Peru and Burkina Faso led a general global deterioration in freedom last year, but a number of other nations showed improvements, giving hope in the fight against authoritarianism, according to the US research group Freedom House.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited India to cement ties before dashing off to the US for talks that could include a scuppered submarine deal which infuriated France.

Xi Jinping has been re-elected for a third term as China’s president. The decision was made at the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body, and was met with mixed reactions from both domestic and international communities.

The value of shares in France’s major banks sank on Friday after trouble at a regional US lender sparked a Wall Street rout on the sector in the United States. Deutsche Bank shares were down nearly 10 percent at the opening in Frankfurt.

The United Nations refugee agency has criticised a British draft law that would outlaw asylum claims by anyone arriving in the country illegally. The UNHCR has warned that such legislation could violate international law.

European countries historically rich in water are hastily rolling out emergency measures to cope with a cumulative drought that has sapped waterways, threatened food security and strained energy production – with little end in sight.

Five civilian deaths have been reported, and 40 percent of the residents of Kyiv are without heating in the wake of a huge overnight Russian missile barrage. Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv is without power, water or heating.

Iran has sentenced an Irish-French citizen to six-and-a-half years in jail. Bernard Phelan has been held since his arrest in October in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

The European Union has announced sanctions against officials from six countries, including Russia and Afghanistan, for violence and rights abuses against women. This comes as countries around the globe mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday.