U.S. Senator Rand Paul on Saudi Arabia, Khashoggi, government shutdown

Estonia's recently-elected president is urging caution over the situation at Belarus's borders with the European Union. Thousands of migrants hoping to enter the EU and claim asylum there, mainly from the Middle East, are camped at the borders. Asked by FRANCE 24 how dangerous he judges the tensions to be, Alar Karis said: "I think it's a threat. It's a border of the EU and of a NATO state. We should be very careful and cautious about what's going on Of course the sad thing is that there are innocent people in between that they are using as a shield."

The US embassy said it was "deeply concerned" that Bulgaria's reelected president said Crimea was "currently Russian." In a statement, the embassy said the EU and NATO "have all been clear" that "Crimea is Ukraine."

United Arab Emirates General Ahmed Naser al-Raisi has criminal complaints against him in five countries. The decision was announced amid the global law enforcement agency's annual gathering in Istanbul.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Opposition leader and former president Mikheil Saakashvili says charges against him for his role in suppressing a 2007 protest are "trumped up." Amnesty International called his arrest "political revenge."

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the Presidential Villa Abuja.⁣ ⁣The South African President who is accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business leaders is on a state visit expected to reinforce South Africa’s bilateral relations with Nigeria as well as strengthen partnerships directed at African development and cooperation in multilateral forums.⁣

Gambian President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission said on Sunday, though he may face a legal challenge from opposition candidates who rejected the results because of unspecified irregularities. Barrow received around 53% of Saturday's vote, far outstripping his nearest rival, political veteran Ousainou Darboe, who won about 28 percent.

Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, President Yoweri Museveni told Reuters, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption which has made slow progress. Museveni, in power since 1986 and one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, said Uganda was working to sign a number of deals with Chinese private sector lenders in sectors from agro- and fertilizer-processing, minerals processing or textiles.

Will Jacob Zuma return to prison? South Africa's highest court orders the former president to be re-incarcerated after setting aside an earlier decision to release him on medical parole. Meanwhile, the country records close to 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, an all-time record. Plus, European football clubs say they may not release their African players to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, amid fears surrounding the tournament's Covid-19 health protocol.

Ahead of Chile's presidential run-off on Sunday, FRANCE 24's Cole Stangler takes a closer look at the country's economy and the contrasting visions of far-right candidate José Antonio Kast and left-wing contender Gabriel Boric.

A video has been widely shared in pro-Bolsonaro circles on Brazilian social media. It claims to show Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva being insulted by Parisian students during a Batucada performance, while on the French leg of his European tour. We explore how the performance was hijacked and twisted by rival political supporters.