French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Friday to boost Europe's strategic power and sovereignty, as France formally took the reins of the 27-nation bloc for the next six months with big ambitions.

A leitmotif of the French presidency over the next six months will be the need for greater autonomy for the region. Macron has been championing the idea since he took power five years ago and will use the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which sets the political agenda of the region, to try to put it into practice.

Manchester City's Pep Guardiola was joined by the coach who beat him in the 2021 Champions League final, Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea, on the FIFA shortlist to be named best in the world.

Guardiola won his third Premier League title at Man City last season though the European title has eluded the club.

Paris Saint-Germain's reliance on Kylian Mbappe keeps growing as he keeps scoring.

That was illustrated again when he grabbed a hat trick in the French Cup on Monday night.

Top-ranked Ash Barty reached the Adelaide International semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on Friday and Rafael Nadal advanced in Melbourne via a walkover in tune-up tournaments ahead of the year's first Grand Slam event.

Barty used her usual backhand slice and powerful forehand drive but also hit 17 aces and won 31 of 32 points on her first serve to advance. Barty lost to Kenin in the Australian Open semifinals at Melbourne Park two years ago.

China's lockdowns of big cities to fight coronavirus outbreaks are prompting concern about more disruptions to global industries after two makers of processor chips said their factories were affected.

That has added to unease about the omicron variant's global economic impact. Analysts warn Vietnam, Thailand and other countries important to manufacturing chains might impose anti-disease measures that would delay deliveries.

Consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro currency soared at a record rate, led by a surge in food and energy costs, figures showed Friday.

Inflation rose to 5% in December compared with a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office. That is the highest level in the eurozone since recordkeeping began in 1997, breaking the record of 4.9% only just set in November.

Budget airline Ryanair said Friday that it plans to stop serving Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest, at the end of March. and close its base there.

Ryanair said it is closing its base in Frankfurt and reallocating its five planes there to other airports that "have responded with lower airport charges to stimulate traffic recovery."

A Tunisian ex-justice minister who launched a hunger strike after his arrest a week ago is "stable" in hospital, a doctor said Friday, as Human Rights Watch demanded his release.

Noureddine Bhiri, 63, of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, was arrested by plainclothes police officers last Friday and later accused of possible "terrorism" offences.

Iran put three ballistic missiles on display at an outdoor prayer esplanade in central Tehran on Friday, as talks in Vienna aimed at reviving Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers flounder.

The missiles, known as Dezful, Qiam and Zolfaghar and with official ranges of up to 1000-km (620 miles), were already-known models, the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said.

Kazakhstan is experiencing the worst street protests the country has seen since gaining independence three decades ago.

The outburst of instability is causing significant concern in Kazakhstan's two powerful neighbors: Russia and China. The country sells most of its oil exports to China and is a key strategic ally of Moscow.