As Moscow's forces bog down in Ukraine, many young Russians of draft age are increasingly jittery about the prospect of being sent into combat. Making those fears particularly acute is an annual spring conscription that begins Friday and aims to round up 134,500 men for a one-year tour of military duty.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu pledged at a meeting of the military brass this week that the new recruits won't be sent to front lines or "hot spots."

About 16 million residents in Shanghai are being tested for the coronavirus during the second stage of the lockdown that shifted Friday to the western half of China's biggest city and financial capital.

Meanwhile, residents of Shanghai's eastern districts who were supposed to be released from four days of isolation have been told their lockdowns could be extended if COVID-19 cases are found in their residential compounds.

Two South Korean air force planes collided in mid-air during training and crashed near their base on Friday, killing all four people aboard the aircraft, officials said.

Both planes were KT-1 trainer aircraft — South Korea's first indigenously developed planes — that took off from an air force base in the southeastern city of Sacheon one after another for flight training, the air force said in a statement.

Dozens of people were arrested in Sri Lanka following protests near the president's home demanding that he resign amid the country's worst economic crisis in memory, police said Friday.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office blamed "organized extremists" within the group of protesters for violence during Thursday night's demonstration, where police fired tear gas and a water cannon at thousands of protesters and arrested 54 people.

The appearance by video of the head of Ukrainian soccer, wearing an armored vest from the streets of Kyiv, has brought the impact of Russia's war into the FIFA Congress.

"We have regularly received sad news of the deaths of members of the Ukrainian football community," Andriy Pavelko said in a recorded message to the gathering in Qatar including delegates from Russia.

A dozen years of defending Qatar's suitability to host the World Cup can leave Hassan Al-Thawadi exasperated at the enduring glare of scrutiny and the accusatory, rather than celebratory, tone.

At times, Al-Thawadi can seem to be the face — even leader — of this Persian Gulf nation given his prominence. As head of the bid, and now general secretary of the organizing committee, Al-Thawadi has rights groups, protesting football federations and fans worldwide to answer to.

Tia Rutherford is worried about her 3-year-old son.

As energy prices soared last fall, she tacked fleece blankets over her doors and windows to keep the cold out and started serving Jacob breakfast in his room so she didn't have to heat the living room. But she's consumed by worry that she can't pay her utility bills and that her son isn't warm enough.

The United States has returned a cache of smuggled ancient artifacts to Libya as the oil-rich Mediterranean country struggles to protect its heritage against the backdrop of years of war, turmoil and unrest.

The repatriated items include two sculptures dating to the 4th century B.C. from the ancient city of Cyrene.

The head of the United Nations said Thursday that nearly all Afghans don't have enough to eat and some have resorted to "selling their children and their body parts" to get money for food.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' statement was part of a dramatic appeal from the world body and several rich countries that want to help beleaguered Afghans, whose fate has worsened since the Taliban returned to power last year.

The European Union will seek China's assurances that it won't assist Russia in circumventing economic sanctions leveled over the invasion of Ukraine at an annual summit Friday.

EU officials say they will also look for signs Beijing is willing to cooperate on bringing an end to the war at the virtual meeting.