WORLD

France's prime minister was under increasing pressure Friday after a former teacher at a Catholic school claimed Francois Bayrou was aware of claims of sexual abuse there in the 1990s but did not act on them.

M23 fighters on Friday advanced further on several fronts in DR Congo's volatile east as international pressure mounted on Rwanda to stop backing the armed group and halt the fighting.

France's far-right leader Jordan Bardella said Friday he had cancelled his speech at a right-wing meeting in Washington after a "gesture alluding to Nazi ideology" by conservative firebrand Steve Bannon.

Germany's far-left Die Linke party has enjoyed a late poll surge ahead of Sunday's elections, boosted by a spirited anti-fascist speech by its new rising star that quickly went viral.

Pope Francis marked a week in hospital with pneumonia Friday, as speculation grew over the 88-year-old's ability to continue leading the Catholic Church.

A German anti-fascist activist accused of allegedly participating in violent attacks against neo-Nazis went on trial on Friday in Hungary, as nationalist premier Viktor Orban has vowed to clamp down on "far-left violence".

The daughter of murdered British aid worker this week at the Paris trial of two of his presumed Islamic State group jailers recounted her anguish after her father went missing in war-torn Syria in 2013.

Liverpool will take on Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of this season's Champions League while Friday's draw also threw up a showdown between reigning champions Real Madrid and their city rivals Atletico.

Authorities near Sicily's Mount Etna are bracing to control an influx of visitors this weekend, attracted by a two-week flow of lava inspiring high-altitude selfies and other reckless behaviour.

A Dutch court Friday handed a life sentence to a man who shot dead three people and set fire to a Rotterdam hospital during a rampage that sparked pandemonium and shocked the country.

Jenni Hermoso will appeal the verdict in the case of former Spain football chief Luis Rubiales, who was fined after being found guilty of a forced kiss on the Women's World Cup-winning player, her lawyer said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against accusations that the Trump administration has given in to Russia even before talks on ending the Ukraine war begin, saying Washington first wants to see whether Moscow was "serious".

Taskin Erduan thought he'd got a bargain: three litres of vodka for around $15.

The World Trade Organization's entire mission is overseeing global trade, but US President Donald Trump's tariff offensive has left it adrift.

Japanese inflation accelerated in January, further pressuring households as prices excluding fresh food rose 3.2 percent on-year, government data showed Friday.

Elon Musk publicly criticized X's Community Notes system for contradicting claims that the Ukrainian President is widely unpopular and afraid to hold elections.

Gold soared toward the $3,000 mark on Thursday, reaching an intraday high of $2,973 and briefly surpassing $2,954 in the cash market.