- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
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- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
What election? World role delays Macron's bid for second term
In normal times, Emmanuel Macron would have hit the campaign trail by now to try for a second term in a presidential election only seven weeks away, plotting strategy, appearing in TV debates and firing up supporters at rallies.
But times are far from normal, and none of this is happening.
Instead, the French president seems chained to his desk, a five o'clock shadow growing into a stubble, brows furrowed, his attention focused east, as he hopes to dissuade Russian leader Vladimir Putin from waging all-out war in Ukraine.
Macron hasn't even told the nation whether he plans to run for re-election in the April vote, though few doubt that he will.
In the past few days, he has spent countless hours on the telephone to nearly every leader with a stake in the Ukraine crisis: Putin, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and EU leaders.
The opposition at home accuses him of putting on "a show" as he hugs the world headlines with his diplomacy instead of engaging with other presidential hopefuls at home.
Some say he is living dangerously by pinning his chances of scoring diplomatic points on someone as unpredictable as Putin.
- Credit for 'having tried' -
But the downside appears limited, as Macron will be given credit for "having tried" even if Russian tanks end up rolling towards Kyiv, according to Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, who heads MCBG, a public relations firm.
"Even is he fails with the Russians, he will have emerged as leading the European effort," he told AFP. This, he said, was all the more significant as Macron is acting "without the guiding role of Angela Merkel", the former German chancellor.
The strategy's upside is that the international crisis places Macron firmly at the centre of media attention and public debate, "completely removing the opposition from view", Moreau Chevrolet said.
Macron's efforts appeared to be paying off in the small hours of Monday when he got Biden and Putin to agree, in principle, to a summit meeting.
But within 24 hours, things were tensing up again with Putin recognising eastern Ukraine's breakaway republics as independent.
Macron condemned the move, and his office said Putin had "failed to keep his word", but the president's advisers were also quick to shield their man from the fallout of what they called Putin's "paranoid" behaviour.
"We took this as far as we could" by asking Putin to decide whether he wanted to meet with Biden or not, one Elysee adviser said. "We invited President Putin to make a choice, and he made his choice."
The presidential PR machine has, unusually, made sure that Macron's actions are visible. Over the past month, the Elysee has communicated in real time about whom Macron is talking to and when, and organised prompt background briefings for French and foreign reporters.
- 'Positive energy' -
Macron's personal photographer even posted a series of pictures of the president at his desk at the weekend, unshaven and his face lined with fatigue.
"The president has a lot of positive energy," one adviser said, describing Macron as "more of a facilitator than a mediator".
Macron "accepts risk", the adviser added, using one of the president's own favourite terms.
This proactive approach had already been evident in his role in other tense situations, in Lebanon, Libya, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, and the Iranian nuclear question -- not always with success.
This time, Macron's advisers admit freely, the risk is that any slip-up over Ukraine may be hard to rectify before French voters cast their first-round vote on April 10.
Already his opponents are coming after him, not least by accusing him of naivete towards Putin.
"This is the kind of political show that the president loves," said Thierry Mariani, spokesman for far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. "There is no concrete result, because the Americans and the Russians are the ones calling the shots."
Eric Zemmour, another extreme-right hopeful, said Macron was "doomed to fail" because Russia viewed France "as Washington's little messenger boy".
Hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon said Macron lacked credibility when he promised to defend Ukraine's integrity. "The Russians know very well that we can't," he said.
Commentators in France mostly agree that Macron will announce his run for re-election some time next week, only days before the official deadline of March 4.
The latest opinion polls continue to predict that he will win a second term, regardless of which other candidate he faces in the second-round run-off.
P.Santos--AMWN