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Boulevard
One trip, one ticket: New EU rules aim to ease train travel
The EU plans to force railway companies to sell rivals' tickets on their websites and share data with booking platforms, under new rules unveiled Wednesday aiming to boost train travel.
Technology
SoftBank profit quadruples to $32 bn on AI investments
Japan's SoftBank Group said Wednesday its annual net profit quadrupled to more than $30 billion, boosted by its investments in AI.
Politics
Africa must drop 'victim mentality': mogul Tony Elumelu
Africans should welcome all foreign investors and put colonial hang-ups behind them, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Tony Elumelu told AFP.
Politics
'Ungovernable' Britain? Once-stable politics in freefall
For years, under long-serving leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, the worst mid-term challenge a British prime minister might face was a rowdy jeering in parliament.
Technology
China tech giant Tencent sees Q1 profit jump after AI bets
Chinese tech firm Tencent reported a 21 percent jump in quarterly net profit Wednesday as the video game giant bets big on the booming artificial intelligence sector.
Economy
Nissan expects return to profit after huge loss
Nissan projected Wednesday a small net profit this year after posting a huge loss for the second year running, with the Japanese automaker saying it has "moved beyond recovery".
Sports
World Cup broadcast deadlock ends up in Indian court
A standoff over World Cup broadcasting rights in India has ended up in the courts with fans fearing they won't be able to watch football's biggest party when it begins in under a month.
Asian stocks mixed on US-Iran impasse, AI setbacks
Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday as markets digested the lack of progress towards Middle East peace and setbacks that rattled the boom in AI technology.
Politics
Besieged Starmer seeks to heal Labour divisions in King's Speech
King Charles III will on Wednesday outline UK leader Keir Starmer's next legislative plans, during a pomp-filled ceremony that could have huge repercussions for the embattled prime minister's future.
Nature
After winter storms, fires now threaten Portugal's forests
In a forest of pine and eucalyptus trees in central Portugal, chainsaws and diggers hum away clearing paths blocked by trees uprooted in winter storms, but the threat now is a high risk of summer fires.
Boulevard
Philippine senator seeks military support to block ICC drug war arrest
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's chief drug war enforcer urged the military on Wednesday to stop government attempts to arrest and fly him to the Netherlands to stand trial on charges of crimes against humanity.
Education
UK's Catherine on first official foreign trip since cancer revelation
Britain's Princess Catherine starts a two-day visit to Italy on Wednesday focused on early childhood development, in her first official foreign trip since her 2024 cancer diagnosis.
Economy
'Short of blue-collar workers': Ukraine's battle for labour
After fleeing Russia's advancing army and resettling in the central industrial hub of Dnipro, Ukrainian worker Anatoliy Synkov had no trouble finding a job.
Sports
'Don't understand it, but it looks fun': cricket bowls Japan over
Curious spectators clutching rulebooks watch as a batsman smacks a six into the sand and weeds surrounding Japan's brand-new cricket ground, four months before it hosts matches at the Asian Games.
Politics
Trump vows to push Xi to 'open up' China at superpower summit
US President Donald Trump said he would ask Xi Jinping to "open up" China to American firms as he headed to Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit that will also bring up the Iran war.
Health
Poor planning fuels Bangladesh contraceptive crisis
Bangladesh's once-praised family planning system is buckling under severe contraceptive shortages, raising fears of a rise in unplanned pregnancies in one of the world's most densely populated countries.
Boulevard
Fugitive financier sought in Malaysian fund scandal seeks Trump's pardon
A fugitive financier accused of involvement in a massive corruption scandal in Malaysia in which top officials looted billions from state fund 1MDB has filed for a pardon from US President Donald Trump.
Sports
World Cup comes to 'Soccer Town USA,' but locals priced out
Anthony Duro had hoped the World Cup coming to his soccer-mad New Jersey town would mean watching games at nearby MetLife Stadium, but sky-high ticket prices are beyond his budget.
Sports
Don't mention the war: Tucson prepares to welcome Team Iran for World Cup
In the Strait of Hormuz, US warships menace Iran's oil tankers, while in Washington President Donald Trump demands "complete victory." But in Tucson, they're getting ready to welcome the Iranian football team as if nothing were amiss.
Sports
Hosting World Cup evokes powerful memories for Mexico, and raises expectations
The 2026 World Cup will finish with a final in a New Jersey NFL stadium, but the tournament will begin in a footballing temple where arguably the sport's two greatest ever players enjoyed their crowning glories.
Technology
AI rivalry overshadows push for guardrails at Xi-Trump talks: experts
Fears that artificial intelligence could help people design bioweapons or hack into national infrastructure are mutual concerns for Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, despite their countries' fierce rivalry over the technology, analysts say.
Economy
Asian stocks fall on US-Iran impasse, AI setbacks
Asian stocks fell on Wednesday as markets digested the lack of progress towards Middle East peace and setbacks that rattled the boom in AI technology.
Sports
Wembanyama leads Spurs to brink as Timberwolves routed
Victor Wembanyama scored 27 points as the San Antonio Spurs moved to within one win of the NBA Western Conference finals with an emphatic 126-97 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Sports
Ronaldo left waiting for Saudi title after goalkeeping gaffe
Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait a bit longer for his first Saudi Pro League title after Al Nassr conceded a bizarre own goal in the final seconds on Tuesday.
Politics
'Not my son's fault': The women bearing the children of Sudan's war rapes
The baby bouncing on Nesma's lap has his mother's smile and her curious eyes, but nothing she says of the three paramilitary fighters who gang raped her two years ago in Sudan's capital.
Technology
'I applied to be pope': Losing grip on reality while using ChatGPT
Tom Millar thought he had unlocked the secrets of the universe.
Economy
EU to ease train travel with one journey, one ticket rules
The EU could force railway companies to sell rivals' tickets on their websites and share data with booking platforms under plans to be unveiled Wednesday aiming to boost train travel, sources said.
Sports
Quick bowler Brown left out of Australia T20 World Cup squad
Fast bowler Darcie Brown was a surprise omission from Australia's 15-player squad named Wednesday for next month's T20 World Cup in England.
Sports
Los Angeles stadium undergoes World Cup facelift
Hundreds of corner seats have been ripped out of Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium and truckloads of freshly harvested sod were beginning the 1,200-mile journey from Washington state Tuesday as the venue puts the finishing touches on its facelift for soccer's World Cup.
Culture
Pacific nation Nauru to change name in break from colonial past
Pacific island Nauru said it will hold a referendum to change its official name, described as a colonial relic from a time when "foreign tongues" mangled the native language.
Sports
Messi still highest-paid player in MLS
Lionel Messi remains the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer with an annual base salary of $25 million -- more than twice as much as the next-highest paid player Son Heung-min, the MLS Players Association said Tuesday.
Economy
Musk 'wanted 90%' of OpenAI, Altman tells feisty tech titan trial
Elon Musk was obsessed with trying to control OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company's CEO Sam Altman said Tuesday at a blockbuster trial that saw him spar with lawyers representing the worth's wealthiest man.