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Defections sap rightwing hopeful in French presidential race

The conservative right-wing challenger to Emmanuel Macron in the looming French presidential vote grappled Friday with a wave of defections, while hoping former president Nicolas Sarkozy would finally offer his full-throated support.

EU seeks to deploy border agency to Senegal

European Commissioner Ylva Johansson on Friday offered to deploy the EU's border agency to Senegal to help combat migrant smuggling, following a surge in perilous crossings to Spain's Canary Islands.

Paris braces for Canada-style convoys against Covid rules

Thousands of protesters in convoys were heading to Paris from across France on Friday, with some hoping to blockade the capital in opposition to Covid restrictions despite police warnings to back off.

Macron kept at distance from Putin after refusing Covid test

Russia on Friday said French President Emmanuel Macron was made to sit at an enormously long table for his talks with Vladimir Putin because he refused to take a Kremlin-performed Covid test.

Double trouble: Fears of violence over Libya's 2 PMs

Libyans found themselves with two prime ministers on Friday, raising the spectre of renewed violence in a country where elites have ignored the wishes of citizens to choose their leaders, analysts say.

US silent on whether Macron's Russia visit helped ease Ukraine crisis

The French president's visit to Russia this week drew a chorus of cautiously optimistic comments about averting an invasion of Ukraine but the United States has stayed conspicuously reticent about the diplomatic mission.

Ukraine displaced fear losing homes again

When she fled the conflict zone in east Ukraine, Lyudmyla Bobova never imagined she would celebrate her 59th birthday, almost eight years later, still living in emergency housing and under the threat of fresh bloodshed.

Turkey tax takes spirit out of bar scene

In a waterfront Istanbul neighbourhood that once buzzed with cafe and pub life, there are now only empty tables after nearly 50 percent tax hikes on alcohol.

For Georgians, Ukraine tensions revive painful war memories

As tens of thousands of Russian troops mass near Ukraine's border, many in fellow ex-Soviet state Georgia are feeling a frightening sense of deja vu.

US, Asia allies meet to deepen bulwark against China

The top diplomats of the United States, Australia, Japan and India opened talks in Melbourne Friday on deepening their Quad alliance, hoping to blunt China's expanding power across the Asia-Pacific region.

Biden urges Americans to leave Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion mount

US President Joe Biden urged Americans Thursday to immediately leave Ukraine, as Russia's live-fire drills and build-up of troops around the ex-Soviet state deepened fears of an invasion.

Questions mount over Trump's treatment of presidential documents

Documents ripped up, stuffed down the toilet or carted off to Florida -- the list of former US leader Donald Trump's alleged flouting of laws on preserving presidential papers grew longer and more bizarre Thursday.

Canada truckers extend border blockade, fuel copycats abroad

Trucker-led protests against coronavirus restrictions in Canada shut down another US border crossing Thursday, as copycat movements gathered steam as far afield as Europe and New Zealand.

US, China lock horns over Ukraine at UN

The US envoy to the United Nations called on Beijing Thursday to encourage Russia "to do the right thing" in the Ukraine crisis -- drawing a sharp response from her Chinese counterpart who accused Washington of fanning tensions.

Biden under pressure as Iran nuclear talks resume

US President Joe Biden is in a tough spot as the Iran nuclear talks resume in Vienna, gambling on a successful outcome but facing growing bipartisan concern that even if a deal is reached it may be insufficient to curb Tehran's nuclear program.

Trucker uprising hits key artery in US-Canada car industry

The Canadian trucker protest has temporarily sidelined a key auto industry transport route, adding stress to a North American car industry already pinched by low inventories and supply chain problems that have sent vehicle price soaring.

Tesla undertaking 4th car recall in two weeks

Tesla was recalling over a half a million US electric cars due to a "Boombox" feature that can drown out audible warnings for pedestrians, in the fourth recall made public in two weeks, records showed Thursday.

'Coup d'etat' trial of Bolivia ex-president begins

Hailed as a "political prisoner" by supporters, former interim president Jeanine Anez went on trial Thursday accused of orchestrating a coup d'etat to remove her predecessor as Bolivia's leader, Evo Morales.

US, Belarus army chiefs speak to avoid drill 'miscalculation': Pentagon

US and Belarusian defense chiefs held rare telephone talks on Thursday to avoid a "miscalculation" during Russia-Belarus joint military drills, the Pentagon said, at a time of heightened tensions over the Kremlin's massing of troops near Ukraine.

