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Thailand's jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be released early from prison next month, the corrections department said on Wednesday.

Welsh rugby icon George North said he will retire from the sport at the end of the season, having "been able to live out my childhood dream".

A fishing boat glides quietly across the waters of Iraq's southern marshes, sending gentle ripples shimmering over the once-parched wetlands, now revived by long-awaited rains.

A French teen facing criminal charges in Singapore for a straw licking stunt was granted permission on Wednesday to leave the country for three weeks on pledges to return.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday accused the Kremlin of cutting Russians off from the internet to hide worsening economic conditions in the country as sanctions over the Ukraine war bite.

A South Korean appeals court increased the sentence of jailed former president Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday to seven years for obstructing justice, up from five years.

German sportswear giant Adidas on Wednesday reported strong growth in quarterly profits as sales rose in key markets, but warned of a "very volatile" and highly competitive retail environment.

French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies said Wednesday net profit rose 51 percent in the first quarter to $5.8 billion, boosted by higher oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East.

Sri Lanka's government took control of the island's cricket board on Wednesday, saying it was a temporary measure designed to pave the way for "structural reforms".

The EU said on Wednesday Meta is failing to prevent children under 13 using Facebook and Instagram, potentially exposing them to inappropriate content -- and putting the tech giant at risk of a massive fine.

Oil prices rose Monday as talks to end the Iran war appeared to be at a standstill and the crucial Strait of Hormuz no nearer being reopened.

King Charles III will use a trip to New York on Wednesday to showcase cultural and economic ties between Britain and the United States at a time when the "special relationship" is under strain.

A US federal judge on Tuesday sentenced OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma to pay billions of dollars over its role in the opioid crisis, ahead of upcoming bankruptcy proceedings and its dissolution.

Actor Sam Neill says he is cancer-free after five years of living with lymphoma, thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system.

Dozens of victims of the US opioid crisis expressed their grief and anger as they testified on Tuesday against Purdue Pharma, the maker of the pain pill OxyContin which was ordered to pay billions by a judge ahead of its dissolution.

Among the hundreds of climbers hoping to scale Everest this season, 27-year-old Australian Oliver Foran began his journey far away, cycling and then walking all the way from the sea.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday a proposed $9 billion megaport and city project on the strategic Great Nicobar Island is "destruction dressed in development's language".

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth will make his first testimony before Congress on the Mideast war Wednesday, as efforts to end the conflict stalled with the United States reportedly skeptical of Tehran's latest offer to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

Several proponents of artificial intelligence (AI) have become the victims of violent acts in recent days, reflecting the existential dread around the emerging technology -- and the public's growing resentment towards its advocates.

German premium automaker Mercedes-Benz said Wednesday its first-quarter profit fell by almost a fifth as cutthroat competition in China shakes the world's carmakers.

Incoming Hungarian leader Peter Magyar on Wednesday pays his first visit to EU chiefs in Brussels since his election win, looking to turn the page on the bad blood of nationalist Viktor Orban's tenure.

With her four-year-old nestled nearby, doctor Saniya Jafri consults from home in Karachi with a patient on the other side of Pakistan via her laptop.

The San Antonio Spurs punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday, leading wire to wire in a 114-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

The pace of tropical forest destruction slowed in 2025 after record losses the year before but remained at worrying levels equivalent to 11 football fields per minute, researchers said Wednesday.

Angel Correa's goal in the 33rd minute delivered Mexico's Tigres UANL a 1-0 victory over host Nashville of MLS in Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final first leg match.

New Zealand officials rejected on Wednesday an application to install a statue commemorating so-called "comfort women" enslaved by Japan before and during World War II after Tokyo suggested it could harm diplomatic relations.

Britain's King Charles and Donald Trump hailed their countries' longstanding ties at a White House state dinner Tuesday -- despite the US president claiming the monarch agreed with him on Iran's nuclear weapons.

A worn-out Pikachu plushie, tired teddy bear or stained stuffed animal can all get a new lease on life at a Japanese laundry service making beloved toys squeaky clean again.

As attention turns to the build-up to the Giro d'Italia, the first of the year's Grand Tours, AFP looks back at a thrilling set of Spring one-day classics and what we learned about the main protagonists.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, two clubs rich in European history, are one step from a first continental final in decades as they meet in the last four of the Europa League.

After a quarter of a century away from European football, the prospect of modest Spanish side Rayo Vallecano making their first ever final must rank as one of the season's bigger surprises.

Japan's Naoya Inoue will face the biggest challenge of his stellar career when he takes on fellow unbeaten countryman Junto Nakatani on Saturday in front of a sell-out 55,000 crowd at the Tokyo Dome.