Hard-right romps across UK local elections slapping down main parties

France hooker Peato Mauvaka will miss Toulouse's Champions Cup semi-final against Bordeaux-Begles and will likely miss the remainder of the season because of a knee injury, the Top 14 leaders announced on Wednesday.
Germany's incoming finance minister Lars Klingbeil is a self-styled political "bridge-builder" whose calm and personable demeanour belies his sharp political instincts.
All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz hit his second Test century to propel Bangladesh to 444 in their first innings in the second match against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal warned Wednesday that tariff uncertainty could cause further economic disruption as its global footprint helped it weather the turbulence in the first quarter.
The Vietnam War ended before most of the current population was born, but like many young people Hoang Ha Linh was swept up in the excitement of the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.
Cardinal Cristobal Lopez, the Spanish-born archbishop of Rabat, admits he is a little anxious ahead of his first conclave, although also curious.
A US official on Wednesday told the International Court of Justice there were "serious concerns" about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
US-European auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat, dropped its annual financial guidance on Wednesday due to uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
The Philippines and New Zealand signed an agreement on Wednesday allowing the deployment of troops on each other's territory, a move aimed at bolstering security in a "deteriorating" strategic environment.
British luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda said Wednesday that it is limiting shipments to the United States after US President Donald Trump slapped 25-percent tariffs on car imports.
Pakistan said on Wednesday it had "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike and vowed to retaliate, as worries of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir.
An Australian woman promised a "special meal" for her in-laws before dishing up a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms that killed three of them, jurors heard Wednesday.
Stocks mostly rose Wednesday ahead of key US economic and earnings reports, while traders took in their stride data showing Chinese factory activity contracted at its fastest pace for nearly two years as Donald Trump's trade war kicked in.
TotalEnergies said Wednesday that its net profit fell in the first quarter despite expanding production, as a slide in global crude oil prices penalises the financial performance of energy firms.
Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen said Wednesday that first quarter profit plunged due to higher costs as it warned of muted business for the rest of the year in the wake of trade tensions.
Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat, said Wednesday it was suspending its 2025 earnings forecast due to uncertainty caused by US tariffs.
Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after six months on the country's space station, state media footage showed, as Beijing advances towards its aim to become a major celestial power.
France's economy returned to growth in the first three months of the year but the expansion was modest, held back by sluggish household consumption and stagnant investment, official data showed Wednesday.
Former Premier League midfielder Li Tie has lost his appeal against a 20-year prison sentence for bribery, a Chinese court said on Wednesday.
A police station in the historic sailors' quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers' neon-lit red-light windows.
The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics became the latest teams to book their places in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday as the Detroit Pistons thwarted the New York Knicks to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Former world number one Jon Rahm said Wednesday he had not done himself "any favours" in his winless start to the season ahead of LIV Golf's South Korea debut.
Tokyo's tariffs envoy departed Wednesday for a second round of negotiations in Washington, where Japan could offer concessions such as tweaking vehicle import procedures to secure relief from Donald Trump's trade levies.
Djurgarden are targeting a seismic Conference League shock against Chelsea on Thursday, when they will become the first Swedish team to play in a European semi-final for 38 years.
The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics became the latest teams to book their places in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday as the Detroit Pistons thwarted the New York Knicks to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Reclining on sofas at a South Korean cafe, customers sip iced americanos as they gaze past barbed wire fences and watchtowers at the mountains of North Korea.
Since the start of the school year in March, Afghan boys have been required to wear new uniforms of turbans and long tunics, following an order to adopt outfits reflecting Taliban rule.
Stocks started limply Wednesday as investors struggled to match Wall Street's rally, with data showing Chinese factory activity contracted this month at its fastest pace for nearly two years as Donald Trump's trade war kicked in.
Bodo/Glimt's historic run to the semi-finals of this season's Europa League has not happened by chance after a remarkable success story that has been years in the making.
Ange Postecoglou can still make good on his claim that he always wins a trophy in his second season but he must find a way to inspire struggling Tottenham for a shot at Europa League glory.
In the vast white expanse around Churapcha in eastern Siberia, the ever more rapid thaw of the permafrost is changing the landscape, cracking up houses and releasing greenhouse gases.
South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday raided the home of the country's ex-president, Yonhap reported, as part of a probe into a shaman accused of receiving lavish gifts for the former first lady.
Asia's front-runner for the papacy, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines is a charismatic moderate often dubbed the "Asian Francis".
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics reported a better-than-expected 21.7 percent rise in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday as consumers rushed to buy smartphones under the looming threat of US tariffs.
A seasoned diplomat who worked with Pope Francis for 12 years, Cardinal Pietro Parolin is well-known in Rome and abroad, and a serious contender to be the next pontiff.
A landmark security pact to overhaul Australia's navy with American muscle faces growing scepticism, stoked by its eyewatering cost and growing distrust of US President Donald Trump.
China's manufacturing activity shrank in April after growing at its highest rate in a year the previous month, official data showed Wednesday, as Beijing fights an intensifying trade war with the United States.
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has ushered in sweeping changes to international geopolitics and US government administration with little regard for norms that have constrained predecessors.
A Swedish journalist arrested on arrival in Istanbul to cover last month's massive street protests goes on trial Wednesday on charges of insulting Turkey's president, his lawyer said.