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Hamas is "the principal obstacle" to moving to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, the Board of Peace initiative created by US President Donald Trump said in its first report to the UN Security Council.

German lender Commerzbank's boss was applauded at a shareholder meeting Wednesday as she slammed Italian bank UniCredit's hostile takeover bid, while staff outside the venue protested against any potential merger.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Wednesday in talks to strengthen ties and boost trade, a day after a night-time tour of the Colosseum.

French investigators are probing allegations of embezzlement involving high-profile presidential candidate Edouard Philippe over the allocation of a digital hub contract in the northern port city of Le Havre where he is mayor, prosecutors have said.

Samsung Electronics workers' union said late Wednesday that a planned strike had been put on hold until further notice after negotiations with management resumed with the participation of Seoul's labour minister.

British leader Keir Starmer defended Wednesday a contentious move to ease sanctions on imports of Russian jet fuel and diesel as the Middle East war causes prices to spiral.

Iran's chief negotiator said Wednesday the United States wanted to restart the Middle East war after President Donald Trump said he would attack again unless Tehran agreed a peace deal.

Hungary could learn from Poland on fighting corruption and restoring ties with Europe, new Hungarian prime minister Peter Magyar said Wednesday, bidding to turn the page on the acrimony of the Orban years.

Bangladesh has rolled out a mass vaccination campaign to combat its deadliest measles outbreak in decades that has killed nearly 500 children in just two months, the United Nations children's agency said Wednesday.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday that the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe would not harm defences, with Washington also expected to cut the forces it puts at the alliance's disposal.

The deadly Ebola outbreak raging in central Africa probably began several months ago, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, deeming the risk high in the region but low worldwide.

French lawmakers on Wednesday narrowly approved President Emmanuel Macron's former chief of staff to govern the central bank, with Emmanuel Moulin winning just enough votes to secure the job.

England coach Steve Borthwick will closely watch Courtney Lawes's form in next season's Prem Rugby competition as the veteran forward bids to make an international comeback.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered Cubans a "new path" in a special video address Wednesday hours before Washington was expected to criminally indict the island's former leader Raul Castro.

Britain's annual inflation rate fell more than expected in April, largely due to a drop in energy prices in the months before the Middle East war, official data showed Wednesday.

North Korea's first sports team to visit the South in eight years reached the Asian Women's Champions League final on Wednesday as Naegohyang Women's FC beat Suwon FC Women 2-1.

Former England fast bowler Darren Gough believes England coach Brendon McCullum was "very lucky" to remain in post after England's Ashes flop as he expressed his "hurt" at being overlooked for the role of national selector.

At the hospital in Rwampara, one of the epicentres of a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a simple plastic strip marked off the isolation centre for patients, yet to be built.

Residents of Lithuania's capital city Vilnius on Wednesday briefly fled to underground shelters as transport ground to a halt after the defence ministry sent a drone alert to mobile phones.

Tech giant Alibaba released on Wednesday a new artificial intelligence chip it said performed three times as well as its predecessor, showcasing growing domestic chipmaker prowess as US titan Nvidia struggles for access to China.

Oil prices slid and European stock markets advanced Wednesday after a South Korean tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about the apparent impasse between the US and Iran on ending the war in the Middle East.

China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin met in Beijing on Wednesday, just days after Donald Trump left the Chinese capital, seeking to underscore their close ties.

Arsenal players were pictured celebrating with fans at 5:00 am at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday after they clinched the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years.

India's weather agency warned on Wednesday of the risk of upcoming "extreme" heat made worse by the potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern, issuing heatwave preparedness guidelines as temperatures soared.

Two humpback whales have set new records for the longest-known distances travelled for their species by embarking on a journey of over 14,000 kilometres between Brazil and Australia, scientists said Wednesday.

Standing before their devastated building in central Beirut, childhood neighbours Wael Sabbagh and Ghida Krisht vow to fight for justice after an Israeli strike killed their family members.

James Maddison accepts it is "a little bit embarrassing" for Tottenham Hotspur to be involved in a final-day battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's increasingly powerful son has used a corruption investigation to bring down a senior politician -- including the very public impounding of her shiny new Rolls Royce -- to the delight of his many online followers.

Havana-born Hollywood star Andy Garcia told AFP that the overwhelming majority of Cubans would support an intervention to overthrow their government as he presented his directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival.

Iran warned on Wednesday that the Middle East war would spread far beyond the region if the United States and Israel resumed their attacks, after President Donald Trump threatened to strike again unless a deal is reached.

Bukayo Saka said that Arsenal's critics were "not laughing at us anymore" as the club celebrated their first Premier League title in more than two decades.

Climate change experts urged the UK to set maximum temperature rules for workplaces and adapt hospitals and schools to a warming planet in a report published Wednesday.