French unions are staging a major nationwide strike Thursday, with more than 170 protests calling for salary hikes to deal with the rising cost of living. Rail workers, teachers and other professions are pressuring the government just months ahead of presidential elections.

Journalists in Mexico are mourning the murder of another colleague – the fourth to be killed since the start of the year. They're being targeted for exposing corruption at the top. The government is under pressure to make it safer for them to do their job.

In southern India, a debate is raging over whether the government can ban students from wearing hijabs and burqas in the classroom. Last month the Karnataka state government issued such a ban, spurring legal action and angry protests across the state.

Protesters opposed to COVID curbs continue to hamper trade and everyday life across Canada as demonstrations grow. Police say safety concerns have limited their capacity to disperse the protests.

Police in Paris have clashed with hundreds of protesters demonstrating against France's COVID restrictions. This came as so-called freedom convoys, inspired by similar demonstrations by truckers in Canada, reached the French capital.

Six months after the Taliban retook Afghanistan, FRANCE 24 spoke to former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who remains in the country. Karzai strongly criticised the Biden administration's recent decision to unfreeze Afghan assets but divide the funds between aid to Afghanistan and victims of the 9/11 attacks, saying the funds "belong to the Afghan people". He also said he believed the Taliban would eventually allow girls to return to school, since doing so is "absolutely necessary for the well-being" of Afghanistan.

Nepal's parliament is due to restart debate on a controversial US aid grant. Lawmakers were hoping to ratify the measure last week. But the discussion was postponed because of massive protests and opposition from some members of the ruling coalition.

Demonstrators in cities across the globe have expressed solidarity with Ukraine, with many expressing anger at the Kremlin's decision to invade Russia's neighbor.

Lawmakers in Nepal voted in favor of the $500-million grant by Washington for new road and power projects. But its opponents say the US move undermines Nepal's sovereignty.

Colombia's President Ivan Duque has called for an end to the mass anti-government rallies. More than two dozen have died in the unrest stemming from anger over living conditions and heavy-handed police tactics. Planned tax increases set off the protests.

Despite censorship and the government's crackdown on anti-war protests, some Russians have come up with alternative ways to speak out against the invasion of Ukraine. Here are some instances that went viral.

Coordinated global demonstrations drew thousands of mostly young people calling for climate leadership under the motto "People not Profit." In Germany, the war in Ukraine and bans on Russian fossil fuels were in focus.