Reopen on January 18, NUC tells varsities, I won’t attend Biden’s inauguration, says Trump and more

French politics continues to dominate the papers as Emmanuel Macron desperately seeks an alliance to secure a parliamentary majority. The US Senate finds bipartisan support for new gun possession laws for the first time in 30 years. Organisers of the Miss France beauty pageant introduce radical new changes to shake up the contest. Finally, a man escapes his kidnappers by driving erratically on a highway in order to be stopped by authorities.

Israeli lawmakers have voted in favor of a preliminary measure to dissolve parliament. It is the first step toward a fifth election in less than four years. The vote could take place in autumn.

Colombians have elected a new president. Gustavo Petro, 62, is set to become the first leftist in the country's top job. The former rebel of the now defunct M-19 movement beat millionaire businessman Rodolfo Hernandez in Sunday's election. Petro will take the oath of office in August, replacing the deeply unpopular Ivan Duque. For analysis, we speak to Gerard Martin, a political sociologist based in Medellin, Colombia.

The final instalment of the Zondo Commission into alleged high level corruption under Jacob Zuma was handed to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday.

In a major expansion of gun legislation, the Supreme Court has overturned a law in New York that restricted the carrying of concealed weapons in public. Hours later, senators passed a modest gun control bill.

Strong inflation headwinds could deny Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a second term, with the incumbent also facing a new corruption scandal. Lula says citizens want to "get rid" of the current government.

The UN's human rights body has found that Israeli security forces fired the shot that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May. Israel has yet to respond to the findings.

A decade of currency stability has come to an end with the rising cost of necessities and dear luxuries. But the central bank seems to be determined to keep its weak yen policy.

Guardian Nigeria's Political Editor, Muyiwa Adeyemi speaks to GuardianTV on the aftermath of the Ekiti 2022 guber election.

The leaders of the US, the UK, and Canada all slammed the Supreme Court's move, which puts US women at risk of losing their right to abortion. Meanwhile, Donald Trump said "God made the decision" on reproductive rights.

Ecuador's president has accused Indigenous protesters of attempting a coup. Clashes between protesters and security forces have left six people dead, and six of the country's 24 provinces are under a state of emergency.

An oil supertanker that has been moored in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen since 1976 could break apart and unleash part or all of its 1.1 million barrels of oil on the Horn of Africa, the UN warns. Also in this edition: Britain's Prince Charles expresses regret for the legacy of slavery, and Rwanda is set to produce its own mRNA vaccines in a first for the continent.