French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said military chiefs from France and Britain were visiting Kyiv Friday for talks on a possible troop deployment to secure any ceasefire.

"There will be at some point a need for military capacity or reassurance, whenever peace is reached. And this is the reason why our army chiefs will be in Kyiv today in order to advance this work," Barrot said on the sidelines of a NATO meeting.

A crackdown on foreign students is alarming colleges, who say the Trump administration is using new tactics and vague justifications to push some students out of the country.

College officials worry the new approach will keep foreigners from wanting to study in the U.S.

Top congressional Democrats on Thursday protested the reported firing of Gen. Tim Haugh as director of the National Security Agency, with one lawmaker saying the decision "makes all of us less safe."

The Washington Post reported late Thursday that Haugh and his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, had been dismissed from those roles. Haugh also headed U.S. Cyber Command, which coordinates the Pentagon's cybersecurity operations. The Post report cited two current U.S. officials and one former U.S. official who requested anonymity.

World leaders are reacting with dismay, threats of countermeasures and calls for swift negotiations to make trade rules fairer in response to the sweeping new tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. But initial moves have been measured, suggesting key trading partners hope to avoid outright trade wars with the world's biggest economy.

Asian markets fell in Thursday trading and U.S. futures tumbled, setting up what could be a brutal trading day in the U.S. as investors brace for the economic shocks.

The conviction of one of the most powerful figures of the European far right for embezzling EU Parliament funds has sent shockwaves around the continent and beyond. But Marine Le Pen's case is just one example of transparency problems that have plagued the legislature.

From Budapest to Washington, Le Pen's political allies cried foul over this week's French court-mandated five-year ban on seeking political office that could block her chances of securing France's presidency in 2027.

Israel and France share a "common" goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the Israeli foreign minister said in Paris on Thursday.

"This objective to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapon is a common objective of France and Israel," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters.

The Kremlin's top economic negotiator said Thursday that he was in Washington for talks on improving ties, the highest-level visit by a Russian official to the United States since the Ukraine conflict began.

"From April 2-3, by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin, I am holding meetings in Washington with representatives of President Donald Trump's administration," the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, said on Telegram.

Satellite images analyzed Wednesday by The Associated Press show the deployment of at least six nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers to Camp Thunder Bay on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The presence of the bombers comes as the United States continues an intense airstrike campaign targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels. The B-2 has been used in combat to target the Houthis in the past.

Protests that erupted across Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul's opposition mayor — the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — took a new direction Wednesday with calls for a one-day shopping boycott.

The student groups behind the call also urged businesses to close Wednesday.

President Emmanuel Macron told members of the government on Wednesday that the French judiciary was "independent" and that "judges must be protected", according to an official present at the meeting.

Speaking after far-right leader Marine Le Pen was banned from standing for office as part of an embezzlement conviction, Macron also said that "all litigants have the right to appeal", according to the participant who asked not to be named.