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As violent protests sweep crisis-hit France, the prospect of far-right leader Marine Le Pen coming to power is being taken more seriously than ever -- to her evident delight.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso went quickest ahead of Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc in a rain-interrupted second practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, with defending world champion Max Verstappen third.

The anti-migrant wall being built in the northwest of the Dominican Republic crisscrosses a thick mangrove forest and threatens the ecosystem by depriving it of water, environmental groups warn.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin, centre-right National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo, and far-right head Riikka Purra are the top contenders for the post of prime minister in Finland's general election on Sunday.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen began a visit to Guatemala and Belize on Friday to shore up ties with dwindling allies following a trip to the United States that angered China.

Montenegro is girding for a closely watched presidential run-off on Sunday, when a young upstart could upend the Balkan nation's political landscape, dominated for decades by incumbent Milo Djukanovic.

Bulgarians took to the streets in 2020 in the biggest protests since the end of communism, aiming to push out longtime premier Boyko Borisov who was mired in corruption claims.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg became the first prosecutor in US history to charge a former or sitting president when he filed his indictment against Donald Trump.

Finland votes Sunday in a nail-biting election with Prime Minister Sanna Marin's centre-left government fighting to hold on to power. Here are five things to know about the Nordic nation.

Bulgarians head to the polls on Sunday for the fifth time in two years, with the EU's poorest member -- traditionally close to Moscow -- divided over the invasion of Ukraine.

Finnish politics could see a dramatic shift to the far right in elections on Sunday as an anti-immigration party aims to replace "rock star" Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democrats.

Red Bull chief Christian Horner said Friday it was inevitable that gender equality would reach Formula One amid reports that a team employing an equal split between men and women was looking to enter the sport.

Hundreds of Thai firefighters and soldiers battled a forest blaze less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Bangkok on Friday as the kingdom grapples with air pollution that has made more than 1.7 million people ill already this year.

Opener Pathum Nissanka top scored with 57 as Sri Lanka laboured to 157 all out against New Zealand in the third one-day international on Friday.

Rights group Amnesty International on Friday urged Cambodia to immediately stop the ongoing "mass forced evictions" of 10,000 families from the Angkor Wat temple complex.

The death toll after a floor collapsed at a Hindu temple in India had risen to 35 on Friday with rescue operations ongoing, a local official told AFP.

China's manufacturing activity slowed in March, official figures showed Friday, while growth in the services and construction sectors surged to a 12-year high.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached the final of the Miami Open by beating American world number three Jessica Pegula 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 at Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday.

Japan on Friday unveiled plans to control exports of 23 items used to make semiconductors, following US pressure for countries to impose restrictions to contain China.

Northern Ireland will in the coming month mark the 25th anniversary of peace accords which largely ended three decades of devastating sectarian conflict amid mounting political tensions and security concerns.

Sponsors of E3, a long-running videogame trade show, pulled the plug on its 2023 gathering, announcing on the event's website Thursday they will "reevaluate" the future of the expo.

The UK will join 11 other countries in a major Asia-Pacific trade partnership, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday, in the country's biggest post-Brexit trade deal following nearly two years of talks.

South Korea's Lee Mi-Hyang grabbed a birdie on the final hole to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour's LA Open in California on Thursday.

E-commerce giant JD.com will spin off its industrial and property units and take both of them public, the company said, in the latest reorganisation of a major Chinese tech firm.

Most Asian markets built on a global rally Friday as worries about the banking sector fade and traders grow optimistic central banks are near the end of their interest rate hiking cycle.

Max Verstappen outpaced Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to clock the fastest time in opening practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, as the defending world champion reinforced his early season dominance.

Japan's top diplomat Yoshimasa Hayashi will visit China this weekend, the first such visit in over three years, the foreign ministry in Tokyo announced Friday.

On a crisp spring day at a Beijing equestrian club, 14-year-old Victor Liu climbs into the saddle of a dark-haired horse, starting the latest session of a sport that has changed his life.

American Taylor Fritz had his first taste of facing world number one Carlos Alcaraz in a Miami Open quarter-final loss on Thursday and said it had been a tougher experience than facing any of the sport's former 'Big Three'.

A year after its liberation by Ukrainian forces, Bucha and its people are still confronted by the atrocities blamed on Russian forces during their occupation of the city.

Ukraine on Friday marks one year since Russia withdrew from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, leaving the bodies of executed civilians strewn in the streets in what has become a symbol of alleged Russian war crimes.

A South African parole board meets Friday to decide whether Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius should be released from prison early, a decade after he killed his girlfriend.