The French government on Thursday summoned the head of the Orange telecom operator after a network outage that left people unable to reach emergency services, possibly causing three deaths. A person in the western Morbihan region suffering from a h...

Baku's street circuit is the medieval backdrop for Formula One's latest round of jousting between resurgent Red Bull and a Mercedes team anxious to move on from their Monaco misery. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix returns to the calendar for the first ti...

One silver lining from all the cancellations of the past year: a backlog of cinematic gold is waiting in the wings as the Cannes Film Festival announces its official selection Thursday. The 74th edition of the world's leading film shindig, being he...

Ground down by the sapping realities of modern city life, China's youth are "lying flat", the latest buzzword for those tapping out of a culture of endless work with little reward. With growing inequality and rising costs of living nudging traditio...

Descendants of victims of massacres committed by German colonisers -- recently recognised as a genocide -- have scoffed at the agreement between the Namibian government and the southern African country's former rulers. "It's a slap in the face," la...

As gunfire crackled outside, Genet Webea huddled with her husband and seven-year-old daughter, praying they would be spared in the latest bout of ethnic strife to rock central Ethiopia. But that morning in April, around a dozen gunmen broke down th...

Sri Lankan authorities said Thursday they are preparing for the worst-case scenario of a possible oil slick from the burnt-out cargo ship sinking off Colombo's main harbour. The Marine Environment Protection Authority readied oil dispersants, booms...

Mexico holds elections Sunday in a key test of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's popularity after more than two years in office marked by the devastating pandemic and cartel-related violence. Around 95 million Mexicans are eligible to vote in...

A year after the coronavirus pandemic emptied airports, air travel associations fear chaos during Europe's summer holiday season as travellers could wait hours before boarding planes due to health checks. Strict controls are still in place at most ...

Indonesia's hijab-wearing, headbanging VOB count some of rock music's biggest stars among their fans, but the all-female heavy metal band faced a tougher battle in winning over their parents. The diminutive trio behind Voice of Baceprot ("Noisy Voi...

Most Asian markets rose Thursday, with focus on the upcoming release of key US jobs data, while traders were also trying to gauge when the Federal Reserve will begin reconsidering its ultra-loose monetary policies in light of a robust economic recov...

Australian researchers are launching a koala "facial recognition" study that aims to better monitor the marsupials' behaviour and ultimately aid in their conservation. The team from Griffith University is attempting to use artificial intelligence (...

Rafael Nadal will celebrate his 35th birthday at the French Open on Thursday by facing Richard Gasquet, a player he first encountered when he was just 12. However, schedulers have handed Nadal the evening session slot which will mean his birthday p...

In the Karrada district of Iraq's capital, residents awake to a gas bottle deliveryman's dulcet tones -- once a country-wide tradition, but now a solo act. "My heart rediscovers love, as if it learnt nothing from past suffering," croons Mountazar A...

Around 10,000 of 80,000 planned Tokyo 2020 Olympic volunteers have quit, organisers have revealed as they battle persistent doubts over the Games with just 50 days until the opening ceremony. Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto ruled out a further po...