Paris Soir - News from Paris, France, Europe and the world – 24/7

Fourth-grader Ella Araza sat on a tiny plastic box in her Manila slum home, trying to finish her homework before the afternoon sun sent temperatures soaring to unbearable levels.

Banks lent almost $470 billion to the coal industry between 2021 and 2023, according to a study published Thursday by German environmental group Urgewald, which criticised the scale of financing amid rising global temperatures.

Erik ten Hag says Jadon Sancho's impressive Champions League semi-final performance for Borussia Dortmund shows why Manchester United bought him and underlined his "high value".

Oscar Piastri may no longer be a first-season rookie on the Formula One grid but he still gets a thrill from lining up alongside the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, admitting in an interview with AFP that "it's cool" to race against them.

Two-time world champion Kento Momota bowed out of international badminton on Thursday without hitting a shuttlecock, after his Japan side lost to Malaysia in the Thomas and Uber Cup quarter-finals in China's Chengdu.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has warned he could quit playing tournaments in Britain after his hopes of a record-breaking eighth world snooker title were shattered by Stuart Bingham.

Global stock markets mostly rose on Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve interest rate outlook and awaited Apple's latest results on the eve of critical US payroll data.

The US trade deficit was wider than analysts anticipated in March -- hovering close to the biggest in nearly a year -- with exports and imports both declining, according to government data published Thursday.

Switzerland has invited more than 160 delegations to next month's Ukraine peace conference, the foreign ministry said Thursday, though Russia is not among them "at this stage".

Hundreds of police cleared a sprawling protest encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, tearing down barriers and arresting students in the latest clash on US campuses over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

Singer and model Carla Bruni was on Thursday questioned as a suspect in a witness tampering case against her husband, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, two sources said.

Italy is allowed to confiscate an ancient Greek bronze fished from the Adriatic in the 1960s and now in the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday.

Hundreds of police tore down protest barricades and began arresting students early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles –- the latest flashpoint in an eruption of protest on US campuses over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

Protesters in London tried Thursday to prevent the removal of migrants from their temporary accommodation, as the UK government began detaining people before controversial deportation flights to Rwanda start.

Voters went to the polls in England on Thursday for a host of crunch local elections likely to ratchet up the pressure on embattled Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

European stock markets diverged Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve interest rate outlook and awaited Apple's latest results on eve of critical US payroll data.

British oil and gas giant Shell announced Thursday that first-quarter earnings fell but beat expectations in a "strong" performance, and unveiled another bumper stock buyback.

The number of people who have lost their lives in devastating floods in Kenya since March has risen to 188, with dozens still missing, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

Scotland's former deputy first minister, John Swinney, announced on Thursday he would stand to succeed Humza Yousaf as leader of the country's governing Scottish National Party (SNP).

Hundreds of police and protesters were in a tense stand-off early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles as unrest over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza simmers on US campuses.

Paris rubbish collectors could strike over the summer, a major French union said Thursday, raising the spectre of piles of stinking trash on the streets during the Olympic Games.

Doubts grew on Thursday over the fate of a Gaza truce plan that, as the week began, had raised hopes of an end to nearly seven months of war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.

Danish shipping giant Maersk posted a huge drop in net profit for the first quarter on Thursday as Yemeni rebel attacks force it to avoid the vital Red Sea route.

The OECD raised its global economic growth forecast for 2024 on Thursday, driven by strong performances in the United States and emerging countries while Europe lags behind.

Ralf Rangnick said on Thursday he wished to continue as Austria head coach, with Euro 2024 the immediate goal, delivering a fresh blow to Bayern Munich in their search for a replacement for outgoing boss Thomas Tuchel.

The French parliament on Thursday agreed to create a commission of inquiry to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in cinema and other cultural sectors after several recent allegations.

Vestas, the world's number one wind turbine maker, said Thursday it swung to a 75-million-euro ($80-million) loss in the first quarter and warned "geopolitical volatility" would continue to cause uncertainty.

Firefighters and local residents battled a massive wildfire on the outskirts of Nepal's capital Thursday as the Himalayan republic endures a severe fire season authorities have blamed on a heatwave.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk reported more soaring profits on Thursday thanks to the popularity of anti-diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which have made it Europe's most valuable company.

As millions across Southeast Asia suffer a blistering heatwave that is melting railway tracks, a Thai village resorted to an unusual method to seek rain: parading a Japanese cartoon cat.

The Premier League has missed out on a fifth Champions League spot for next season to the Bundesliga after the poor performance of English clubs in Europe.

British energy major Shell on Thursday posted sharply lower first-quarter net profit on sinking revenues, but adjusted earnings topped expectations and it unveiled another bumper stock buyback.