PARIS (AP) — French farmers were gradually lifting their roadblocks around Paris and elsewhere in the country on Friday, a day after the French government ($436 million) in various measures meant to answer , heavy regulation and unfair competition from abroad.

On major highways around the French capital, protesters took down tents, cleaned up the road and set fire to straw bales that they were using as barricades. Convoys of tractors were leaving the sites in a peaceful and orderly manner amid a large police deployment meant to

LONDON (AP) — The Japanese Grand Prix will stay on the Formula One calendar until at least 2029 after a five-year contract extension to keep the race at the Suzuka Circuit.

It’s a sign of confidence in the Japanese GP ahead of a move — from its usual date in September or October — to April, between the races in Australia and China. That’s part of efforts to reduce the distance that teams travel between races and cut back on carbon emissions.

The extension was

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has refused Ukrainian requests to hand over the bodies of scores of prisoners of war whom the Kremlin claims were killed in of a Russian military transport plane by Kyiv’s forces, a Ukrainian intelligence official said.

Andrii Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, in televised remarks late Thursday reaffirmed Kyiv’s call for an international probe into the Jan. 24 crash inside Russia that would determine whether the Il-76 transport carried weapons or passengers along with the

TOKYO (AP) — Junya Ito has been removed from Japan’s squad at the Asian Cup by the Japanese Football Association in the midst of sexual assault allegations that he has denied, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported Friday.

being played in Qatar and will face Iran in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Ito, a winger, played in all of Japan’s matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He plays for top-tier French club Reims.

Two women allege that Ito sexually assaulted

A senior Hamas official said Friday the group will respond “very soon” to a proposal that includes extended pauses in Gaza fighting and phased exchanges of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

Hamas and other militants in Gaza are holding dozens of hostages, after having abducted about 250 during their deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and sparked Israel’s blistering offensive on the enclave. More than 100 hostages were in November,

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Ottawa should help domestic grocers: experts

Experts say instead of enticing a foreign grocer to come to Canada, Ottawa should look at ways to support smaller and regional grocery companies to boost competition.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said this week that he’s been reaching out to foreign grocery companies in the hopes they will come to Canada and help strengthen competition in the industry.

But

BERLIN (AP) — Local buses, trams and subway trains were canceled in much of Germany on Friday as transport employees walked off the job in the country’s third transport-related strike in two weeks.

The Ver.di service workers’ union called for a “warning strike,” a common tactic in German contract negotiations, on Monday. Its deputy chair, Christine Behle, said that “the time has now come to exert more pressure on employers” as talks on new pay contracts for about 90

OTTAWA — A federal inquiry into foreign interference will have full access to secret documents, even if some of that sensitive information can’t be made public, says Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

LeBlanc told the commission of inquiry Friday there are obligations under the law to shield certain information from disclosure.

A balance must be struck between being transparent about foreign meddling and protecting classified material, said LeBlanc, who is also democratic institutions minister.

“I wouldn’t describe it as a tension — it’s a balance,

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly paid a surprise visit to Ukraine on Friday to launch what she hopes will be a global effort to secure the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

“Our support to Ukraine’s independent future remains unwavering,” Joly told a news conference in Kyiv.

“Ukraine’s supporters will stay the course; we cannot afford to lose confidence or waver, not even (for) a moment.”

Next month marks the 10th anniversary of Russia’s invasion