World News at a Glance

Anti-Fascist Protesters Rally in Italy as Mussolini’s Heirs Gain Ground

The specter of Benito Mussolini returned in the form of a poster at Piazza Venezia, where more than 70 years ago he fired up the masses with fascist speeches. The multistory poster, advertising a satirical film, in many ways symbolized the debate on Mussolini as critical elections loom on March 4. The re-emergence of extremist violence, harassment and xenophobia has gripped Italy and forced the country to reckon with the hard-right and fascist ideologies fueled by a lingering financial crisis and migration. But it has also spurred a nascent countermovement. Thousands planned to march in Rome on Saturday to stand up to fascism.

If Trump Rips Up NAFTA as Promised, Canada May Shrug, Not Shudder

Nothing has reshaped Canada’s modern economy more than free trade with the United States. But that doesn’t mean Canada is staring at economic ruin if the current negotiations over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement collapse and the agreement is scrapped. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is one of many Canadians who have suggested the accord is far from critical to the country’s economic survival. Trudeau's government has rejected many of the demands made by the Trump administration as conditions for keeping the pact. Trudeau said recently that "no deal might very well be better for Canada than a bad deal.”

Speeding Car Plows Into Students in India, Killing at Least 9

At least nine children were killed and 20 others injured Saturday when a speeding vehicle rammed a crowd outside a government school in northern India. The crash occurred around 1:30 p.m., as children were leaving school, in Bihar state. “The accident happened on the road while the children were trying to cross,” Dharmendra Singh, a local official, said in an interview with a Hindi language news channel. Mithilesh Yadav, who saw the crash, told The Hindustan Times newspaper that the vehicle, a Bolero, had swerved to avoid another accident and hit the children. The Bolero driver fled the scene, a police official said.

European Ex-Officials Deny Being Paid by Manafort to Lobby for Ukraine

Former European leaders who tried to bring Ukraine closer to Europe before a 2014 uprising there reacted with shock Saturday after an indictment accused Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, of secretly paying former European officials some 2 million euros in 2012 and 2013 to lobby on Ukraine’s behalf. Ukraine at the time was led by Viktor Yanukovych, who first agreed to closer ties to Europe and then reneged under Russian pressure and was toppled in the uprising. The indictment, by the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, did not name the former officials.

Wave of Taliban Attacks Kills at Least 20 Afghan Soldiers

The Taliban staged three attacks in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 20 Afghan soldiers as a NATO delegation was visiting the country to discuss the peace process. The insurgents have been striking checkpoints and small outposts at night in the provinces of Farah and Helmand. In one attack, the insurgents detonated explosives packed into a U.S.-made Humvee that had been captured from the Afghan army. In another, they stole a Humvee, replenishing their supply. In the most lethal strike, insurgents overran a checkpoint in Farah province around 3 a.m. Saturday. An Afghan spokesman said 18 government soldiers were killed.

Top Berlin Film Festival Prize Goes to ‘Touch Me Not’

“Touch Me Not” by Romanian director Adina Pintilie won the Golden Bear for best feature film, the top prize at the 68th annual Berlin Film Festival. The announcement Saturday came as a surprise: Pintilie’s formally experimental feature was one of the festival’s more divisive entries, partly because of the frankness of some of its sex scenes, and it was not considered a front-runner. It tells the story of three people — including a 50-something woman who recoils at being touched and a man crippled by spinal muscular atrophy — struggling with issues of intimacy.