Reuters

Russia held its most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years on Saturday due to the threat of attack from Ukraine, where victory for Moscow's forces has proven elusive more than four years into the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.

Keir Starmer's Labour Party suffered heavy early losses in local elections on Friday, showing the depth of voter anger with the British prime minister and increasing doubts about his future just two years after a landslide victory in a national vote.

Romania's parliament is likely to oust Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's minority government on Tuesday after it debates a no-confidence motion put forward by the two largest parties, potentially leading to a policy deadlock that endangers the country's sovereign debt ratings, access to EU funds and its leu currency.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was on course to win two of four crucial state elections on Monday, expanding its influence and weakening its key rival half-way into his third term in office.  

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leading figure in the hard-left France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) political party, will stand in next year's presidential election, he said on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday broadening U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government, two White House officials told Reuters, as he seeks to put more pressure on Havana after ousting Venezuela's leader.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russian forces would stay in Mali to help the military-led government battle insurgents as West Africa's al Qaeda affiliate claimed to have seized more territory. 

France has urged its nationals in Mali to leave "as soon as possible" following coordinated attacks at the weekend, including in the capital Bamako, a travel advice update for the West African country said.

In simultaneous attacks launched on Saturday, an alliance of al Qaeda-linked militants and separatist rebels killed Mali's defence minister, hit the capital's airport and drove Russian soldiers out of a desert town over a thousand kilometres away.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington by Secret Service agents on Saturday night after a man opened fire on security personnel nearby.

Insurgents launched attacks across Mali early on Saturday, with the army later saying it had regained control as the military-led government faced one of the biggest operations against it in a long battle with affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State.

An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands, a U.S. official told Reuters.