Saudi Aramco debt orders grow to $75B

The scars of the bloody two-year conflict between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces are still fresh and run deep, despite the surprise ceasefire agreement reached in South Africa on Wednesday.

It has been more than four years since journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Since then, his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, has been fighting to bring his killers to justice. This week she took her campaign to Berlin.

Two Canadians and a top Chinese executive are on their way home after a deal with US authorities put an end to a three year diplomatic spat. Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China's Huawei telecoms giant, was arrested in Canada in 2018 on US charges of violating sanctions. Weeks later Beijing detained two Canadian citizens in China in what was seen as an act of retaliation.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to extend a UN-brokered grain export deal for another 120 days, Ukraine's infrastructure minister has said.

The UN climate summit in Egypt is heading into at least an extra day. Perhaps the main issue where delegates have not been able to reach a deal is "loss and damage" payments.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, the president of Seychelles hailed the deal reached at the COP27 climate conference on a "loss and damage" fund for vulnerable nations as "good news". Wavel Ramkalawan said that "loss and damage" had been a long-standing request of small island states like his, but added that the key now was implementation and funding.

The papers cover the positive, and negative, aspects of the COP27 climate deal, with many lamenting that emission cuts did not make the final agreement. The papers are also paying tribute to, and criticising, Qatar's World Cup opening ceremony. Plus, New Zealand discusses age discrimination and Joe Biden celebrates his 80th birthday.

DR Congo and Rwanda have struck a deal to end months of fighting between Congolese troops and rebels in eastern DRC. The agreement was reached with the mediation of the East African community, but it hinges on the withdrawal of M23 rebels from occupied areas.

The EU's foreign policy chief has announced a last-minute agreement to end a nearly two-year dispute over car plates that the bloc feared could have ended in violence.

In an interview with FRANCE 24 in Strasbourg, the chairman of the environment committee at the European Parliament reacted to the recent COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Pascal Canfin hailed the deal on "loss and damage" for vulnerable countries as "better than nothing" and welcomed the fact that China has been asked to contribute to it.

The M23 rebel group said Thursday that a ceasefire announced a day earlier "doesn't really concern us," while calling for "direct dialogue" with Democratic Republic of Congo's government.

The capital of Tigray is in economic ruin and residents are plagued by hunger and disease. The recent peace deal signed by the federal government and Tigray rebels has brought hope to their despair.