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US energy giant ConocoPhillips announced Wednesday that it is acquiring competitor Marathon Oil for $22.5 billion in the latest big petroleum merger consummated in spite of rising concerns about climate change.

The move by Spain, Ireland and Norway to recognise the State of Palestine will give a major boost to the cause, the Palestinian Authority's health minister said Wednesday, urging other European countries to follow suit.

World number three Carlos Alcaraz survived a huge scare at the hands of 176th-ranked Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong to reach the third round after a four-set triumph on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday promised steadfast US support to Moldova in areas from energy independence to democracy promotion on a solidarity visit to the pro-Western nation as alarm grows again over Russia.

Around 200 Georgian NGOs on Wednesday vowed to defy a "foreign influence" law that has caused deep divisions in the Caucasus country, triggering mass protests and international condemnation.

Successive rainy springs in recent years have boosted the spread of mildew through France's world-famous Bordeaux vineyards, driving some growers to the brink of despair.

A new volcanic eruption began on Wednesday on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland, the country's meteorological office said, shortly after authorities evacuated the nearby town of Grindavik.

A billionaire with interests in football clubs, media outlets, supermarkets and now the potential new owner of Britain's Royal Mail, Czech Daniel Kretinsky retains a stubbornly low profile internationally.

Papua New Guinea's estimate that 2,000 people were buried in a highland landslide was called into question Wednesday, with satellite imagery, disaster experts and local officials suggesting the toll is much lower.

Pacing along the dark corridors of a rundown five-storey building in Johannesburg's crime-ridden township of Alexandra, Duduzile Mthembu says she has been trying to persuade young residents to vote.

An 18-year-old student, who stabbed his schoolteacher in France this week, was on Wednesday indicted for three attempted murders, prosecutors said, adding the suspect "wanted to find out what it was like to kill someone."

President Xi Jinping told his Egyptian counterpart on Wednesday that China was "deeply pained" by the "extremely severe" situation in Gaza, as Beijing hosts Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and several other Arab leaders.

Stock markets fell Wednesday as indicators and comments from central bankers further dented hopes for interest rate cuts, while oil kept rising after an attack on a ship in the Red Sea stoked supply worries.

Twelve New York jurors were to begin deliberating Wednesday on whether to convict Donald Trump in the first ever criminal trial of a former US president -- with their decision potentially upending the November election in which the Republican seeks a return to power.

Paris Saint-Germain have not paid Kylian Mbappe his wages for April as well as a mega-bucks bonus amid a financial dispute between the club and the player as he prepares to leave the French champions, sources close to the talks told AFP on Wednesday.

Mountaineers on Everest left the world's highest peak on Wednesday, ending a climbing season that broke multiple records but left eight people dead, tourism officials and expedition organisers said.

Major League Baseball formally adopted statistics from the racially segregated Negro Leagues into its official history on Wednesday, rewriting the record books at a stroke in a landmark move which confronts the sport's racist past.

Beijing will return giant pandas to Washington's National Zoo by the end of the year, US First Lady Jill Biden and officials said Wednesday in a surprise announcement signaling a new era of panda diplomacy between the two superpowers.

Dick Schoof is a veteran spy chief known for running tight ships within the Netherlands' immigration and secret service communities -- roles that now landed him the nomination for the country's top job.

Barcelona appointed former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick as coach on Wednesday on a deal which runs till June 2026, after sacking Xavi Hernandez last week.

Australian cyclist Jay Vine had a neck brace removed Wednesday seven weeks after suffering spine injuries in a high-speed downhill crash at the Tour of the Basque Country.

Investigators on Wednesday raided the home and offices of an EU parliamentary staffer as Belgium probes claims that Russia paid far-right lawmakers -- including Germany's embattled Maximilian Krah -- to spread Kremlin propaganda.

A northern Nigerian state governor on Wednesday banned protests and public rallies to prevent a power struggle between two rival royals over a traditional throne spilling into violence.

Temperatures in India's capital soared to a national record-high of 52.3 degrees Celsius (126.1 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, figures from the government's weather bureau showed, as it warned of dangerous heat levels in the sprawling megacity.

At the end of April, Barcelona president Joan Laporta, choking with emotion, said he was "proud" to have Xavi Hernandez staying on as coach for next season.

Antiquities recovered after being looted in Italy and sold on the global black market have found their sanctuary in the heart of Rome.

Kuwait said Wednesday its refining capacity had reached a record 1.8 million barrels per day as it inaugurated one of the region's biggest refineries which started operating at full capacity in recent months.

Mining giant Anglo American, cyber security firm Darktrace and Royal Mail parent IDS -- three major UK companies in the midst of big takeover bids.

Mining giant Anglo American rejected a request by Australian rival BHP to extend talks on a $49 billion takeover offer beyond a looming Wednesday deadline, possibly ending a bid to create a copper titan.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday headed for talks with Moldova President Maia Sandu aimed at showing robust support for the frontline country's Western aspirations as alarm grows over Russian gains elsewhere.

Hong Kong police arrested a seventh person on Wednesday under its new security law in relation to social media posts about commemorating Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Wealthy countries met their target of providing $100 billion in annual climate aid to poorer countries for the first time in 2022 though two years later than promised, the OECD said Wednesday.