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

Do you feel like society's morals have declined recently? You are far from alone, and may be suffering from a "psychological illusion," according to new research on Wednesday.

Travis Head scored an impressive half century as Australia reached 170-3 against India at tea on the opening day of the World Test Championship final at the Oval.

Rory McIlroy on Wednesday welcomed the PGA Tour's shock merger with the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf but said rebel players who joined the upstart circuit should not be granted an automatic return to the sport.

Pope Francis was to undergo Wednesday an operation on a painful abdominal hernia, reviving concerns over the 86-year-old's increasingly fragile health.

Iga Swiatek cruised past Coco Gauff on Wednesday to reach the French Open semi-finals where she will face Beatriz Haddad Maia, the first Brazilian woman to make the last four of a Grand Slam in 55 years.

In a factory in a tranquil German village, 120 mm tank shells with black-painted tips, packed into wooden crates, sit on pallets waiting to be delivered to Ukraine.

English teenager Jude Bellingham will move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for a fee in excess of 100 million euros ($107 million), the German side announced on Wednesday.

Prince Harry accused a tabloid publisher of "industrial scale" phone hacking as he wrapped up almost eight hours of court testimony on Wednesday, becoming the first British royal in over a century to take to the witness stand.

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted an improved fifth and final bid for Manchester United and wants an answer by Friday, according to reports.

Carlos Alcaraz predicted "the sky's the limit" at the Madrid Open last year when he became the first player to defeat Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the same clay tournament.

As Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz prepare to clash Friday in the semi-finals of the French Open, behind the scenes two former Grand Slam champions are readying their charges for the highly-anticipated showdown.

With the flood reaching the rooftops, rescuers raced to save people in Kherson as water from the destroyed Kakhovka dam engulfed the southern Ukrainian city.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek will play Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the French Open semi-finals after the top seed defeated Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday in a rematch of last year's final.

European and US stocks edged higher Wednesday as investors weighed data showing weakness in China's economy and hopes that the US Federal Reserve would skip an interest rate hike this month.

Canada's trade surplus widened sharply to Can$1.9 billion (US$1.4 billion) in April, as exports rebounded to an all-time high in terms of volumes, the national statistical agency said Wednesday.

A controversial research project in Norway on whales' hearing was suspended after a whale drowned, researchers said on Wednesday, as activists slammed the "cruel and pointless" experiments.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan reportedly faced calls to resign at a heated players' meeting following the announcement of a shock merger with LIV Golf.

The US trade deficit grew in April on a pullback in exports, bringing the gap to its widest since October 2022, according to government data released on Wednesday.

London Irish filed for administration on Wednesday following their suspension from all club competitions over a failure to provide financial assurances.

France's opposition parties on Wednesday were debating a no-confidence motion against the government after the parliament speaker said she would block an attempt to repeal an unpopular pension overhaul that pushes back the retirement age to 64 from 62.

UN war crimes judges ruled Wednesday that ageing Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga is unfit to stand trial but should still go through a stripped-down legal process.

Iga Swiatek tackles Coco Gauff in a marquee last-eight clash at the French Open on Wednesday with the winner to face Beatriz Haddad Maia, the first Brazilian woman to make a Grand Slam semi-final in 55 years.

India struck at either end of the session to leave Australia 73-2 at lunch on the first day of the World Test Championship final at the Oval on Wednesday.

When Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was swept to power in 2022, human rights activists feared the worst.

France head coach Fabien Galthie said on Wednesday that tight-head prop Mohamed Haouas will not be picked for this year's Rugby World Cup after being convicted of hitting his wife.

Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since 1968 on Wednesday when she came back from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur at the French Open.

Kenya will convert a vast coastal forest where the bodies of more than 250 people linked to a doomsday cult have been exhumed into a national memorial site, a minister has said.

Rome's Gemelli hospital, where Pope Francis awaits surgery for an abdominal hernia, is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed "Vatican III" by John Paul II.

Stock markets mostly retreated Wednesday as data showed ongoing weakness in China's economy, offsetting hope that the Federal Reserve would skip an interest rate hike this month.

Mohammed Siraj removed Usman Khawaja for a duck as India made Australia struggle in the early stages of the World Test Championship final at the Oval on Wednesday.

An Australian surfer detained after launching a drunken assault in Indonesia's most conservative province will be deported, officials said Wednesday.

The Russian-held Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was ripped open after an explosion in the early hours of Tuesday, according to multiple accounts.