Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. Putin said the move was a response to Britain’s decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Speaking in an interview broadcast Saturday on Russian state television, Putin said Russia would maintain control over the tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus. He said storage facilities would be completed by July 1 but didn't say how many weapons they would hold. He argued that Russia was following the lead of the United States, which has tactical nuclear weapons based in Europe. Such weapons are intended for battlefield use, unlike more powerful, longer-range strategic nuclear weapons.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is calling for an immediate and temporary halt to the far-right government’s contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary. His warning makes him the first ally Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to break ranks. Citing the need for dialogue with the opposition, Gallant on Saturday asked that Netanyahu’s coalition wait until after Parliament reconvenes from its holiday break next month before pushing ahead with its divisive plan to weaken the Supreme Court. He said he is worried that the overhaul plans pose a threat to the country’s security. The plan has sparked the largest protest movement in Israel’s history, bringing thousands to face off against police in the streets weekly.

Hungary's foreign minister says the West’s steady criticism of his country on democratic and cultural issues makes the right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also said that Hungary has not voted on whether to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO because its lawmakers are sick of those countries’ critiques of Hungarian domestic affairs. Szijjártó spoke to The Associated Press at the United Nations on Friday. The European Union, which includes 21 NATO countries, has frozen billions in funds to Budapest and accused populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban of cracking down on media freedom and LGBTQ rights.

BERLIN (AP) — Voters in Berlin go to the polls this weekend to decide on a proposal that would force the city government to drastically ramp up the German capital’s climate goals. Critics warn it could come with a steep price tag.

Pope Francis has updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up cases of sex abuse. He has expanded it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirmed that vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse. Francis reaffirmed and made permanent the temporary provisions of the 2019 law that were passed in a moment of crisis for the Vatican. The measure was praised at the time for laying out precise mechanisms to investigate complicit bishops and religious superiors. But implementation has been uneven, and abuse survivors have criticized the Vatican for a continued lack of transparency. Advocates said a wholesale overhaul was necessary, not just Saturday’s modifications.

Undeclared diamond jewelry brought into Brazil from Saudi Arabia has deepened the legal jeopardy of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. An investigation into two sets of jewels reportedly worth millions is only the latest scandal threatening the former far-right leader, but an extensive paper trail and even videos could make the case particularly daunting for Bolsonaro. He is also under investigation for any involvement in a rampage by his supporters through the national capital after he left office and for numerous actions during the presidential election campaign he lost last fall. Bolsonaro also has been accused of causing genocide for an indigenous community in the Amazon.

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda's government has commuted the 25-year sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” for saving hundreds of countrymen from genocide but was convicted of terrorism offenses years later in a widely criticized trial.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece on Friday welcomed the return of ancient artifacts from the Acropolis, furthering a campaign to press the British Museum to hand back a collection of sculptures taken from the ancient site in Athens more than 200 years ago.

The ongoing unrest across France against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension plan and calls for a new round of demonstrations next week persuaded officials to postpone a planned visit by Britain’s King Charles III. French President Emmanuel Macron says common sense and friendship led to the cancellation of the visit. Macron said Charles’ visit likely would be rescheduled for the summer. Some demonstrations turned violent Thursday as more than a million people protested against Macron's plan to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64. There were scattered protest actions on Friday. Train traffic was slowed, rows of trucks blocked access to Marseille’s port for several hours and debris littered the streets of Paris.

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III’s international debut was deflated Friday when his trip to France was postponed indefinitely because of protests that threatened to mar events at high profile venues such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Palace of Versailles.

A representative of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday has handed a set of diamond jewelry over to a state bank, as ordered by a government watchdog and amid investigations into the president’s involvement in bringing the jewels from Saudi Arabia. The state bank Caixa Economica Federal received the box of precious stones at one of its branches in capital Brasilia, the bank’s press office told The Associated Press. The representative also turned in firearms Bolsonaro received as a gift from authorities in the United Arab Emirates, according to the federal police’s press office. A federal watchdog on Wednesday gave Bolsonaro five days to hand over the precious stones and guns that he had received while president.

LONDON (AP) — Artists, if they have really made a mark, might get a gallery dedicated to their work once they are gone.

The Ukrainian army is using Soviet-era helicopters on missions to the front lines in the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Each day, they might fly three or four sorties, says the commander, whose Mi-24 attack helicopter, built about 40 years ago, is older than himself. The conflict in Ukraine is largely an artillery war, with territory being fought inch by inch under a barrage of shells and missiles. But the pilot says Ukraine’s aviation capabilities play a significant role in the fight. Several countries, including the United States and Britain, have pledged to send or have already sent helicopters to Ukraine since the war started more than a year ago.

China is threatening “serious consequences” after the United States Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row. Beijing claims that's a violation of its sovereignty and security. Tensions have been rising between China and the United States in the region. Washington has been pushing back at Beijing’s growingly assertive posture in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway it claims virtually in its entirety. The U.S. 7th Fleet said Friday that the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer had sailed near the Paracel Islands as part of a “freedom of navigation operation.”

LONDON (AP) — People who visit London's Westminster Abbey after the coronation of King Charles III will be allowed to stand on the exact spot where he was crowned, but they will need to make sure they don't have holes in their socks for the shoeless tour, designed to protect the abbey's medi…

Health experts proposed detailed plans for a gradual end to anti-virus controls, but the Chinese government rebuffed them and dropped restrictions in December with no preparations to cope with the chaotic aftermath, The Associated Press has found. Over a year ago, scientists called on authorities to begin preparations for reopening. But Beijing took none of the steps experts said were needed before dropping controls. Millions of older people weren’t vaccinated, and hospitals weren’t reinforced for a possible surge in cases. Experts and scientific models estimate China’s lack of preparation led to hundreds of thousands of deaths that could have been avoided.

North Korea claimed Friday to have tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone designed to generate a gigantic “radioactive tsunami” that would destroy naval strike groups and ports. Analysts were skeptical that the device presents a major new threat, but the test underlines the North’s commitment to raising nuclear threats. The test this week came as the United States reportedly planned to deploy aircraft carrier strike groups and other advanced assets to waters off the Korean Peninsula. Military tensions are at a high point as the pace of both North Korean weapons tests and U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises has accelerated in the past year in a cycle of tit-for-tat responses.

A Hong Kong department store took down a digital artwork that contained hidden references to jailed dissidents, in an incident the artist says is evidence of erosion of free speech in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. It was unclear whether the government played a role in the decision to remove the artwork, it came just days after a slasher film featuring Winnie the Pooh, a figure often used in playful taunts of China’s President Xi Jinping, was pulled from local cinemas. Patrick Amadon’s “No Rioters” was put on display on a billboard at the SOGO Causeway Bay Store for an exhibition that started last Friday, as the city was promoting its return as a vibrant cultural hub following years of pandemic travel restrictions.

BAJRAM CURRI, Albania (AP) — Monika Mulaj's son was in his second year of college in Albania, studying to become a mechanical engineer, when he resolved to make a daring change: He told his parents he would leave his lifelong home for a new future in Britain.