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Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is considering exporting up to 100,000 endangered monkeys to China, the agriculture minister said Wednesday, raising concerns among conservationists.

January to March 2023 was the deadliest first quarter for migrants crossing the central Mediterranean since 2017, the United Nations said Wednesday, with 441 lives lost attempting to reach Europe.

Dutch police detained two protesters who ran towards French President Emmanuel Macron in Amsterdam on Wednesday as his domestic troubles intruded once again on his state visit to the Netherlands.

Former England winger Chris Ashton is to retire at the end of the season after an 18-year career in rugby union and rugby league, Premiership club Leicester announced on Wednesday.

Egyptologists, fact-checkers and ordinary internet users have taken aim at Congolese rapper Maitre Gims this week over a video in which he claimed the pharaohs' pyramids were wired for electricity.

Rival bidders for Manchester United have been invited to submit a third offer by the end of April, according to reports.

French equities hit another record peak Wednesday amid broad European gains as traders awaited US inflation data set to play a key role in the Federal Reserve's next move on US interest rates.

An Iranian delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Tehran said, to pave the way for reopening diplomatic missions as the Gulf rivals prepare to normalise relations, seven years after an acrimonious split.

UK police have launched an investigation into the nation's CBI business lobby group over allegations of sexual misconduct.

England's back-rower Jack Willis has signed a contract extension with Toulouse, putting his Test future in question, the French club announced on Wednesday.

China's President Xi Jinping called on the country's armed forces to "strengthen military training oriented towards actual combat", state media reported Wednesday, after Beijing conducted military drills intended to intimidate Taiwan.

Solar and wind energy surged to make a record 12 percent of the world's electricity in 2022, a climate think tank calculated in a report Wednesday -- though coal remained the leading source globally.

Marcus Rashford will miss Manchester United's Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash with Sevilla after suffering a muscle injury that is likely to keep him out for "a few games", the club announced on Wednesday.

Hazardous pollution levels in northern Thailand have left the historic city of Chiang Mai choking under thick smog, with locals worried about the impact on tourism -- and their health.

The US government on Wednesday designated xylazine, commonly known as "tranq," as an "emerging threat" and asked Congress for funding to fight the drug that has been increasingly linked to a surge in overdose deaths.

President Joe Biden's administration unveiled new proposed auto emissions rules Wednesday, aiming to accelerate the electric vehicle transition with a target of two-thirds of the new US car market by 2032.

Facing a sea of umbrellas in the steady rain, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Turkish opposition's challenger to Recep Tayyip Erdogan in next month's polls, smiles and promises "the return of spring".

A ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations was an internal issue, the country's Taliban authorities said Wednesday, adding that the decision "should be respected by all sides".

Twitter boss Elon Musk said running the social media network has been "quite a rollercoaster" and acknowledged "many mistakes" along the way, six months after he bought the company for $44 billion.

US President Joe Biden entered the political cauldron of Northern Ireland on Wednesday, using a brief visit to promote the benefits of enduring peace and investment but already facing heated criticism from pro-UK hardliners.

Taiwan's ruling party nominated Vice President William Lai as its candidate for next year's presidential elections on Wednesday, choosing a contender who has been more outspoken on Taiwanese independence than incumbent Tsai Ing-wen.

Volvo Group's shares were up seven percent Wednesday after the Swedish truck-maker posted record first-quarter earnings, in a sign of an easing of supply chain disruptions and high costs that have plagued the auto industry.

A former teen idol on Wednesday said he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of Japan's biggest boyband empire, in a rare public allegation against the late mogul.

Equity markets were mixed Wednesday as traders jockeyed ahead of US inflation data that could play a key role in the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision-making.

David Warner is under fire in the Indian Premier League after the Australian's Delhi Capitals lost for a fourth time in as many matches and sit bottom of the pile.

Many people in Bucharest still have terrible memories of the earthquake that shook Romania on March 4, 1977, killing 1,500 and injuring 11,000 others.

It's early morning in the picturesque village of Naoussa on the Greek island of Paros, and jackhammers are already echoing as locals ready for what they hope will be a record tourist season.

A team of Albanian marine biologists scan the azure waters of the Ionian Sea for a sign of one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

Emmanuel Macron's unexpected suggestion that Europe not "follow" US policy on Taiwan is being hailed as a "brilliant decision" this week in China, where state news outlets and social media users are lauding his independence.

LeBron James scored 30 points as the Los Angeles Lakers muscled their way into the NBA playoffs on Tuesday with a thrilling come-from-behind 108-102 overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

South Korea's opposition urged the government on Wednesday to investigate alleged espionage by the United States after leaked documents appeared to show Washington spying on its key Asian ally.

Could vast, long-hidden oceans be teeming with alien life in our very own Solar System?