The finance ministry has said its ability to make foreign payments has been hampered by sanctions. If Russia is unable to make the payments within a 30-day grace period, it will face its first default on international debt in more than a century.

The French presidential election is just around the corner. With the official campaign period in full swing, we explore a particularity of the French electoral system: a candidate's access to mass media. France has a very egalitarian view when it comes to a candidate's access to TV and radio. The idea is for candidates, big or small, to have an equal playing field and for voters to have access to a wide range of ideas. But is this complex system still in step with modern politics?

Nearly a month in, Ukraine is resisting as invading Russian forces increasingly resort to shelling civilians. With an estimated 300,000 trapped in the besieged port city of Mariupol and amid shelling in major cities including the capital, Kyiv is refusing to surrender and the Russian advance is slow going. Are we now digging in for a long war? And what does a long war mean for the invaders and the besieged?

Leonid Volkov, a top aide to jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, spoke to FRANCE 24 from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Tuesday. He expressed concern about the safety of his boss, who was recently sentenced to nine more years in prison, saying that the world “should keep an eye on him”.

Rangers and troops in DR Congo are accused of working with soldiers to terrorise and kill members of the indigenous Batwa community in a bid to drive them out of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Also, Rwanda marks 28 years since the start of the genocide of the Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Over a million lives were lost. President Paul Kagame says too many perpetrators are still at large, hiding out overseas. And a quarter of a century after the death of Nigerian music icon Fela Kuti, we see how his son and grandson are perpetuating his legacy. DR CONGO

Occupied by Turkish soldiers for close to half a century, the former Cypriot resort town of Varosha lies in ruins. Known as Marash in Turkish, the town is situated in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an entity only recognised by Ankara. It's also home to one of the two Turkish military bases on the island. According to a 1984 UN resolution, Varosha must be returned to its original owners. But neither the Greek Cypriot authorities, nor the Turkish Cypriot administration have taken steps to apply the decision. Our regional correspondents Shona Bhattacharyya and Ludovic de Foucaud report.

And so begins a mad dash to the finish in the French presidential race. After a surprisingly sluggish start to the campaign, the first round served up the predicted outcome but also its fair share of surprises. The April 24 runoff is incumbent Emmanuel Macron's to lose, say the pollsters. But in a rematch of the 2017 second round, the centrist incumbent has his weaknesses that the far-right's Marine Le Pen astutely exploited in a campaign where she has been out pounding the flesh while Macron has been attending summits.

French President Emmanuel Macron has set a deadline of 2024 to reopen Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral to worshippers and visitors. FRANCE 24's Revisited show is following the progress of this ambitious project and brings you a fresh update, three years after the devastating fire that badly damaged the world-famous cathedral. Our reporter Mélina Huet met those who are involved in the restoration work, both inside the mediaeval edifice and elsewhere in France. They now find themselves in a race against time.

We take a look at the many reasons why the global streaming giant Netflix lost some 200,000 users this past quarter and we find out what the site may do to get investors happy again. We also discuss the IMF's downgrading of global economic forecasts. Finally, takeaway delivery platform Deliveroo gets a big fine from a French court.

The US and China spent the most on their military in 2021, accounting for 52% of the total global defense expenditure, according to a new SIPRI report. Russia also saw a spending jump ahead of its invasion of Ukraine.

British papers react to Queen Elizabeth II's decision to skip the state opening of parliament for the first time in almost 60 years due to health issues.