PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to keep fighting for the release of a sports journalist held in Algeria. An Algerian appeals court upheld on Wednesday a seven-year prison sentence for French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes, who was convicted of “glorifying terrorism,” quashing hopes for an early release.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A 33-year-old South Korean man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for running an online blackmail ring that sexually exploited or abused 261 victims, including more than a dozen minors he raped or assaulted, over a four-year period before his arrest in January.

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union on Wednesday revealed details of its plan to use billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s needs over the next two years, but Belgium rejected the scheme and insisted that it poses major financial and legal risks.