One hundred days after Justin Trudeau's Liberal government was sworn in, the still-popular Canadian prime minister faces mounting criticism, against the backdrop of a floundering economy and terror fears.

The 44-year-old Trudeau -- a former schoolteacher and the son of a popular prime minister -- immediately saw his international profile rise upon taking office on November 4, and he still enjoys strong support at home.

Syria's mainstream rebels risk total collapse after a Russian-backed regime advance that severed their main supply line to Aleppo city and threatens to leave them completely besieged there.

Analysts said rebels and their international backers were left with few options to prevent fresh government advances, which came as fresh peace talks backed by the United Nations fell apart.

First time Democratic voters are flocking en masse to Bernie Sanders, a 74-year-old senator with seven grandchildren, giving Hillary Clinton a youth deficit problem as the White House race tightens.

The pioneering former first lady and secretary of state mounting a second attempt to become America's first female president has been forced to acknowledge she needs to connect better with younger voters.

A United Nations report on Friday calling for Julian Assange's "detention" to be brought to an end is the latest twist in a long-running case pitting hi-tech activists against mighty governments.

At the heart of it is a pale, lanky Australian ex-hacker who has been holed up for three and a half years in a cramped office at Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid being arrested by British police.

Public beheadings and roving jihadist gangs are terrifying residents in the Islamic State group's Libyan stronghold of Sirte, in an ominous sign of the movement's growing international influence.

Witnesses tell of amputations and executions in squares in Moammar Gadhafi's hometown on the Mediterranean coast, where women can no longer go out without a male guardian.

In nearly five years of conflict in Syria, sieges have become a key weapon of war employed primarily by the regime, but also rebel forces and the Islamic State group.

Here are some key questions and answers about sieges in Syria:

Masked men chased migrants in Stockholm this weekend in a rare act of overt violence against refugees, but one that reflects smouldering tensions in Sweden as it grapples with the consequences of a record influx of migrants.

The attack came just days after a teenaged asylum-seeker killed a young Lebanese-Swede working at an asylum residence.

The snowy ridge of Mount Hermon separates two worlds. In one, Syria's war rages. In the other, Israeli tourists slalom down ski slopes or drink mulled wine to the sound of techno music.

On a clear day Damascus is visible from the top of the ski lift 2,200 metres (7,200 feet) above sea level in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights where tourists reapply their sunscreen.

The Syrian peace talks, which got off to a start of sorts this weekend, are meant to be a uniquely Syrian affair. But in reality there is a host of outside interests also at the table, in spirit at least.

What began as a popular revolt against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar Assad in March 2011 quickly degenerated into a multi-front civil war that sucked in regional and global powers and created a chaos exploited by brutal jihadist groups. 

France, one of Cuba's leading economic partners, has forged close ties with the island, even if its commercial presence lags far behind that of Venezuela or China, countries close to the Cuban regime.

In 2013, French-Cuban trade totaled 278 million euros ($301 million in today's dollars), but it fell to 180 million euros in 2014 and probably a similar level in 2015, according to official French data.