- Pakistan 'vigilantes' behind rise in online blasphemy cases
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- Smith experiment as Test opener over, Green out of India series
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Dodgers crush Mets 9-0 in MLB playoff series opener
- South Korea military says 'fully ready' as drone tensions soar
- Cummins back, Marsh and Head out of Pakistan ODI series
- Shanghai stocks swing after stimulus briefing as most of Asia rises
- New Zealand's Latham promises 'no fear' as he takes charge for India Tests
- Kyrgios vows to 'shut up' doubters with December comeback
- Public hearings start into death of Brit by Russian nerve agent
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- 'Stolen satire' feeds US election misinformation
- Rookie McCarty captures first PGA Tour title in Black Desert Championship
- Australia all-rounder Green ruled out of India Test series
- Seeing double in Nigeria's 'twins capital of the world'
- UK FM to attend EU foreign affairs talks for first time in 2 years
- Carter, Billups among 13 new Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- Ravens rip Commanders as Lions lose NFL sacks leader in win
- Hezbollah drone strike kills four, wounds dozens at Israeli base
- China says launches military drills around Taiwan
- Stewart leads Liberty past Lynx to level WNBA Finals
- England return to winning ways in Nations League, Austria thrash Norway
- UN chief says attacks on UNIFIL 'may constitute a war crime'
- Ravens outlast Commanders while Bucs batter Saints in NFL
- Dozens hurt in Israel as Hezbollah claims drone strike
- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
Macron urges solid parliament majority amid 'troubled times'
French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to voters Tuesday to give him a "solid majority" in Sunday's parliamentary polls, warning against adding "French disorder to global disorder."
Speaking as he departed from Paris to visit French troops dispatched to Romania in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Macron said "the months ahead will be difficult" but called for people to back him in the name of "the higher national interest" and "common sense."
Macron's visit this week to Romania and neighbouring Moldova has come under fire at home, landing ahead of the second round of crucial parliamentary elections in which his centrist majority is at risk.
"Emmanuel Macron has planned a trip abroad for three days... after anaesthetising the campaign by refusing any debate, he saw the second round as a done deal," Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the left-wing NUPES alliance, told Le Parisien daily.
The incumbent had already been charged by opponents with sitting out April's presidential vote, bringing home a solid but unspectacular win against far-right chief Marine Le Pen.
Appearing to bet on a similar strategy in this month's parliamentary poll, his Ensemble (Together) alliance suffered in Sunday's first round while NUPES and the far right made gains.
Projections suggest voters could hand Ensemble 255-295 seats in the second round -- uncomfortably low compared with the threshold for an absolute majority of 289.
- Petrol and purchasing power -
Macron's Elysee Palace office said that in Romania the president would send "a clear message of our commitment to our NATO allies and European partners" following Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine -- highlighted by France's 500-strong deployment in the country.
There have even been press reports, unconfirmed so far, that Macron could make his first visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv since the assault began in February, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
But "people (in France) are really worried about petrol, purchasing power, not about him going to visit French soldiers abroad," one anonymous parliamentary candidate for Ensemble complained to Le Parisien.
Macron acknowledged on Tuesday the "disorder in our everyday lives," telling voters "you're already paying more for your gas, your petrol, your groceries, and the months ahead will be difficult."
"In these troubled times, the choice you have to make this Sunday is more crucial than ever," he added, calling on both people who voted for other candidates and non-voters to rally behind him.
While the campaign has been dominated by inflation and other economic impacts of the Ukraine war, the left is also trying to make it a referendum on Macron's plans to raise the minimum retirement age to 65 as part of a pensions overhaul.
But all sides have struggled to get voters excited about the poll, with just 47.5 percent turning out on Sunday, the lowest ever in a first-round parliament election.
Since reforms to the electoral calendar in the early 2000s, interest in the legislative vote -- which follows on the heels of the presidential poll -- has dwindled, as it has always given the head of state a handy majority.
F.Dubois--AMWN