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Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday praised "the strategic importance" of Lufthansa as the German airline giant marked its centenary, but the celebrations were marred by a wave of recent strikes.

Just a stone's throw from the chalk cliffs of Dieppe in northern France, French Navy minehunter L'Aigle -- a veteran of the Gulf war -- scans the seabed with ultrasound for unexploded devices.

Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered an investigation of Flavio Bolsonaro, the main rival of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in upcoming elections, for slander over a post linking Lula to drug trafficking.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned Wednesday of difficult times ahead for the global economy if war in the Middle East is unresolved and oil prices stay high, adding that inflation risks could seep into food prices.

Bosnia approved Wednesday a $1.5 billion energy project led by investors close to US President Donald Trump that aims to reduce the Balkan country's reliance on Russian natural gas.

A 13-year-old opened fire at a Turkish school on Wednesday, killing nine people and wounding 13, with students jumping from windows to escape the second school shooting in the country in as many days, officials said.

Left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez climbed to second place in Peru's presidential election on Wednesday, positioning himself to face conservative Keiko Fujimori in a June runoff, while his nearest challenger threatened protests over alleged voter fraud.

In a quiet space secluded from the throngs of daily visitors to Madrid's Prado art museum, a team of experts perpetuate an ancient tradition of restoring centuries-old European cultural treasures.

Thousands of people, singing and dancing, welcomed Pope Leo XIV to Cameroon on Wednesday for a three-day trip that includes a visit to the epicentre of a nearly decade-long separatist conflict, where he is expected to bring a message of peace.

Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali on Wednesday called on drivers, including the outspoken Max Verstappen, to "be respectful" of the sport but said changes to this year's new power unit regulations needed to be made.

Eddie Hearn said on Wednesday Katie Taylor deserves top-billing for her farewell fight at Croke Park as he ruled out the Dublin stadium staging the long-awaited 'Battle of Britain' clash between former world heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

Stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday on signs that talks were continuing to end the war in the Middle East, bolstering hopes that Gulf oil and gas could again be flowing soon through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's military threatened on Wednesday to shut down Red Sea trade unless the United States lifted its naval blockade on Tehran's ports, saying the ceasefire was at risk.

A critically endangered Borneo orangutan has been born at Madrid's zoo, described by keepers as strong and developing normally.

The EU told Meta Wednesday that charging rival AI chatbots for access to its WhatsApp platform runs against the bloc's antitrust rules, rebuffing the measure taken by the US giant in response to a probe.

A student aged about 13 opened fire at random in a Turkish school Wednesday killing four people and wounding 20, just one day after a shooter wounded 16 people and then killed himself in another school, officials said.

Radical left-wing Peruvian presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez told AFP Tuesday that he was confident of reaching the second round of voting after a late surprise surge from rural polling stations.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he would not "yield" to pressure to join the Iran war after US President Donald Trump threatened to scrap a UK trade deal.

Virgil van Dijk had no complaints after Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League by title-holders Paris Saint-Germain in a defeat compounded by a serious injury to Hugo Ekitike.

England women's rugby star Ellie Kildunne has revealed she struggled with an eating disorder and other health issues during the coronavirus lockdown.

Suppliers and buyers at a trade show in southern China were cautious on Wednesday as they weighed costs for ice cream machines, home appliances and cars that have risen since the start of the Middle East war.

Markets largely steadied Wednesday as traders waited to see if Mideast peace talks resume, though share prices of Gucci parent Kering and French luxury group Hermes tumbled on weak earnings linked partly to the conflict's fallout.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that an EU-developed age verification app was ready to go, as the bloc pushes to better protect children from online harm.

Hungary's new leader Peter Magyar said Wednesday he had told President Tamas Sulyok, a supporter of ousted prime minister Viktor Orban, that he should resign following Orban's election defeat.

Three years into the war in Sudan that has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and spawned numerous war crimes allegations, Germany said Wednesday it hoped donors would pledge more than $1 billion towards humanitarian efforts.

Pope Leo XIV left Algeria on Wednesday headed for Cameroon for a four-day trip that includes a visit to the epicentre of a nearly decade-long separatist conflict, where he is due to bring a message of peace.

Artificial intelligence company OpenAI said Tuesday that it would release its latest cybersecurity model to a limited number of partners, after rival Anthropic also restricted release of a new system that uncovered thousands of vulnerabilities.

President Donald Trump has indicated peace talks with Tehran could resume this week, as the United States turned the screws Wednesday with a naval blockade it said had cut off maritime trade with Iran.

England Test captain Ben Stokes has said he feels "quite lucky" to be alive after being hit in the face by a cricket ball.

Peru's Keiko Fujimori has run for the presidency three times and lost three times -- in a country that has had eight presidents in the last decade alone.

Barcelona's dream of Champions League glory was dashed for a second successive season but once again they will hope the bitter experience can spark their burgeoning young talent to deliver next term.

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Shares in the French fashion groups Kering and Hermes plunged Wednesday after both reported sales that missed analyst expectations, in part due to the Middle East war, which has hit business in a key region.

When Oleksiy Kravchuk joined the Ukrainian military at the start of Russia's invasion in 2022, he fought as a sniper and was known by his military nickname Saint Nicholas.

In the jagged Hindu Kush in eastern Afghanistan, hundreds of men dug into the rocky bed of the Kunar River searching for a few grams of gold dust as an alternative source of income.

Stocks rose and crude dropped again Wednesday after Donald Trump said a second round of US-Iran talks could take place "over the next two days", fuelling hopes for a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow crude to flow again.

Denmark's double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen announced his retirement at 32 on Wednesday, saying back problems meant he could no longer "compete and train at the highest level".

Peruvian right-wing presidential hopeful Rafael Lopez Aliaga gathered hundreds of supporters in Lima on Tuesday and gave authorities 24 hours to annul the first round of the country's election over allegations of fraud.

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise and Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu thrilled CinemaCon attendees on Tuesday with a sneak peek of their comedy "Digger," one of the releases highlighted by Warner Bros. at the Las Vegas industry convention.