Journal du Club des Cordeliers - News from Marseille, the political, economic and cultural centre of southern France and the whole world

Wasps have withdrawn from Saturday's English Premiership rugby game against Exeter with the cash-strapped club "likely" to enter administration within days.

The United States and other Western powers on Wednesday urged Ethiopia's government and Tigrayan rebels to start African Union-led peace talks, warning of humanitarian risks if the renewed conflict persists.

Britain's beleaguered Prime Minister Liz Truss vowed Wednesday not to cut public spending, once again defending last month's uncosted tax-slashing mini-budget that has sparked weeks of UK market turmoil.

Iranian security forces fired tear gas Wednesday at a lawyers' protest over Mahsa Amini's death, said a rights group, which also raised the death toll to at least 108 from the crackdown on the nearly month-long movement.

Myanmar's junta on Wednesday jailed a Japanese journalist arrested while filming an anti-coup protest for three more years for violating immigration law, a diplomatic source told AFP.

A major exhibition of impressionist art opened Wednesday at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, featuring works from masters such as Cezanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Pissarro and Renoir.

Saudi golf coach Faraj Mezhar hit his first shots on a sandy course in neighbouring Qatar three decades ago, an outing that changed his life forever.

The Bank of England on Wednesday insisted it would end emergency buying of UK bonds by the weekend but sent markets into further frenzy as economic uncertainty grips Britain.

Britain's approach to changing public travel, heating and food habits is "inadequate" to meet its net zero and environment targets, a parliamentary committee warned Wednesday.

The pound rallied and UK government bond yields rose Wednesday, with the Bank of England accused of fuelling markets uncertainty.

Ukraine said Wednesday it reclaimed more territory from Russia in the south, while welcoming the delivery of Western air defence systems that Kyiv said would usher in a "new era" after mass strikes from Moscow.

Iranian activists called for nationwide protests Wednesday in response to a bloody crackdown on demonstrations over Mahsa Amini's death that a human rights group says has killed at least 108 people.

In Le Proces, or "The Trial", a bar in Ouagadougou, artist and co-founder Patrick Kabre works the crowd, raising belly laughs with his observations about Burkina Faso today.

Charred, rusting hulks are all that remain of three Russian rocket launchers that were left destroyed near the frontline in southern Ukraine, where Kyiv's forces have been pushing back Moscow's invading troops.

Striking French fuel refinery workers voted Wednesday to continue their stoppages and blockades, defying the government which began ordering some of them back to work in a bid to get supplies flowing.

Myanmar's junta on Wednesday jailed a Japanese journalist arrested while filming an anti-coup protest for three more years for violating immigration law, a diplomatic source told AFP.

Former figure skating star Sarah Abitbol lifted the lid on sexual abuse in sport in France by revealing she was raped by her former coach as a teenager -- but says she feels she was "punished" as a result.

Taiwan's largest metro line will begin a trial next month offering women free sanitary products, spurred by a recent push in some neighbouring Asian countries to tackle "period poverty".

The pound swung between gains and losses Wednesday after the Bank of England confirmed it will end its support for financial markets at the end of the week.

The pound bounced Wednesday on speculation the Bank of England could continue to support troubled financial markets past a deadline set for the end of the week.

Thailand will toughen its gun possession and drug laws, the interior ministry said Wednesday, following the nursery massacre of 36 people -- including 24 children -- in the kingdom's worst mass killing.

Peru's attorney general on Tuesday filed a constitutional complaint accusing embattled President Pedro Castillo of criminal organization and corruption, an action that could lead to the suspension of the leftist leader.

China's state media on Wednesday signalled no let-up in its strict zero-Covid policy, publishing an editorial -- the fourth this week ahead of the Communist Party Congress -- vowing to never "lie flat" on virus controls.

The launch of a Japanese rocket taking satellites into orbit to demonstrate new technologies failed after blast-off on Wednesday because of a positioning problem, the country's space agency said.

Australia's world-beating mining firms are flush with cash and desperate for staff but green-minded workers are shunning the high-paying sector, causing serious staff shortages, the government warned Wednesday.

Pop music and art converge on the US Supreme Court on Wednesday as it hears whether a photographer should be compensated for a picture she took of Prince used in a work by Andy Warhol.

Chase Hays says he is "torn." After seeing floods ravage his hamlet in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, he filed a lawsuit against the mine that overlooks it, but the 34-year-old doesn't want to be seen as an "enemy" of coal.

Myanmar's junta sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday to another six years in prison for corruption, a source with knowledge of the case said, taking the Nobel laureate's total jail time to 26 years.

Across Europe, governments are scrambling to prevent energy rationing and blackouts this winter. Whether they succeed will depend in part on something they have no control over: the weather.

Novak Djokovic is eager to play at the Australian Open but it's up to him to "work out the situation" with the government, tournament chief Craig Tiley said Wednesday, while confirming Russian and Belarusians can compete as neutrals.

Yordan Alvarez smashed a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning Tuesday to give the Houston Astros an 8-7 fightback victory over Seattle in the Major League Baseball playoffs.

Beyond the gates, a whimsical world awaits, complete with a fluffy Cat Bus, the toothy grin of Totoro and a life-sized No-Face seated on a train: welcome to Ghibli Park.