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Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said on Wednesday it was dropping three French airports over a "harmful" tax hike on air tickets and urged Paris to change course.

China said Wednesday that recently announced subsidies to support families with young children will provide a much-needed economic boost, as Beijing seeks to promote spending and avert a demographic crisis.

A new trade deal struck between the United States and European Union is good news despite fears it is unbalanced, Mercedes-Benz said Wednesday after the German carmaker reported a tariff hit of hundreds of millions of euros in the second quarter.

Bayern Munich on Wednesday completed the signing of forward Luis Diaz from Premier League champions Liverpool for a reported fee that could rise to 75 million euros ($86.5 million).

German sportswear giant Adidas said Wednesday it took a hit from US tariffs in the second quarter but did not indicate whether it would pass on rising costs to consumers.

Italy said Wednesday it opened a probe into social media giant Meta for potentially breaking EU competition laws by installing its AI tool into WhatsApp.

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four metres (12 feet) across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan.

Russian state television on Wednesday aired footage of a tsunami wave sweeping through a coastal town in the far east of the country, carrying buildings and debris into the sea.

Japan sweltered in a new record temperature of 41.2C on Wednesday, with the mercury also hitting 40C in the ancient capital of Kyoto for the first time since observations began.

Premium German carmaker Mercedes-Benz said Wednesday its second-quarter profit plunged nearly 70 percent due to US tariffs and weak sales in China, prompting it to lower its full-year revenue outlook.

A team of foreign climbers were on Wednesday due to launch a rescue mission for German double biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier, days after she was seriously injured by a rockfall on a Pakistani mountain.

Fishers do not usually wish for a "perfect storm". But Latvian boating communities are hoping for exactly that: a rare tempest that might, one day, revive waning stocks of Baltic cod.

Like many people affected by serious illness in ex-Soviet Central Asia, Almagul Ibrayeva is having trouble finding medicine in her native Kyrgyzstan.

The spur to build Toronto's billion-dollar-plus flood prevention project dates back to a devastating hurricane in 1954, but planners say its urgency was reinforced by the recent tragic flooding in Texas.

As blistering summer heat sweeps across the Balkans, poorly managed and illegal dumpsites are bursting into flames, sparking wildfires and smothering towns and cities with toxic smoke.

Japan is waging war on "host clubs" -- where men entertain women willing to pay for romance, but authorities and industry insiders say customers have long been scammed and saddled with debt.

Chile, the world's biggest copper producer, is hoping for a last-minute deal to stop the United States from imposing a 50-percent import tariff on the red metal.

Leon Marchand geared up for an assault on the 200m individual medley world record Wednesday as he cruised through the heats to start his world championship campaign in Singapore.

Thousands of carpets and kilim rugs spread out in the sun form a festive and kaleidoscopic patchwork on the outskirts of Antalya, a coastal tourist city in southern Turkey.

Former Canada women's football coach Bev Priestman said Wednesday she "didn't feel safe" living in North America following her one-year ban for spying at the Paris Olympics.

As teenagers in Norway, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen and his younger cousin Vebjorn Bjelland Berg survived a mass shooting together -- a trauma that united them.

Alexander Zverev made a storming return after a month away from tennis on Tuesday, with the top seed pounding out a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 win over Adam Walton to reach the third round of the ATP Toronto Masters.

Thailand accused Cambodia on Wednesday of a "flagrant violation" of a truce deal to end cross-border fighting, saying Cambodian troops launched an overnight attack on the frontier.

Beyond dancing robots and eager-to-help digital avatars, Shanghai's World AI Conference saw China stake its claim to global artificial intelligence leadership and frame itself as a clear alternative to the United States.

Stablecoin excitement has gripped Hong Kong as the city prepares to launch a licensing system for the less volatile type of cryptocurrency, but authorities warn against overplaying its future role in financial systems.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as investors kept tabs on China-US developments after they agreed to further talks to extend their trade truce, while eyes were also on tech earnings and a key Federal Reserve meeting.

Tsunamis hit parts of Russia's Far East and Japan on Wednesday after a huge magnitude 8.8 earthquake, with warnings in place around the Pacific of waves of over three metres (10 feet) in places.

World number two Coco Gauff battled into the third round of the WTA Canadian Open on Tuesday by outlasting US compatriot Danielle Collins 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2).

A Russian strike on a military training camp killed at least three Ukrainian soldiers on Tuesday, following an overnight offensive in the south that killed a pregnant woman and a dozen prisoners.

Unconditional support for Israel has long been an entry requirement in US Republican politics, but that orthodoxy is being challenged by Donald Trump's populist base -- where invocations of the "special relationship" are falling on deaf ears.

The US central bank is expected to defy political pressure and keep interest rates unchanged Wednesday at the end of a two-day policy meeting, as the effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs emerge.

The United States is set to raise tariffs on dozens of trading partners Friday if they fail to reach accords with President Donald Trump to avert the higher rates, and this risks raising prices for consumers.