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EU leaders told industry executives on Wednesday they were committed to transforming the bloc's lagging economy into a global powerhouse able to confront US and Chinese competition.

German carmaker BMW is to recall hundreds of thousands of cars worldwide over a potential risk of engine starters sparking a fire, a company spokesman confirmed to AFP Wednesday.

World champion Lando Norris topped the timesheets during Wednesday's pre-season testing in Bahrain as former champion Lewis Hamilton called on the FIA to make sure that all 11 Formula One teams would start the new season "on an equal playing field".

Colombia's right-wing presidential frontrunner told AFP on Wednesday that he would seek US support for a bombing campaign to rout cocaine-producing armed groups during his first 90 days in office.

A Paris appeals court said Wednesday it will rule on July 7 in a fraud case against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, in what is expected to be a pivotal moment for French politics.

Huw Jones believes a Calcutta Cup clash at home to England is the "perfect game" for a Scotland side looking to bounce back from defeat in their Six Nations opener by Italy.

Norway's former high-profile diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen helped Jeffrey Epstein weave his web of dignitaries, acting as a go-between for the convicted sex offender in exchange for rewards, media has reported.

Iga Swiatek came from a set down to defeat Daria Kasatkina on Wednesday and keep her bid for a fourth Qatar Open title alive by reaching the quarter-finals.

A smooth, white stone dating from the Roman era and unearthed in the Netherlands has long baffled researchers.

Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie tore the heart out of England's much-vaunted middle order Wednesday as the West Indies won by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup clash in Mumbai.

Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart was suspended seven games by the NBA and three others from a brawl between Detroit and Charlotte were also banned by the league on Wednesday.

Pop superstar Shakira will perform a free concert on Rio de Janeiro's iconic Copacabana beach, following in the footsteps of Madonna and Lady Gaga, city authorities said Wednesday.

A cyclone packing violent winds has killed at least 31 people in Madagascar's second-largest city, ripping roofs off buildings, causing flooding and felling trees, the Indian Ocean island's disaster authority said Wednesday, releasing an updated toll.

Optimism over better-than-expected jobs data in the United States proved short lived with stocks failing to hold onto gains as investors worried about delays to interest rate cuts.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta described Thomas Frank as "extraordinary" after the Dane was fired by Tottenham on Wednesday, but said football managers are all vulnerable to the sack.

Whether chasing skiers as they fly down the mountain or tracking the luge as it tears around bends, new drone-mounted cameras are offering Winter Olympics viewers a wild ride.

Instagram's CEO Adam Mosseri takes the stand Wednesday in a landmark trial that could determine whether social media giants knowingly hooked children on their platforms for profit.

Canada was reeling after a mass shooting targeting a school in a remote mining town, with nine people gunned down in one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history.

NATO on Wednesday said it had launched a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic, in a move to assuage US President Donald Trump after he backed off claims on Greenland.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday, after rushing to Washington to push the US president to take a tougher stance in nuclear talks with Iran.

Canada was in mourning Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, after a lone shooter killed at least nine people, including seven at a school, and injured dozens more in a remote western town.

US lawmakers grilled US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday over the Justice Department's slow release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the redactions made to the documents about the convicted sex offender.

A cyclone packing violent winds killed at least 20 people as it struck Madagascar, toppling houses and causing major flooding, the Indian Ocean island's disaster authority said Wednesday.

France's top court on Wednesday ruled against reopening an investigation into the 2016 death of a young black man in police custody, closing a case that triggered national outcry -- though his family vowed to take it to Europe's highest court.

Gisele Pelicot, a survivor of mass rapes organised by her husband at their home in southern France, reveals her shock and trauma but also her resilience in an intimate book that will hit shelves next week.

Half of the original founding team at Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI has now departed after two co-founders resigned in rapid succession this week, raising fresh questions about talent retention ahead of an expected initial public offering.

The European Super League saga drew towards an end as Real Madrid, the last club still involved in the failed breakaway project, and UEFA announced on Wednesday an agreement to help resolve their legal dispute.

Sitting in the middle of a Johannesburg road as traffic snaked around her, Susan Jobson banged empty bottles to protest the water cuts that have upended her life for nearly three weeks.

US job growth beat expectations in January while unemployment crept down, official data showed Wednesday, defying immediate concerns about labor market fragility on the back of President Donald Trump's economic policies.

World stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday as data showed US job growth beat expectations in January, reassuring investors about the outlook for the world's top economy.

Hundreds of emails containing photographs of young women from around the world suggest modelling scout Daniel Siad may have been a significant recruiter for convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to public documents reviewed by AFP.

French lawmakers Wednesday urged longer paid parental leave and more financial support to make it easier for people to have more children, after deaths last year exceeded births in France for the first time in decades.

Franjo von Allmen may have written his name into the annals of Olympic alpine skiing, but the grounded Swiss racer said ski history was wasted on him.

An actor whose face was used by Albania's government for an AI chatbot that it promoted to be a "minister" told AFP on Wednesday that she had launched a legal fight to stop the use of her image and accused the government of "exploitation".

Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen joined the Olympic greats on Wednesday by winning his third gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Games, while Chloe Kim stayed on track to make her own history in snowboarding.

The French government issued a long-awaited report Wednesday urging people to limit meat consumption for their health and also to fight climate change -- and not everyone in the country of "steak-frites" is thrilled.

A depleted Australia shrugged off the loss of their captain Mitchell Marsh to injury to cruise to a dominant 67-run opening T20 World Cup win over Ireland in Colombo on Wednesday.

The International Olympic Committee will try to convince Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych to not wear a banned helmet that depicts victims of the war with Russia at the Milan-Cortina Games, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

Barcelona will be without both of their left wingers Marcus Rashford and Raphinha for the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg clash at Atletico Madrid on Thursday.