BUSINESS

Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted of espionage for Israel and involvement in the killing of a Revolutionary Guard but activists said he was sentenced to death after an unfair trial and a confession obtained by torture.

Cardinal Cristobal Lopez Romero, the Spanish-born archbishop of Rabat, admits he is a little anxious ahead of his first conclave, although also curious.

Germany's struggling economy grew faster than expected at the start of the year, data showed Wednesday, in a boost for the incoming government of conservative Friedrich Merz even as US tariffs threaten to derail the nascent recovery.

The eurozone economy expanded more than expected at the start of the year, official data showed on Wednesday, despite US President Donald Trump's tariffs but global trade tensions threaten more pain and near stagnation in 2025.

Germany's incoming finance minister Lars Klingbeil is a self-styled political "bridge-builder" whose calm and personable demeanour belies his sharp political instincts.

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.

TotalEnergies boosted crude oil production by two percent from the first quarter of 2024, but that wasn't enough to compensate for nine percent drop in the international reference price.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The company reported $21.5 billion in revenue for the most recent quarter and projects savings of $3.5 billion this year through its consolidation efforts.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Amazon founder Jeff Bezos "did the right thing" by stopping a plan to show consumers how much US tariffs add to each price tag.

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.

Trump signed an executive order to limit the impact of overlapping tariffs on automakers. He also released a proclamation that gives the industry a two-year grace period to move supply chains back to the United States and reduce "American reliance on imports of foreign automobiles and their parts."

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

US GDP figures for the first quarter are expected to show a sharp drop-off in growth -- and possibly even a recession -- reflecting a surge in imports before President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs came into effect.

Ruben Amorim has bet the house on the Europa League after Manchester United's disastrous Premier League campaign, knowing this season and next hinge on winning the competition.

Still in pain from giving birth, a Haitian mother carrying her newborn was helped onto a migration services bus in the Dominican Republic, joining a family member who was arrested when he visited her in hospital.

As a personal trainer for years, Skoda emphasizes that people should work on their fitness out of a desire for growth and not some superficial goal.

Canada's The Metals Company said Tuesday it applied to the United States to mine deep-sea minerals in international waters, a world first made possible by President Donald Trump's embrace of the industry.

The White House said Tuesday it will soften tariffs on automakers, sparking optimism in Detroit whose car manufacturing industry has been on tenterhooks awaiting details on President Donald Trump's fast-evolving policy.

France's beloved comic book heroes Asterix and Obelix are set for their latest incarnation in a Netflix mini-series being released Wednesday, hoping to win over new fans, notably in the United States and Asia.

France on Tuesday accused Russian military intelligence of being behind a series of cyberattacks against the country over the last decade, including against an organisation involved in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Emmanuel Macron's first presidential campaign in 2017.

Interconnected electricity networks -- the cornerstone of the European system and designed to improve security of supply -- made it possible to contain the massive power outage on the Iberian peninsula.