Romania: Iohannis tipped for runoff before second term as president

The US calls for a meaningful ceasefire in Ethiopia as it imposes sanctions on neighbouring Eritrea for its role in the conflict in Tigray. Also, Libya's prime minister says he will hand over power if elections take place freely next month. And we take a spin around Kigali, as the Rwandan capital flaunts its green credentials with a new bicycle-sharing scheme.

US military personnel have arrived in Romania ahead of a deployment of NATO troops expected in the country. Romania, a NATO member since 2004, borders Ukraine to the north.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu reacted to the latest developments in the war in Ukraine. With more NATO troops and weaponry set to be deployed in Romania in the coming days, the top diplomat said that this move "cannot be seen as a provocation" but was instead a "legitimate response" by the Alliance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Asked about the humanitarian situation at the border, Aurescu said that Romania was open to "all those in need".

US military personnel have arrived in Romania ahead of a deployment of NATO troops expected in the country. Romania, a NATO member since 2004, borders Ukraine to the north. DW's Alexandra von Nahmen traveled to the country to cover the drills.

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During World War II, one of the worst massacres of the conflict took place in Eastern Europe, in Romania's second city of Iași. A tenth of the city's population – more than 13,000 people – was murdered in the space of a few days, simply because they were Jews. More than 80 years after the Iasi pogrom, most people in Romania know little about these atrocities, and the country's far-right party is gaining in strength – as are those who want to rewrite history. FRANCE 24's Nadia Blétry, Thierry Trelluyer and Ruth Michaelson report.

There's now less than a week to go before the first round of voting in the French presidential election on April 10. Candidates have been hitting the campaign trail over the weekend in a bid to sway undecided voters. Our reporters went to Anne Hidalgo's rally. According to polls, the current mayor of Paris is languishing on around 2 percent of voting intentions. Plus, our Business Editor Kate Moody explains why the cost of living is the number one issue for French voters heading into Sunday's election.

French President Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen by a comfortable margin in Sunday's election, early projections by four pollsters showed, securing a second term and heading off what would have been a political earthquake.

Romania's capital is buried in smoke from burned trash that comes from all over Europe. The dubious business is being investigated. Prosecutors and activists are sounding the alarm about organized crime structures.

No matter how an incumbent or ex-governor acts neutral and uninterested, his or her eyes are fixed on the process that will produce a successor. But before Ekiti goes to the polls to elect the next governor, here are a few questions the electorate needs to ask aspirants.

Kenyans are just hours away from heading to the polls for a general election. They will choose governors, MPs and a new president, marking the end of Uhuru Kenyatta's nine years in office. Also, as grain exports from Ukraine slowly resume, we take a closer look at fertiliser, another product from the region that Africa depends on. Finally, Chad's military government and more than 40 opposition groups sign a deal to launch national peace talks later this month.

Polls closed in the evening and vote counting began on Wednesday after Angolans voted in a tight race in which the main opposition coalition had its best-ever chance of victory as millions of youths left out of its oil-fuelled booms were likely to express frustration with nearly five decades of MPLA rule.