We begin in Kazakhstan, where the country's president has given the green light to security forces to shoot to kill those taking part in the unrest that's been sweeping the Central Asian nation this week. Dozens of people have been killed in the violence which erupted after a sharp increase in fuel prices, reflecting wider discontent with authoritarian rule. In response to a call from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Russian-led troops have already begun arriving in Kazakhstan.

Forces sent to help quell an outbreak of violence in Kazakhstan have returned to Russia. A Moscow-led alliance of six former Soviet states were sent after a request from the Kazakh president.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi granted an interview to FRANCE 24. Earlier this month, peaceful protests against a hike in energy prices in Kazakhstan sparked a brutal crackdown, backed up by military support from Russian-led troops. The official death toll stands at 225, but human rights groups believe it to be much higher. Tileuberdi said the Kazakhstani authorities were ready to share "proof" with the international community that there were foreign terrorists among the "armed militants". So far, witnesses on the ground have not backed up this claim.

After the violent unrest of early January, calm has returned to Kazakhstan. Many people, however, have complained of excesses during the state of emergency — including illegal arrests and searches.

What if the French left stays home next Sunday? Two-thirds of those who actively support Jean-Luc Mélenchon see no reason to choose centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron over the far-right's Marine Le Pen in the presidential run-off. In a nation where the president enjoys outsized powers, this is the election that matters. Why are so many of his supporters unfazed by the prospect of Le Pen beating Macron? She's the leader of a party whose roots go back to Vichy France and the 1961 attempted coup to keep Algeria French.

With the second round of voting in the French presidential election just days away, we explore the latest twists and turns in the campaign trail with Andrew Smith, a professor of contemporary French history at Chichester University. He unpicks President Emmanuel Macron's last-gasp bid to convince supporters of defeated leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon to vote for him, if only to keep the far right out of the Élysée Palace. We also discuss Marine Le Pen's pledge to ban the Muslim hijab in public. Smith tells us it's an attempt to fire up her base – but does it risk alienating more moderate voters?

Going into Sunday's winner-takes-all runoff vote, French President Emmanuel Macron is leading several polls. But nationalist Marine Le Pen is not far behind. Both are hoping to woo undecided leftist voters.

Lebanon is electing a new parliament soon. Even though many people harbour hope for change, it won't be a walk in the park for the opposition. Traditional power structures remain deeply embedded.

Streaming platforms, such as Amazon Prime and Disney+, will now have to contribute money to Swiss cinema. Voters also backed switching to an opt-out system to organ donations.

Australia is counting down to its next federal election on May 21. The environmental crisis is high on voters' minds and smaller parties and independents are gaining momentum by riding a wave of disillusionment over the conservative coalition's lack of climate action. With a hung parliament looking likely, these minor players could force the traditional parties to do more to tackle global warming. Climate change is an increasingly hot-button issue since the country's devastating bushfires of 2019-20. Our correspondents Richelle Harrison Plesse and Gregory Plesse report.

In the aftermath of deadly violence, Kazakhstan has held a referendum that is likely to shift powers away from the president and nix the privileges enjoyed by former dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev.

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