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Ikea plans to invest more than $1 billion in France after announcing a US expansion, and the Swedish furniture giant will cut prices as inflation eases, the head of its holding company told AFP.

Wall Street stocks failed to gain traction Monday after President Joe Biden said he was "optimistic" about finding an agreement on averting a first-ever US default.

Nantes striker Mostafa Mohamed will be fined by his club after refusing to play at the weekend in a protest against an anti-homophobia campaign in France's Ligue 1, a source at the struggling side told AFP on Monday.

Paul Pogba's injury-blighted season is ending as it started with the French midfielder out for two to three weeks after tests Monday revealed a thigh injury.

Cricket chiefs on Monday announced they are scrapping the contentious "soft signal" rule and making helmets mandatory for wicketkeepers standing close to the stumps.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday emerged from his toughest election test unbowed and in strong position to extend two decades of his Islamic-rooted rule by another five years in a historic May 28 runoff.

Thailand's Move Forward Party was never supposed to win. But on Sunday night the upstart opposition rode a dramatic wave of support to take the lead position in national polls and upend decades of Thai politics.

President Emmanuel Macron met billionaire businessman Elon Musk on Monday to discuss future investment projects, as the French leader hosts a conference aimed at persuading business leaders to put their money in France.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a visit to Britain Monday won the promise of "hundreds" more missiles and drones -- and said his coveted goal of enlisting Western fighter jets was drawing nearer.

Hundreds of pro-government protestors demanded Monday the resignation of Pakistan's top judge for releasing Imran Khan from arrest last week, as the former prime minister went back to court facing yet more legal cases.

US candidate Amy Pope looked poised to become the first woman to lead the UN migration agency, after Monday's first round of voting put her squarely in the lead -- ahead of her own boss.

President Emmanuel Macron met billionaire businessman Elon Musk on Monday to discuss future investment projects, as the French leader hosts a conference aimed at persuading business leaders to put their money in France.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on Monday the club will "do everything possible" to bring Argentine superstar Lionel Messi back in the close season.

Major stock markets advanced Monday after President Joe Biden said he was "optimistic" about finding an agreement on averting a first-ever US default.

Harvard graduate, corporate titan and unlikely pro-democracy champion, 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat has shocked the Thai establishment with a grassroots campaign pushing royal reform that has seen him emerge as a frontrunner to be the kingdom's next prime minister.

Europe's economy rode out the energy price crisis triggered by Russia's war on Ukraine with better than expected economic growth, Brussels said Monday, as it boosted its forecast.

Singapore will host the next awards ceremony for Prince William's Earthshot Prize that aims to reward innovative efforts to combat climate change, a statement said Monday.

A Russian missile strike killed four people and hit a hospital in eastern Ukraine, officials said Monday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky won the promise of "hundreds" more missiles and drones on a visit to Britain.

Contact was slowly being restored on Monday with tens of thousands of people cut off in a major Myanmar port city as the death toll from a cyclone that tore through the west of the country and neighbouring Bangladesh rose to at least five.

Sam Curran is the most expensive player in Indian Premier League history but England's World Cup hero is drawing flak after failing to justify his price tag with bat or ball.

The Cannes Film Festival was preparing to roll out the red carpet on Monday for a star-packed edition featuring Harrison Ford, Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman -- but also concerns over protests by French unions.

The Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan went on trial at a Geneva criminal court Monday charged with "rape and sexual coercion", allegations which the former Oxford University professor denies.

Seven years ago, Salam Kanhoush fled the conflict in Syria and found refuge in Sudan. But the fighting that broke out in Khartoum last month has once again forced him into exile.

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was due back in court on Monday after his arrest and brief detention last week sparked days of deadly civil unrest.

Turkey on Monday woke up to the prospect of its first presidential runoff vote after conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confounded pollsters and his secular rival to win the first round of the country's pivotal election.

Ukraine hailed on Monday its advances around frontline Bakhmut and President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in London to seek fresh aid as expectations built over a spring offensive.

Vice Media, once the darling of the digital news media world, said Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to facilitate its sale.

After an unusually acrimonious leadership battle, the International Organization for Migration kicked off an election on Monday to determine whether its current chief or one of his deputies should run the United Nations agency.

Tens of thousands of people in a major Myanmar port city were cut off from contact on Monday after a deadly cyclone tore through the west of the country and neighbouring Bangladesh.

Asian and European markets mostly rose Monday as investors kept an eye on the talks to raise the US debt limit to avert a "catastrophic" default.

Two-time world poker champion Doyle Brunson has died at the age of 89, his family said Sunday.

Thailand's progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) claimed victory in the country's election Monday after a stunning result that decimated military-backed parties, which have ruled the kingdom for nearly a decade.