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A far-right, pro-Russia candidate took a surprise lead Monday in Romania's presidential election, bolstering his party's hopes for a parliamentary vote this week that could usher in a strategic shift for the east European NATO member.

France announced Monday a new campaign to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, as the country reckons with a mass rape trial that has shocked the public.

New Sporting Lisbon coach Joao Pereira said his side's thrashing of Manchester City eased the pressure on them ahead of Arsenal's Champions League visit on Tuesday.

An Argentine court on Monday began hearing an application by two French international rugby players accused of raping a woman after a match in July to have the charges dismissed.

Egyptian authorities said 17 people including foreigners were missing after a tourist yacht capsized off the country's Red Sea coast on Monday, with 28 others rescued.

Stocks rose Monday on both sides of the Atlantic as traders welcomed Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, seen as a steady hand with ambitious goals to spur growth in the world's biggest economy.

Borussia Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke on Monday called for a survey of the club's 218,000 members to gauge opinion on the controversial multi-million euro sponsorship deal with Germany's largest arms manufacturer Rheinmetall.

Eliane Heilbronn, mother of the secretive owners of luxury group Chanel, has died aged 99, the company said on Monday.

Emma Hayes said she felt "unwell" at the end of her time as Chelsea boss due to the stress of the job as she prepares her US women's team to face England on Saturday.

A DHL cargo plane crashed Monday near the Lithuanian capital's airport, killing one crew member, but authorities stopped short of linking the tragedy to a recent series of sabotage cases.

Defending champion Ding Liren of China on Monday ended a long winless run to beat teenage challenger Gukesh Dommaraju of India in the opening game of their World Chess Championship match.

Pep Guardiola said Monday that Manchester City can still achieve "very good things" this season despite their alarming run of five straight defeats.

France announced Monday a new campaign to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, as the country reckons with a mass rape trial that has shocked the public.

Germany's Olaf Scholz was Monday officially named to lead his Social Democrats into February elections, but the embattled chancellor faces a tough fight to win a second term.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick warned his team they must stop making mistakes ahead of the Champions League clash with French side Brest on Tuesday.

British business lobby group, the CBI, on Monday hit out over the Labour government's tax hikes on firms, saying the "heavy burden" risked cuts to hiring and investment.

Olaf Scholz was on Monday officially named to lead his centre-left Social Democrats into Germany's snap elections in February, but the embattled chancellor faces a tough fight to win a second term.

Israel conducted strikes against Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold on Monday and battles raged in Lebanon's south after the Iran-backed militant group claimed 50 attacks on Israeli targets the day before.

Russia said Monday its air defences had shot down eight ballistic missiles fired by Ukraine, amid heightened tensions over Kyiv's use of Western-supplied long-range arms against Russia.

Georgia's new parliament met for the first time Monday, with the chamber facing serious questions over its legitimacy amid a boycott by opposition parties and the president declaring it unconstitutional.

Talks to agree the world's first treaty to curb plastic pollution cannot fail and must tackle both production and consumption, the UN's environment chief told AFP on Monday.

French prosecutors on Monday demanded a maximum 20-year jail term for the man charged with enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife, in a trial that has shaken France.

An assisted migration of beech trees in need of protection from climate change is bearing its first fruits in France after 13 years, with saplings now gracing the former World War I battlefield of Verdun.

A final round of talks on a treaty to curb plastic pollution opened on Monday, with deep differences between nations emerging almost immediately.

Three suspects held in the United Arab Emirates over the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi are from Uzbekistan, authorities in the Gulf state announced Monday, saying they were working to determine their motives.

Acclaimed Indian author Amitav Ghosh has won the coveted Dutch Erasmus Prize for his writings on climate change and its impact on humanity, especially on the Indian subcontinent.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has suffered a hamstring injury, said the Spanish club Monday, ruling him out of the upcoming Champions League match with Liverpool.

Filiz Demiral was at home in Istanbul when she got the phone call in August 2020 that would turn her life upside down: her 20-year-daughter Ceyda had been found dead with the police telling her it was suicide.

Bestselling British-American writer Barbara Taylor Bradford, whose first novel "A Woman of Substance" turned her into an overnight success, has died aged 91, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

Major stock markets mostly rose Monday as traders welcomed Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, while bitcoin's push to $100,000 ran out of steam after coming within a whisker of the mark last week.

Ukrainian drones hit a fuel and energy facility in the Russian region of Kaluga, a source in Ukrainian military intelligence said Monday, in Kyiv's latest attack on Moscow's energy sites.

The UN Secretary-General on Monday slammed the "renewed threat" of anti-personnel landmines, days after the United States said it would supply the weapons to Ukrainian forces battling Russia's invasion.