Niger's coup leaders have tried to expel France's ambassador, but Paris says it doesn't recognize their authority to order him out. Macron said on TV he was "literally" a "hostage," stuck in the French Embassy in Niamey.

King Charles III's first state visit to France this week will include echoes of his mother's many trips across the English Channel. Like Queen Elizabeth II did in her day, he will process through the streets of Paris, plant a tree at the British ambassador's residence and dine at the Palace of Versailles.

This week, five US citizens freed from prison in Iran were able to embrace their loved ones back home. Under the deal brokered by Qatar, five Iranians detained in the United States were also released. The agreement included the unfreezing of nearly $6 billion in Iranian assets. So is the deal a sign of warming ties between Washington and Tehran? We put the question to David Smith, Washington bureau chief for the Guardian.

Its grapes are twice fermented, which is the same as the process used to make prosecco. However, prosecco is fermented in stainless steel vats and champagne is twice fermented in glass bottles. The result is two very different sparkling wines. Champagne retains a dryness and develops a very complex flavour profile.

Deep in France's southern Lubéron mountains lies a stunning red and orange landscape reminiscent of the vast plains of America: the Colorado provençal. This spot of wild nature is in fact a former open-cast ochre quarry. Every year, some 300,000 visitors venture through these 30 unusual hectares, between fairy chimneys and strange sculptures, to discover the remains of the site's industrial past.

Germany and France decided to jointly develop key weapons systems, but several have been abandoned. And now, the MGCS battle tank prestige project is meeting a lot of resistance.

Finding space... in space! We speak to General Michel Friedling, founder of Look Up Space, the French startup that's developing a solution to better navigate Earth's increasingly cluttered lower orbit.

The French president said military cooperation with the West African nation would end and France's soldiers stationed there would return home by the end of the year.

The German and US defense ministers have said they see no immediate need to leave Niger, following France's decision to withdraw troops. Niamey's junta has been more focused on the former colonial power's presence.

The French diplomat left the capital Niamey for Chad early Wednesday, Paris said. The military junta had ordered his expulsion some weeks ago.

Iran has long seen many of its brightest emigrate in search of a new life. Now the oppression of women and the feminist movement is helping drive an exodus of female graduates.

Islamabad is clamping down on cross-border smuggling, but Balochistan activists claim the measures are impacting millions of people who depend on trade with Iran.