The crown has been resized. The troops are prepared for the biggest military procession in 70 years. The Gold State Coach is ready to roll.

Now it's time for the show.

From her modest home in the blockaded Gaza Strip, Amina al-Dabai remembers the very different world in which she grew up more than seven decades ago.

Born in 1934, Dabai was still only a child when Israel was created on May 14, 1948.

No president wants to give up the power and prestige that comes with the office after only one term, and Joe Biden is no exception. He's pushing forward even though polls show a majority of Americans don't want to see him run again.

We went back to look at when modern presidents announced their decisions to seek a second term, what their Gallup approval ratings were at the time and how things turned out for them.

The main challenger trying to unseat Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in this month's presidential election cuts a starkly different figure than the incumbent who has ruled the country for two decades.

Where Erdogan is a mesmerizing orator, the unassuming Kemal Kilicdaroglu is soft spoken. Erdogan is also a master campaigner who uses state resources and events to reach supporters while Kilicdaroglu talks to voters in videos recorded in his kitchen. As the polarizing Erdogan has grown increasingly authoritarian, Kilicdaroglu has built a reputation as a bridge builder and vows to restore democracy.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that Beijing will send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible "political settlement" to Russia's war with the country.

Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be trying to assert itself as a global diplomatic force after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led them to restore diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.

It's become an unmistakable hallmark of the anti-government protests roiling Israel for the last few months: the blue and white national flag adorned with the Star of David.

To an outside observer, that may not be surprising, as the demonstrators say their struggle is over the very soul of the nation.

Orit Pinhasov strongly opposes the Israeli government's proposed judicial overhaul, but you won't find her anywhere near the mass protests against the plan. She says her marriage depends on it.

Pinhasov's husband sits on the opposite side of Israel's political divide, and joining the protests will only deepen what she says already are palpable tensions in her household.

Fighting in Sudan between forces loyal to two top generals has put that nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders.

The rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia under Chinese mediation could redraw the Middle East map completely, with significant spillovers for the strategic and troubled region.

- A paradigm shift -

French unions are staging new nationwide protests Thursday, on the eve of an expected ruling by a top constitutional body that they hope will derail President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pension reform plan.

If the Constitutional Council greenlights the reform, the bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 can enter into force. Yet the body has the power to reject the text, fully or partially. Here's a look at what's at stake ahead of Friday's decision.