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An arsonist may have ignited the hostel blaze that killed at least six people in New Zealand's capital, police said on Wednesday, as they opened a homicide investigation.

Former New Zealand and La Rochelle back-rower Victor Vito said the French club have the "blueprint" to defend the Champions Cup when they play Leinster in the final on Saturday.

Thailand's football association apologised and vowed to investigate on Wednesday after the Southeast Asian Games men's final against Indonesia was marred by two mass brawls and four red cards.

Concern over the future of Spain's Donana natural park, which is threatened by overfarming, has made water management a key issue ahead of local elections at the end of May.

They are Greece's first-time voters, some as young as 16-years-old, who came of age during national bankruptcy, the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

To build a successful company in Greece, the CEO of the popular ship tracking firm MarineTraffic says he does not ask much from the government.

President Joe Biden's departure Wednesday to the G7 in Japan was meant to launch a geostrategic masterclass on rallying the world's democracies against China. Instead, he will limp into an abruptly truncated journey facing concerns that the US debt ceiling row is about to tear up the global economy.

Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa reached the top of Mount Everest for the 27th time on Wednesday, reclaiming the record for the most summits of the world's highest mountain.

The San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday were awarded the top pick in next month's NBA draft, leaving them in pole position to land French prodigy Victor Wembanyama.

Forced to shutter during the Covid-19 pandemic, discount luxury goods store Century21 reopened its flagship location in Manhattan on Tuesday, drawing elated crowds of bargain hunters back to the New York institution.

Thai football chiefs apologised and vowed to investigate on Wednesday after their Southeast Asian Games men's final against Indonesia was marred by two mass brawls and four red cards.

Britain's former prime minister Liz Truss on Wednesday urged her successor Rishi Sunak to get tough with China on issues such as Taiwan, describing the democratic island as "an enduring rebuke to totalitarianism".

Thai football bosses apologised and vowed to investigate on Wednesday after their Southeast Asian Games men's final against Indonesia was marred by two mass brawls and four red cards.

Security is tight at every G7 summit, but this year's host Japan has more to prove than most, after an attack last month on the prime minister and the 2022 assassination of ex-premier Shinzo Abe.

Nearly two weeks of triumphs, tears and the occasional tantrum will come to an end Wednesday when the Southeast Asian Games close in Cambodia, with Vietnam topping the final medals table.

Nikola Jokic produced a dominant display as the Denver Nuggets held off a late Los Angeles Lakers fightback to win their NBA Western Conference finals opener 132-126 on Tuesday.

At a hillside temple, a monk in saffron robes blows a refrain on a conch and begins chanting prayers as thousands of origami cranes donated to Hiroshima burn.

When G7 leaders meet in Hiroshima this week, they won't be alone: eight non-members including major developing economies have been invited in a bid to sway opinion on Russia and China.

A French court of appeals will on Wednesday give its verdict in one of several corruption and illegal campaign financing cases involving ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Indiana Jones turned archaeology into a swashbuckling adventure of snake pits and lost treasures.

Climate activists are using shareholder meetings to turn up the heat on corporations about their carbon footprints, from flooding them with questions to more colourful tactics like singing or throwing cake at executives.

It could be the ultimate blend of art and science -- a new seven-suite "space symphony" inspired and illustrated by NASA's latest mind-boggling images.

Unease over the slow progress of US debt talks further dampened sentiment in Asian markets Wednesday, though Japanese stocks got a boost from forecast-beating economic growth data.

Hazel Tindall sits in the armchair of her living room, her fingers moving with speed and precision as her knitting needles click together and the brightly-coloured yarn in her lap takes shape.

In a Moroccan oasis town on the edge of the Sahara, nomads in turbans and tunics are thwacking a camel-wool ball across the desert in a traditional pastime: sand hockey.

With his tattooed arms, drop-fade haircut and baby-face looks, Murilo Duarte doesn't look like a typical financial adviser as he dishes out investment tips on social media from the Sao Paulo favela where he grew up.

A dazzling tiara worn at two British coronations and the Star of Egypt diamond purportedly once belonging to King Farouk are among the historic jewellery items being auctioned Wednesday by Christie's in Geneva.

Joe Biden and opposition Republican leaders on Tuesday offered hope of a deal that could avoid a catastrophic US debt default, although the president was forced to shorten an upcoming Asia-Pacific tour for further crisis talks.

Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, official data showed Wednesday, helped by a recovery in inbound tourism after pandemic border restrictions were lifted.

When Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets fellow G7 leaders this week, her allies will be looking for reassurances that Rome is ready to quit Beijing's Belt and Road (BRI) initiative.

Elon Musk on Tuesday said a new Twitter chief executive will let him devote more time to Tesla, but that he will continue to tweet his unfiltered thoughts even if it hurts his businesses.

Standing on the frigid coast of Lake Superior, thawing ice glistening in the northern Minnesota sun, Christina Welch recalls what made her trade the temperate vineyards of northern California for the notoriously chilly city of Duluth.