French voters are being called to the polls on Sunday for an exceptional moment in their political history: the first round of snap parliamentary elections that could see the country's first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation — or no majority emerging at all.

The outcome of the vote, following the second round on July 7 and an exceptionally brief campaign, remains highly uncertain as three major political blocs are competing: the far-right National Rally, President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance and the New Popular Front coalition that includes center-left, greens and hard-left forces.

A halting Biden tries to confront Trump at debate but sparks Democratic anxiety about his candidacy

By ZEKE MILLER, MICHELLE L. PRICE, WILL WEISSERT, BILL BARROW and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

Israel’s military said Thursday that it killed a Hezbollah member who was involved in firing explosive drones into Israel.

The Israeli army posted a video of Thursday’s drone strike that killed the Hezbollah member while riding a motorcycle in the village of Sohmor in West Bekaa.

When COVID-19 hit, long lines formed outside shops selling gold in Poland. Then came Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering another rush for gold.

Piotr Kozik, the manager of a Warsaw shop selling gold bars and coins produced by the Mint of Poland, remembers how the day of Russia's invasion, Feb. 24, 2022, was Fat Thursday, when Poles gorge themselves on paczki, jam-filled donuts.

It's a scenario that terrifies America's auto industry.

Chinese carmakers set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. Once in place, they send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States.

Thousands of doctors in England are staging their 11th walkout on Thursday in a long-running dispute with the government over pay and working conditions, disrupting hospital services just days before the U.K. general election.

The five-day strike by junior doctors — those in the early years of their careers — shines a spotlight on the troubles besetting the chronically underfunded National Health Service, Britain's state-funded public health system, a topic that is a a top concern for voters going to the polls on July 4.

Shares fell Thursday in most world markets ahead of a key U.S. inflation report due Friday that might point the way ahead for interest rates.

Hong Kong led the decline, falling more than 2%. U.S. futures also fell, while oil prices rebounded.

The Israeli military says a soldier was killed and 16 others were wounded during a military operation in the West Bank overnight. It said Thursday that an explosive device detonated in the area of the northern city of Jenin, which has seen frequent raids and gunbattles with militants in recent years.

There were no immediate reports of Palestinian casualties. Israel says it has arrested over 4,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack ignited the war in Gaza, including around 1,750 suspected of being Hamas members.

China's space officials said Thursday they welcomed scientists from around the world to apply to study the lunar rock samples that the Chang'e 6 probe brought back to Earth in a historic mission, but noted there were limits to that cooperation, specifically with the United States.

Officials said at a televised news conference in Beijing meant to introduce the mission's achievements that any cooperation with the U.S. would be hinged on removing an American law that bans direct bilateral cooperation with NASA.

President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, will meet for a debate on Thursday that offers an unparalleled opportunity for both candidates to try to reshape the political narrative.

Biden, the Democratic incumbent, gets the chance to reassure voters that, at 81, he's capable of guiding the U.S. through a range of challenges. The 78-year-old Trump, meanwhile, could use the moment to try to move past his felony conviction in New York and convince an audience of tens of millions that he's temperamentally suited to return to the Oval Office.