Heraldo de Madrid - News from Madrid, Spain, Europe and the whole world

Volkswagen executives defended plans to consider the unprecedentedclosure of factories in Germany during a heated meeting Wednesday with thousands of staff, saying falling sales had hit it hard.

At least 20 migrants were missing in the Mediterranean after their vessel sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa, Italy's coastguard and a senior UN official said Wednesday.

A dark and music-filled "Joker" sequel brought Lady Gaga to Venice Wednesday, playing the star-crossed love interest of the DC Comics-inspired anti-hero in one of the year's most anticipated films.

China's women dominated the first day of powerlifting at the Paris Paralympics as Guo Lingling improved her world record in the up to 45kg class on Wednesday.

British luxury fashion label Burberry is set to exit London's FTSE 100 after 15 years at the top-tier index, the stock exchange announced Wednesday, as analysts cited strategic mistakes and weak demand from China.

Napoli outcast Victor Osimhen has agreed a season-long loan with Galatasaray without an option to buy, the Turkish champions and the Italian club confirmed on Wednesday.

Travis Head smashed 80 off 25 balls as Australia chased down Scotland's 154 to win Wednesday's T20 international in Edinburgh inside 10 overs.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday appointed his minister for digital affairs Jose Luis Escriva as the Bank of Spain's new governor, raising concerns about the central bank's independence.

Stock markets slipped on Wednesday as tech firms fought to limit recent losses while disappointing data on US trade also hit sentiment.

Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen resumes his rivalry with Briton Josh Kerr at Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Zurich, and the race promises to be a humdinger.

Jannik Sinner attempts to reach a maiden US Open semi-final on Wednesday as fellow world number one Iga Swiatek hopes to stem an American championship surge.

The first delivery of almost 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines will arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, the African Union's health watchdog said.

Wout van Aert has returned home after suffering a painful knee injury but no fracture in the crash that ended his involvement in the Vuelta a Espana, the Belgian's Visma-Lease team said on Wednesday.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump return to the US campaign trail Wednesday with new polls showing the White House race remains on a knife-edge less than a week before their crucial first debate.

United States Steel warned Wednesday it could shut its headquarters and factories in Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the upcoming election, if a takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel is blocked.

President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to name a new prime minister almost two months after legislative elections left France in political deadlock, with an announcement possible as soon as Wednesday evening, sources close to him said.

Nigerian Paralympics powerlifter Esther Nworgu said on Wednesday claiming the silver medal in Paris was "like heaven" having dislocated her shoulder just two days ago.

October 7 survivor Sabine Taasa, who lost her husband and 17-year-old son during the Hamas attack, urged UN experts to stop blaming Israel for the war and focus on the trauma inflicted on Israeli children.

Dozens of viruses have been detected mixing in animals at fur farms in China, some of which are new and have the potential to spill over into humans, researchers said Wednesday.

Meta's Oversight Board ruled on Wednesday that the standalone use of the phrase "From the River to the Sea," a slogan oft-used by pro-Palestinian users, does not violate the company's content policies.

An experimental Moderna mRNA vaccine for mpox has demonstrated greater effectiveness than current shots in reducing disease symptoms and duration, according to an animal study published in the journal Cell on Wednesday.

England rugby coach Steve Borthwick will have the final say on all sports science and medical matters relating to an elite group of players as part of a deal aimed at creating "world-leading English teams".

Burning plastic in dumps and open fires is as big a problem for the planet as littering, scientists said Wednesday in a detailed new assessment of how plastic enters the environment.

Star Italian wheelchair fencer Bebe Vio suffered a shock defeat at the Paralympics on Wednesday but British Paralympic cycling great Sarah Storey won her 18th gold -- then slammed the "appalling" course.

After sleeping overnight in a line of cars waiting for fuel, Nigerian taxi driver Oluwashina Ilesanmi had to calculate how much a sudden petrol price increase cut into his earnings.

Animal rights groups said Wednesday that gunfire killed a beluga whale that rose to fame in Norway after its unusual harness sparked suspicions the creature had been trained by Russia as a spy.

Germany's military put a first Iris-T air-defence system into service on its own soil Wednesday having delivered several of them to war-torn Ukraine to intercept Russian rockets, drones and missiles.

Lady Gaga confessed to having been "deeply moved" by the original film "Joker" on Wednesday as the new sequel starring the pop star and Joaquin Phoenix gets its world premiere in Venice.

Tech firms led equity markets lower Wednesday as chip titan Nvidia lost further ground while disappointing data on US trade also hit sentiment.

Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei was still fighting for her life on Wednesday after being set on fire by a Kenyan man, just weeks after taking part in the Paris Olympics.

Social network X has committed to stop its much-criticised harvesting of European users' personal data to train its artificial intelligence program, Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) said Wednesday.

Stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope said Brendon McCullum can transform the fortunes of England's limited-overs teams in the same way he has reinvigorated the red-ball side.