#AFPgraphics comparing defence spending, troops and major hardware, based on data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies
French President Emmanuel Macron heads to Kyiv after offering Russia "concrete security guarantees" in an effort to dissuade Moscow from invading its neighbour Ukraine
VIDEO: NATO trains for winter combat on Russia's doorstep.
In an icy landscape of birches and pines on NATO's eastern border, this year's regular military exercises by the alliance have come at a time of spiralling tensions between Russia and the West
#BREAKING Macron says obtained from Putin no 'escalation' on Ukraine
#UPDATE French President Emmanuel Macron says he has managed to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin not to "escalate" the crisis around Ukraine, as the West warns Moscow could be planning an invasion
#UPDATE French President Emmanuel Macron said he offered his Russian counterpart "concrete security guarantees" as the West scrambles to deal with Russia's massive troop build-up on Ukraine's border u.afp.com/wY82
#BREAKING Ukraine president says expects summit with Russian, French, German leaders 'in the near future'
#BREAKING French President Macron says there are 'concrete, practical solutions' to end Russia-West tensions
#UPDATE French President Emmanuel #Macron said on Tuesday he saw a path towards easing tensions with #Russia over the festering conflict in the east of #Ukraine, after conducting an urgent round of shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv u.afp.com/wY29
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#BREAKING 104 police, 30 journalists among injured in Bangladesh clashes: TV
#UPDATE Protesters in Bangladesh set fire to several government buildings during a day of deadly nationwide clashes between students and riot officers, a police statement said.
"The miscreants have already torched, vandalised and carried out destructive activities," on the offices of state broadcaster BTV and the national disaster management agency along with "various" police and government buildings, said the statement, issued after a nationwide internet shutdown
Bangladesh wakes to torched government buildings, internet blackout.
This week's unrest has killed at least 39 people including 32 on Thursday, with the toll expected to rise further after reports of clashes in nearly half of the country's 64 districts
#BREAKING Biden says still considers Xi a 'dictator'
#UPDATE US President Joe Biden said after a summit with Xi Jinping that he still considers the Chinese president a "dictator", after he sparked fury from Beijing by making the comparison earlier this year.
"Well look he is, I mean he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who's running a country, a Communist country, that's based on a form of government totally different than ours," Biden said at the end of a news conference when a reporter asked if he would still use the term to describe Xi
#BREAKING China will not begin armed conflict with any nation, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday, after a high-stakes summit with US President Joe Biden.
"China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold or hot war with any country," he told a gathering of business leaders in San Francisco
#BREAKING Any compromise with Russia will 'destroy' Ukrainian statehood: presidential aide to AFP
#BREAKING Putin says West used grain deal for 'political blackmail'
VIDEO: Ukrainian firefighters battle flames after a Russian strike on Odesa.
Ukraine's president accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure in the city after Moscow ended a landmark deal and lifted security guarantees in the Black Sea
#BREAKING Putin says situation 'difficult' in Rostov in southern Russia
#UPDATE Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday acknowledged a "difficult" situation was unfolding in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, where the Wagner mercenary group has taken control of key military sites in an effort to oust Russian military's top brass.
#UPDATE President Vladimir Putin vowed Saturday he would not allow Russia to slip into civil war, after the leader of the Wagner mercenary force seized a key military headquarters overseeing the offensive in Ukraine.
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