- 'Crazy' tree planter greening Sao Paulo concrete jungle
- French champagne makers bid to protect seasonal workers from abuse
- Atletico Madrid president splits time between football and film
- Japan ruling party to hold 'toss-up' vote for next PM
- Alcaraz says 'a lot of players' agree after schedule 'kill us' comments
- Outdated rules, limited metro collide for 'unbearable' Athens gridlock
- Ninth body recovered in flood-hit Japan region
- Sirens sound in Tel Aviv after fresh air strikes reported in Lebanon
- China launches intercontinental missile into Pacific in rare test
- The EU vs X: How big could the fines be for Musk?
- Hefty Australian penguin chick 'Pesto' becomes star
- Fashion's fun 'Frankenstein' flies after Olympic triumph
- Volkswagen crisis pits homegrown leaders against each other
- Princess Zelda takes the lead in 'Echoes of Wisdom'
- Astros clinch division title, Yankees kept waiting
- Asian markets boosted again after another Chinese rate cut
- The struggle to keep track of Gaza war deaths
- China cuts another key interest rate to boost economy
- Restarting nuclear power plants: the unprecedented gamble in the US
- US state executes man despite conviction doubts
- Asylum seeker lifts South Korea hopes at Homeless World Cup
- Hostages freed in Gaza truce pine for those left behind
- Pope offers refuge to Myanmar's jailed Suu Kyi: report
- Tragic tale of two West Bank teenagers freed in Gaza truce
- US intel warns of Iran threats to assassinate Trump: campaign
- In election, Hollywood is about cash not endorsements
- UK foreign minister Lammy seeks 'strongest position' for Ukraine
- Macron presses Iran president for Lebanon de-escalation
- UNRWA fears new 'tragedy' as Lebanon violence adds strain: chief to AFP
- Russia mulls ban on 'childless propaganda'
- Blackwater founder probed by Venezuela over anti-Maduro campaign
- Crypto CEO and Bankman-Fried ex Caroline Ellison gets two-year sentence
- Hezbollah announces death of commander after strike on south Beirut
- Tatum hungry for more after breakthrough Celtics success
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sued for alleged 2001 rape
- Biden pleads for democracy in emotional UN farewell
- New York area port prepares for possible US strike disruption
- Rodri 'irreplaceable' but Guardiola confident Man City will still compete
- Brook 'relieved' as maiden ODI hundred sets up first win as England captain
- Dior's arrows and Amazons as Saint Laurent revives its master
- Mbappe strikes again as Madrid hold off Alaves
- Nkunku hits Chelsea hat-trick, Man City edge into League Cup last 16
- Amnesty calls for commission to probe Kenya protest deaths
- Bolivian government rejects Morales ultimatum for cabinet reshuffle
- US Congress calls on Novo Nordisk to lower drug prices
- Stock markets advance on China stimulus
- Russia 'can only be forced into peace," Zelensky tells UN
- Hundred hero Brook keeps England alive in Australia ODI series
- Biden pleads for democracy in final UN address
- Brook's hundred sees England beat Australia in 3rd ODI
French left reaches deal on alliance to hamper Macron
France's left-of-centre parties on Wednesday reached an alliance deal for June parliamentary polls, aiming for a strong enough showing to hinder President Emmanuel Macron's controversial reform plans.
After talks dragged through the night past a Tuesday deadline, the Socialist Party (PS) fell in line alongside the Greens and the Communist Party (PCF) behind the hard-left France Unbowed movement (LFI), who emerged as the dominant force on the left in April's presidential election.
"We want to elect MPs in a majority of constituencies to stop Emmanuel Macron from pursuing his unjust and brutal policies and beat the far-right," the PS and LFI said in a joint statement.
The alliance must still be approved by the Socialists' National Council on Thursday, with people close to the party leadership warning against viewing the vote as a foregone conclusion.
"No one on the left can win on their own," PCF leader Fabien Roussel told France Inter radio, saying the new alliance needed to harness "the immense hope among the French public, among workers, among young people who are asking us to unite".
A strong showing for LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon saw him miss out on the April presidential runoff vote by a whisker, while the other left candidates were all but wiped out.
After Macron's win, Melenchon immediately called on voters to "elect him prime minister" and hand the left a National Assembly majority to block the centrist's reforms, including an unpopular plan to push the retirement age back from 62 to 65.
Like the presidential election, the legislative polls in France's 577 constituencies work in a two-round system -- meaning alliances off the bat offer the best chance of making it to the run-off.
A forced "cohabitation" between Macron and Melenchon would be the first in two decades, but observers say that such a scenario remains unlikely.
-'Historic' negotiations-
Since beginning last week, major policy differences have kept negotiations tense among the left-wing parties, with LFI's proposal to unilaterally "disobey" the provisions of some European Union treaties a particular sticking point.
But the new allies have agreed on Melenchon's core policy proposals, including raising the minimum wage, reducing the retirement age to 60 and rolling back labour market reforms introduced under former Socialist president Francois Hollande.
The negotiation was "historic", LFI European MP Manon Aubry told Europe 1 radio, offering each party autonomy within "a common policy framework".
PS heavyweights like Hollande, in power just five years ago before the Socialists' precipitous fall from grace, have made clear their opposition to the deal.
He has warned the left-wing tie-up could amount to the "disappearance" of the Socialists.
But Aubry said Wednesday that it was exactly their "important steps concerning Hollande's legacy" that had allowed the Socialists to align with the rest of the left.
Behind the euphoria at overcoming the traditionally fragmented French left's differences, the junior partners are eyeing how constituencies will be parcelled out between the parties, with each aiming to run on the united ticket in a maximum of "winnable" seats.
The final deal looks set to distribute around 100 constituencies to the Greens, 70 for the Socialist Party and 50 for the Communist Party.
With some Socialists refusing to stand down, former minister under Hollande Stephane Le Foll said he was ready to lead them in a separate campaign.
At least one Communist candidate, in a suburb of eastern city Lyon, has also said she will not make way for an alliance-backed replacement.
burs-ech/yad
T.Bondarenko--BTB