WORLD

Colombia on Wednesday declared a "protected archeological area" around the spot where a Spanish galleon sank off its Caribbean coast more than three centuries ago laden with gold, silver and emeralds.

Ecuador declared a state of emergency in nearly a third of its provinces Wednesday after a surge in violence amid the government's ongoing "war" on drug gangs.

Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash, will be buried Thursday in his hometown after two days of funeral processions attended by thousands of mourners.

When Barcelona take on Lyon in the women's Champions League final on Saturday, the Catalans will be out not only for revenge but also to cement their place as Europe's most dominant force.

China on Thursday launched two days of military drills to surround self-ruled Taiwan in what it said was "strong punishment" for the island's "separatist acts".

UK political parties began jostling for position on Thursday, setting out their electoral battle plans after embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4.

Former presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said Wednesday she will vote for Donald Trump in November's US election, ending months of silence after quitting the contest to choose a Republican to face Joe Biden.

Guinean prosecutors on Wednesday demanded life sentences for former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and six other military or government officials over a 2009 massacre, saying they were guilty of crimes against humanity.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday voiced doubt for the near-term prospects of a global pandemic agreement under negotiation that has drawn a backlash in several Western countries.

British actor Gary Oldman, who plays a washed-up alcoholic writer in new Cannes film "Parthenope", said Wednesday he is celebrating 27 years sober.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emerged from 10 Downing Street into the grey English drizzle late on Wednesday afternoon and finally announced what Britons have long wanted to know.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a general election for July 4, teeing up a battle between his ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Labour party.

Donald Trump drew disbelief -- and some support -- Wednesday after suggesting that standard language from an FBI search warrant executed in 2022 on his Florida mansion showed that President Joe Biden wanted armed agents to shoot him.

A UK general election is to be held on July 4, British media reported on Wednesday quoting sources, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with his top ministers.

Russia said Wednesday that its forces had retaken Klishchiivka, one of a handful of villages on the eastern front that Ukraine claimed back in a 2023 counteroffensive.

The former boss of Britain's Post Office on Wednesday apologised to the hundreds of staff who were wrongly prosecuted because of faulty computer software, in one of the country's worst miscarriages of justice.

Russia has launched a likely space weapon and deployed it in the same orbit as a US government satellite, the Pentagon said.

Ireland, Norway, and Spain said they would formally recognize the State of Palestine on May 28. Israel said it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations" and was expected to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.

Japanese prosecutors again sought the death penalty in the retrial on Wednesday of an ex-boxer who was the world's longest-serving death row prisoner until his release in 2014, local media reported.

An unconventional South Korean DJ "monk" who dispenses Buddhist wisdom and Gen-Z life advice over his thumping beats will be barred from performing in Singapore, the interior minister said Wednesday.

At least three European countries were expected to announce steps towards recognising a Palestinian state on Wednesday, after more than seven months of devastating fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Volunteers are rushing to hoist food and water up into trees in sweltering southern Mexico, but help came too late for the howler monkeys whose lifeless bodies lay still on the ground.

Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record Wednesday as the person to have scaled Mount Everest the most times, achieving the milestone 30th ascent of the world's highest peak.

When a weary David Ferrer managed to win just five games in his French Open semi-final loss to Rafael Nadal in 2012, he was in no doubt over the enormity of the challenge.

Vietnam's rubber-stamp parliament voted in public security minister To Lam as the country's new president on Wednesday, after a major anti-corruption campaign forced his predecessor to resign.

At age 40, Japanese competitive breakdancer Ayumi Fukushima has been busting moves for longer than some of her rivals have been alive.

They never thought they would end up in Europe by leaving their native Bangladesh.

Large crowds of Iranians are expected to gather in Tehran on Wednesday to pay tribute to late president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash.

Mexico appears almost certain to elect its first woman president on June 2 -- a prospect that divides opinion among women's rights activists in a country with a long history of macho culture.