Boxer-turned-mayor Klitschko vows 'to take up arms' for Ukraine

Heavyweight boxing champion turned Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko says he is ready "to take up arms" defending Ukraine against a feared Russian invasion.

Russia launches Belarus drills, revving up fears of Ukraine invasion

Russia rolled its tanks across Belarus on Thursday for live-fire drills that drew an ominous warning from NATO and added urgency to Western efforts to avert a feared invasion of Ukraine.

Canada truckers block new border crossing, fuel copycat protests

Trucker-led protests against coronavirus restrictions in Canada shut down a new US border crossing on Thursday, as copycat movements gathered steam as far afield as Europe and New Zealand.

NATO seeks new chief and women top candidates' list

When outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg returns home to head Norway's central bank later this year the western alliance will need a new champion, and for the first time she is expected to be a woman.

Trucker protests disrupt car plants in US, Canada

Large automakers have cut back production at several US and Canadian plants due to trucker-led protests over Covid rules that have blocked a key bridge between the two countries, the carmakers said Thursday.

Libya parliament names rival PM in challenge to unity govt

Libya found itself with two prime ministers Thursday, after its parliament named a rival to replace the existing unity government's chief Abdulhamid Dbeibah, threatening a new power struggle in the war-torn nation.

US consumer price inflation hits four-decade high in January

Inflation in the United States was as hot as ever last month, with consumer prices seeing their largest annual jump in nearly four decades as costs rose for a wide range of items.

Brazil's Bolsonaro condemns Nazism after podcast row

President Jair Bolsonaro has waded into a swirling controversy over Nazism unleashed by a popular podcast in Brazil, saying it should be repudiated along with every other totalitarian ideology, including Communism.

Pollution clean-up aims to create Gaza's first nature reserve

The road meandering towards Gaza Valley is notorious for the stench of pollution choking the plant and animal life that once flourished in the Palestinian enclave's biggest wetland.

Macron to announce new French nuclear power ambitions

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to throw his support behind a massive nuclear power plant programme on Thursday despite concerns about the cost and complexity of building new reactors.

'Everyone is afraid': Fear of unknown in Ukraine warzone

Third-grader Maria Shanovska is mulling which toy to pack in her emergency evacuation bag should the Russian forces massing at the border invade her war-shattered town in east Ukraine.

Biden clings to Covid caution as US seeks to leave pandemic behind

President Joe Biden declared victory too early the last time that Covid seemed to be ending in the United States. This time, he risks being late.

In violence-shattered central Mali, victims recount their lives

Some are men of arms, who have taken up a gun out of need or for a cause. Others are just ordinary civilians, struggling to survive from one day to the next and make sense of the mayhem.

New York latest to roll back mask mandates as US eyes normalization

New York on Wednesday joined a wave of Democrat-run US states to roll back mask mandates, as health officials increasingly talk about America moving towards a phase where Covid-19 doesn't disrupt daily lives.

In Canada's sedate capital, some are fed up with noisy vaccine protests

Canada's capital is sometimes ribbed as being so quiet it's dull. But not these days, as truckers and others frustrated over Covid-19 restrictions clog the city center, revving engines in a non-stop blast of anger.

Israel hits missile targets in Syria: military

Israel launched strikes against targets in Syria early Wednesday, hitting anti-aircraft batteries in response to a missile fired from Syria, the military said.

'I didn't kill anyone,' Paris attacks suspect claims

The only suspected assailant still alive after the terror attacks that rocked Paris in November 2015 said Wednesday that "I didn't kill anyone, I didn't hurt anyone" as he took the stand for the first time in the trial over the jihadist massacres.

UN court orders Uganda to pay DR Congo $325 mn war damages

The UN's top court on Wednesday ordered Uganda to pay the Democratic Republic of Congo $325 million over a brutal war two decades ago, just a fraction of what Kinshasa demanded.

Researchers brave relentless violence to work in DR Congo

As Tony Ukety peers into a microscope in an effort to wipe out a devastating tropical disease, he is acutely aware that there is a more immediate threat looming outside the walls of his research centre.

Bid to defuse Ukraine tensions intensifies as 'positive' signs emerge

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday ramped up efforts to stop Russia from invading Ukraine, as Kyiv and Moscow said they saw 'positive signals' toward resolving the crisis.

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