Europe

PARIS, April 27 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has thrown himself into what he calls a "catharsis" operation by confronting angry voters in a series of walkabouts, an attempt to regain control of the narrative that could also expose how distant he has become.

After weeks of protests against his decision to raise the minimum pension age by two years, Macron's popularity ratings have plunged to near record-low levels, threatening to paralyse his reform agenda and turn him into a lame duck.

LONDON/NEW YORK, April 28 (Reuters) - Sudan's eruption into conflict has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic, one of the country's most sought-after products and a key ingredient in everything from fizzy drinks to candy and cosmetics.

About 70% of the world's supply of gum arabic, for which there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa's third-largest country, which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force.

MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that gives people living in parts of Ukraine under Moscow's control a path to Russian citizenship, but means those who decline or who do not legalise their status could be deported.

The decree, which was reported by Russian news agencies on Friday, covers four Ukrainian regions that Russia has unilaterally claimed as its own and partially controls: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry on Friday criticised a nuclear agreement between the United States and South Korea, saying it would destabilise the region and the wider world, and warned of a potential arms race as a result.

The United States on Wednesday pledged to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning, while Seoul promised not to seek nuclear weapons itself in an agreement both sides said was aimed against North Korea.

Russia has repeatedly railed against what it sees as the United States' growing military presence across Asia.

April 28 (Reuters) - Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who was sanctioned by the West and dubbed the "Butcher of Mariupol" for his role in the Ukraine war, has been removed as deputy defence minister, according to a military blogger and a leading news website.

Mizintsev orchestrated the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the early months of the war last year. In September, he was appointed deputy defence minister in charge of logistics and supplies.

KYIV, April 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine is wrapping up preparations for a counteroffensive against Russian forces and is largely ready for it to go ahead, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Friday.

"As soon as there is God's will, the weather and a decision by commanders, we will do it," he told an online news briefing.

He gave no date for when the counteroffensive would start but said: "Globally speaking, we are to a high percentage ready."

KYIV, April 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Friday it was nearly ready to launch a huge ground assault to retake occupied land, after Russia hurled missiles at cities as people slept overnight, killing at least 23 civilians in its first large-scale air strikes in nearly two months.

The war is coming to a crucial juncture after a months-long Russian winter offensive that gained little ground despite the bloodiest fighting so far. Kyiv is preparing a counteroffensive using hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles sent by the West.

MOSCOW, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The recent nuclear agreement reached by the United States and South Korea will have a negative effect on regional security and undermine global stability, said the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday.

"We took note of reports on an agreement that was reached between the United States and the ROK (the Republic of Korea) on joint planning with regard to the use of nuclear weapons," said the ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, in a statement.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion and war, the military alliance’s chief said Thursday, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive.

Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, Ukraine’s allies have sent “vast amounts of ammunition” and also trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

LONDON (AP) — The chairman of the BBC quit Friday after a report found he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging a loan more than two years ago for Boris Johnson, as scandals from the the former prime minister’s turbulent term continue to rattle U.K. public life.

The publicly funded national broadcaster has been under political pressure after it was revealed that Richard Sharp helped arrange the line of credit weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on the government’s recommendation.