower at 7,656.31 after dropping as much as 8% earlier in the day. Shares in computer chipmaker Samsung Electronics slumped 7.7% even after it announced its operating income surged 19-fold to 89.4 trillion won ($58.7 billion) in the last quarter, while its revenue more than doubled. SK Hynix lost 6.7%.

Kim Seok-hwan, an analyst at the South Korean securities firm Mirae Asset, attributed Samsung’s decline to foreign investors who were selling to lock in recent gains and rebalancing their portfolios.

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US airlines chase profits in premium cabins, deepening a fare class divide on flights

They may arrive at the same destination, but two passengers on the same flight can have strikingly different travel experiences.

One traveler breezes through a priority security lane and heads straight to an invite-only lounge for craft cocktails and a chef-prepared meal before boarding early. A flight attendant offering a glass of champagne and a warm hand towel welcomes the passenger to a spacious seat at the front of the plane.

The other traveler stands in a line at every step — security screening, a café selling $16 sandwiches, a crowded gate — then boards with one of the final groups, hoping there’s still room for a carry-on in the overhead bin before folding into a cramped middle seat. After the cabin lights dim, sleep comes in fragments, and a travel pillow does little to ease a stiff neck.

The contrasting journeys are no accident. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest U.S. airlines have pulled out all the stops to court premium passengers who are willing to pay for comfort, convenience and exclusivity. Budget-conscious travelers may notice a widening gap between the back of the plane and up front as the carriers increasingly build their businesses around selling first-class, business-class and premium-economy seats.

“We can’t win by trying to provide the cheapest. We have to be able to win by providing the best,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said in a recent Fortune podcast interview.

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What to know about China’s rare ballistic missile test and why it raises concerns

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s navy test-launched a long-range ballistic missile Monday from a nuclear-powered submarine — a move that experts said showed Beijing’s increasing skill and capability as part of its nuclear deterrence strategy.

The move also drew protests from the U.S. as well as countries in Asia and the Pacific. It was the second time China had fired a ballistic missile into international waters in recent years. While it gave some countries in the region prior notice, some said it was not enough notice, and experts say the launch exacerbates tensions around increasing militarization in Asia.

Here’s what we know, and what we don’t, about the missile launch.

China announced the missile test publicly on Monday only after the launch, saying that it was fired into the Pacific Ocean. In a brief statement, the official Xinhua News Agency said the launch was part of routine annual training, complied with international law and practice, and was not directed against any country or target. It didn’t provide details about the type of missile.

The missile was carrying a dummy warhead, not a nuclear one. The act of launching in international waters was rare, although the U.S. has also done so with its own missile testing.

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Hamas dissolves its government in Gaza to transfer power to a UN-backed committee

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Hamas militant group said Monday it had dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal.

Hamas did not say whether it planned to take the crucial step of disarming or handing over security to an international force, but described its decision as evidence of its commitment to Gaza’s reconstruction after years of war.

It was unclear if the move, announced by a lower-level official, would lead to any meaningful change on the ground.

The Board of Peace, the new entity led by President Donald Trump with the mandate of governing and rebuilding Gaza, said it was aware of the Hamas announcement but would assess the impact based on “actions, not promises.” The board stressed in a statement on X that the technocratic committee must control all weapons in Gaza, as laid out in the ceasefire agreement.

At a news conference Monday, Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run Government Media Office, said “only technical and professional staff” would remain in their positions to run the Palestinian enclave’s day-to-day affairs.