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The US and Chinese defence chiefs are set to hold rare direct talks in Singapore this weekend, offering hopes of further military dialogue aimed at preventing flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control.

Equities fell Wednesday on lingering worries about the outlook for US interest rates, while oil prices extended their gains after an attack on a ship in the Red Sea stoked fresh worries about supplies from the Middle East.

The owner of Britain's struggling Royal Mail said Wednesday it had accepted a takeover proposal from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky worth £3.6 billion ($4.6 billion).

Mining behemoth BHP on Wednesday sought a deadline extension in its takeover pursuit of Anglo American, outlining a suite of measures to soothe shareholder concerns that have derailed previous offers.

Equities fell Wednesday on lingering worries about the outlook for US interest rates, while oil prices extended their rally after an attack on a ship in the Red Sea stoked fresh worries about supplies from the Middle East.

AC Milan captain Davide Calabria said on Wednesday that the departure of Olivier Giroud to Major League Soccer will leave a leadership hole at the seven-time European champions.

South African voters turned out for a landmark general election on Wednesday, with the ruling ANC's exclusive grip on power in doubt three decades after the advent of democracy.

North Korea has sent balloons full of trash, toilet paper and suspected animal faeces into the South, local media reports said Wednesday, with Seoul's military slamming Pyongyang for their "low class" actions.

Jorn Andersen, the Norwegian who took Hong Kong to their first Asian Cup finals in 56 years, quit as coach on Wednesday to take up an offer elsewhere.

Temperatures in India's capital have soared to a record-high 49.9 degrees Celsius (121.8 Fahrenheit) as authorities warn of water shortages in the sprawling mega-city.

The world's first wooden satellite has been built by Japanese researchers who said their tiny cuboid craft will be blasted off on a SpaceX rocket in September.

A major union representing tens of thousands of people at South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that workers will go on strike for the first time ever, potentially threatening key global semiconductor supply chains.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be prosecuted for insulting the monarchy, the attorney general's office said Wednesday, over comments he made almost a decade ago.

Anthony Edwards scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns produced a crucial late burst of long-range shooting as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Dallas Mavericks 105-100 On Tuesday to keep their NBA Western Conference finals series alive.

Young amateur golfer Hiroshi Tai will be the first Singaporean to play in the US Masters after he won the prestigious national college championship in the United States.

Israel carried out fresh strikes on Wednesday in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where its forces are battling Hamas militants, after the UN Security Council met to discuss a deadly attack that sparked global outcry.

For the 80th D-Day landings anniversary, AFP travelled the coastlines from northern Norway to southern France to find out what became of the German-built Atlantic Wall defences aimed at keeping the Allies at bay.

Real Madrid's superstars usually grab the headlines but quietly steering the ship in the direction of Champions League success yet again is coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Saturday's clash with Real Madrid will not be coach Edin Terzic's first Champions League final experience with Borussia Dortmund -- but this time around he will be closer to the action.

Nepal's Dipendra Singh Airee is a 24-year-old policeman dubbed "The Tiger", who hopes to use his record-breaking batting skills to boost his nation at the T20 World Cup.

Rhythmic drums and spirited dancing are once again bringing life to the shrines of Pakistan's saints, where festivals were long stifled by jihadist violence.

Influential Ethiopian women's rights activist Betelehem Akalework says she has been forced to move home twice in two years after enduring a barrage of online abuse, death threats and physical harassment.

The Euclid space telescope has discovered seven more rogue planets, shining a light on the dark and lonely worlds floating freely through the universe untethered to any star.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday raised its yearly growth forecast for China, but warned that Beijing's industrial policy risks a "misallocation" of resources and could harm trade.

Most equities fell Wednesday on lingering worries about the outlook for US interest rates, while oil prices extended their rally after an attack on a ship in the Red Sea stoked fresh worries about supplies from the Middle East.

Supplies of food and medicine were beginning to arrive at the scene of a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea Wednesday, with aid workers discovering children rendered mute by the shock of the disaster.

Rohingya mother Sofura Begum has spent years in a squalid refugee camp after fleeing Myanmar. Now her teenage son has been taken to fight alongside the troops that put her there.

One runs an aerospace parts maker, the other works in a restaurant near a major new oil refinery -- both women will vote in Mexican elections this weekend, but they could be from different countries.

When entrepreneur Lee Hee-tae told his parents he was going into the porn business, he urged them not to worry about social disapproval in conservative South Korea and to think about the money instead.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday raised its 2024 growth forecast for China to five percent, citing recent policy moves by Beijing to boost its struggling economy.

South Africans vote on Wednesday in what may be the most consequential election in decades, as dissatisfaction with the ruling ANC threatens to end its 30-year political dominance.

Haiti's transitional government council on Tuesday named a new prime minister to lead the violence-hit Caribbean nation, council members said, choosing Garry Conille, who briefly served in that role from 2011 to 2012.