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French police have arrested several people suspected of involvement in last month's kidnapping of the father of a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur, a source close to the case said Wednesday.

Medical charity Medecins du Monde Wednesday accused Israel of violating international law with drone strikes on a building housing one of its offices in war-torn Gaza that killed eight people, none of them staff.

Fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed three people and wounded 60 others, including children, on Wednesday, authorities said, as Moscow pushed ahead with attacks after rejecting an unconditional ceasefire.

Russia on Wednesday sentenced exiled opposition figure Leonid Volkov -- the former right-hand man of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny -- to 18 years in a penal colony under a litany of charges.

Greenland's ice sheet melted 17 times faster than the past average during a May heatwave that also hit Iceland, the scientific network World Weather Attribution (WWA) said in a report Wednesday.

Olympic champion Mollie O'Callaghan choked back tears after clocking the year's fastest 200m freestyle at the Australian trials Wednesday, with the young star admitting it had been hard coping since the Paris Games.

South Africa fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen took two wickets each to reduce Australia to 67-4 on the first morning of the World Test Championship final at Lord's on Wednesday.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined Northern Irish authorities on Wednesday in condemning what he called two nights of "mindless" violence targeting foreigners.

Gisele Pelicot, a French feminist icon who survived nearly a decade of rapes by dozens of men, has reached a settlement with a magazine she accused of taking photos without her consent, her lawyer has said.

Downtown Los Angeles was largely calm overnight into Wednesday, with police arresting at least 25 people for violating a curfew after a fifth day of protests against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Drawing high-powered tech CEOs and a presidential visit, the Vivatech trade fair opened in Paris on Wednesday with a bang as Nvidia boss Jensen Huang announced a major push into Europe.

Global heating continued as the new norm, with last month the second warmest May on record on land and in the oceans, according to the European Union's climate monitoring service.

French authorities have announced plans to ban social media for under-15s and the sale of knives to minors after the murder of a teaching assistant by a 14-year-old boy plunged the country into shock.

Stock markets rose Wednesday as investors welcomed a China-US agreement to lower trade tensions that stoked hopes the economic superpowers will eventually reach a broader tariff deal.

Tired of pleading for countries to act on climate change, Vanuatu upped the ante -- it asked the world's highest court if governments were legally obligated to do something about it.

German sculptor and installation artist Guenther Uecker, best known for his mesmerising artworks using thousands of nails, has died at age 95.

South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took two wickets in an over to reduce reigning champions Australia to 16-2 in a dramatic start to the World Test Championship final at Lord's on Wednesday.

A teacher told AFP Wednesday how he found himself in a corridor with the shooter who killed 10 people in an Austrian school as he fled his empty classroom.

Russian pensioner Roman Paltievich stared at the prices for apricots, tomatoes and watermelons stacked high on stalls at a Moscow market -- foods that he now struggles to fit into his budget.

China's vice premier and top trade negotiator said Beijing was ready to "strengthen cooperation" with Washington, Chinese state media said Wednesday, following trade talks in London it said had made substantial progress.

Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis headlines a star-studded Diamond League meet in Oslo on Thursday featuring eight other champions from the Paris Olympics.

House of Representatives prosecutors said Wednesday that Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial could not be stopped despite the Senate sending the case back to them hours after convening as a court.

South Korea on Wednesday halted loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts into the nuclear-armed North, the defence ministry said, adding it was a bid to "restore trust" under Seoul's new administration.

Manchester City on Wednesday announced the signing of Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan for a reported fee of £46.3 million ($62.4 million), with the midfielder eligible to play in the Club World Cup.

Drawing high-powered tech CEOs and a presidential visit, the Vivatech trade fair opened in Paris on Wednesday with a centre-stage role for AI dogged by transatlantic trade tensions.

Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, said Wednesday he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president, after the pair's public falling-out last week.

Austria began three days of mourning Wednesday for the 10 people killed in a school shooting as investigators revealed they found a makeshift bomb at the home of the suspect.

Manchester City on Wednesday announced the signing of Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan on a five-year deal for a reported fee of £46.3 million ($62.4 million).

Hong Kong police have warned downloading a mobile game in which players can attempt to overthrow a stand-in for China's Communist Party could constitute a national security crime, as it vanished from Apple's local App Store Wednesday.

Stocks rose Wednesday as investors welcomed a China-US agreement to lower trade tensions that stoked hopes the economic superpowers will eventually reach a broader tariff deal.

A Beijing auction house has sold a four-foot-tall sculpture of a viral plush toy character for more than $150,000, as global demand for the Chinese-designed Labubu dolls reaches fever pitch.

Los Angeles police began arresting people in the city's downtown late Tuesday, as groups gathered in violation of an overnight curfew after a fifth day of protests against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.