China has sharply rejected statements made by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in the United States about Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Azerbaijan launched an "anti-terrorist" operation in the Armenia-backed breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku's government said a truce and talks were contingent on the enclave's unconditional surrender.

Keir Starmer is in Paris a day ahead of King Charle's delayed state visit to France. The UK opposition leader has said he wants closer ties to the EU but won't seek to rejoin the bloc.

Zelenskyy's visit comes as many conservative Republicans are growing skeptical of US aid to Ukraine. Kyiv has been heavily reliant on weapons assistance from the West as it staves off Russia's invasion.

Warsaw says it is ending its supply of weapons to Ukraine, but that future deliveries could still be on the table. The move comes amid a growing dispute over a grain import ban with Kyiv.

In just a day, Azerbaijan was able to force ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to disarm. Usually, Armenians would look to Russia for help, but Russian peacekeepers stayed well out of the recent conflict. Why?

African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina faults global finance architecture.

German aid organizations allegedly demanded that money be spent on sick German children instead of tank deliveries to Ukraine. But the whole story is made up, and the video explaining it is a spoof.

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington seeking more help to fend off Russia's forces, US President Joe Biden said he was confident Congress would continue supporting Kyiv.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.

This week in Across Africa, Georja Calvin-Smith speaks to Namibian President Hage Geingob ahead of his arrival in New York for the UN General Assembly. He shares his perspective on governance, the impact of Africa's first climate change summit and the role of the African Union in responding to regional upheaval.

The UN chief has called it an epidemic of coups. In Africa, since 2020, military officers have seized power, or attempted to do so, in numerous sub-Saharan countries. Just in the last two and a half months, soldiers in Gabon announced a takeover of power, while in Niger, members of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and announced that they were seizing power.