We take a look at how the French press is covering plans by major labour unions to hold strike action on Thursday, January 19. We also find out about a Paris referendum on scooters, a mass kidnapping in Burkina Faso, varied views on Martin Luther King Jr Day (including a controversial statue) and finally, why Blue Monday isn't really a thing.

Caretaker Prime Minister Eduard Heger has been unable gain a new majority in parliament and plans to call an early election this fall. Some fear the result could threaten liberal democracy in Slovakia.

Mali's ruling junta will postpone a constitutional referendum but maintain a previously agreed timeline to return to civilian rule, a government spokesperson said in a statement read to the press Friday.

Switzerland to host the 2025 Women's European Championship, European soccer's governing body UEFA announce.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev says the constitutional reforms could usher in a "new Uzbekistan" with more civil liberties. They would also free him up to rule until 2040, rather than his current likely deadline of 2026.

The council turned down yet again an opposition proposal to cap the age of retirement at 62. Opponents of Macron's pension reform are now mobilizing for June 6 protests and strikes.

Six Swiss police officers have appeared in court accused of homicide in the case of a 2018 death of a Black man from a heart attack as he was being arrested.

The war in Ukraine is stirring debate in one of Europe's last neutral states. Switzerland is certainly not looking to scrap neutrality, it’s just not sure what it actually means.

Malians are due to take part in a referendum on Sunday that paves the way for elections and democratic rule in 2024. Repeated postponements and two military coups have stood in the way of the poll since 2017.

The government plans a 75% emission cut by 2050 but the right-wing Swiss People's Party warned the plan will cause energy prices to rise. A separate vote on higher corporate taxes is being held.

The amendments are expected to facilitate a transition to civilian leadership in the junta-ruled West African country. Observers voiced concerns over last week's referendum, saying the vote was marred by irregularities.

The past decade has seen an acceleration of medical research on LSD, a hallucinogenic substance discovered in the 1940s and banned 30 years later. In Switzerland, several clinics and hospitals now have permission to administer the drug to patients for depression or anxiety disorders, under strict supervision. But the enthusiasm surrounding the substance is such that some specialists are concerned about the risks of self-medication, particularly in Germany.