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Peruvian lawmakers picked Jose Maria Balcazar as the country's new interim president on Wednesday, making him the country's eighth leader in a decade after Jose Jeri was impeached on graft allegations.

One of Australia's most highly valued defence firms is helping Ukrainian soldiers knock Russian drones off the battlefield, riding a surge in military spending by Western governments with tech combating the weapon of the future.

Argentina's Javier Milei faces the fourth general strike of his term Thursday, this time by workers protesting a labor reform bill pushed by the budget-slashing president and set to be debated in parliament.

Cuban opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer supports a US operation in his country akin to the one that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should the communist leadership refuse to give up power, he told AFP in an interview Wednesday.

In Nepal's eastern plains, rival political flags depicting blue bells and red suns flutter over tea farms and brick homes -- symbols of a local election campaign shaping landmark nationwide polls.

Tech firms led gains across Asian equities Thursday following a positive lead from Wall Street, where traders also welcomed strong US data that suggested the world's top economy remained in rude health.

There are no outward signs of jitters, at least not yet: people in Svalbard are going about their daily lives as normal despite speculation that this Norwegian archipelago could be the next Arctic territory coveted by the United States or Russia.

James Slipper will hit a new landmark this weekend when he becomes the first Australian to play 200 Super Rugby games, with ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham saying he was in some of his best form ever.

Vast stretches of a once-verdant acacia forest south of Sudan's capital Khartoum have been reduced to little more than fields of stumps as nearly three years of conflict have fuelled deforestation.

Permits revoked, lawsuits filed, the threat of state takeovers. Deadly flooding in Indonesia has prompted unprecedented government action against companies accused of environmental destruction that worsened the disaster.

Coach Joe Montemurro pledged Thursday Australia will play an "entertaining" brand of football in their bid to win the Women's Asian Cup after naming a strong squad spearheaded by Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler and Steph Catley.

Barbers in Afghanistan risk detention for trimming men's beards too short, they told AFP, as the Taliban authorities enforce their strict interpretation of Islamic law with increasing zeal.

South Korea's ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol faces prison or even the death penalty when he appears in court Thursday on insurrection charges stemming from his 2024 bid to impose martial law.

A South Korean court will rule Thursday on insurrection charges against ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, weighing whether he should be sentenced to death for his failed bid to impose military rule.

Australia's Phillip Island will host its last MotoGP this year after nearly three decades with organisers Thursday announcing the race will move to a street circuit in Adelaide from 2027.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday gathers allies to inaugurate the "Board of Peace," his new institution focused on progress on Gaza but whose ambitions reach much further.

Fresh off of achieving a $1 trillion market value, Walmart will report earnings Thursday as markets look for signs the retail giant can accelerate growth with the aid of artificial intelligence.

A prominent Australian television reporter apologised Thursday after slurring her way through a live broadcast from the Winter Olympics in a clip that went viral.

The USA and pre-tournament favourites Canada stayed on track to meet in the Olympic men's ice hockey final with quarter-final overtime wins on Wednesday.

Norway's Bodo/Glimt stunned Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, beating last season's runners-up 3-1 in the first leg of their knockout phase play-off tie after Anthony Gordon scored four as Newcastle United hammered Qarabag 6-1 in Azerbaijan.

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal deserve criticism for the self-inflicted wounds that threaten to ruin their Premier League title bid after the leaders blew a two-goal lead in Wednesday's 2-2 draw at rock-bottom Wolves.

Rory McIlroy will try to keep the birdie bandwagon rolling and eliminate the "big numbers" that doomed his Pebble Beach bid as he vies for a first Genesis Invitational title at Riviera this week.

Greek winger Christos Tzolis grabbed a late equaliser for Club Brugge as Atletico Madrid twice let the lead slip in a 3-3 Champions League play-off first leg draw on Wednesday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tech CEOs including OpenAI's Sam Altman will give their take on the opportunities and threats posed by artificial intelligence at a global summit in New Delhi on Thursday.

Fresh from his success at the Grammys and a triumphant Super Bowl halftime show, Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny is set to take the lead role in an all-star film, producers announced Wednesday.

Arsenal's Premier League title challenge suffered a major blow as they squandered a two-goal lead and conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in a damaging 2-2 draw at rock-bottom Wolves on Wednesday.

Marseille have appointed their former captain Habib Beye as coach, the club announced on Wednesday, just over a week after he was sacked by their Ligue 1 rivals Rennes.

Atletico Madrid twice let the lead slip in a 3-3 Champions League play-off first leg draw at Club Brugge on Wednesday.

Patrik Schick scored twice in a four-minute spell to steer Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-0 win at Olympiacos in the first leg of their Champions League knockout tie on Wednesday.

Bodo/Glimt continued their remarkable debut Champions League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan in the knockout play-off round first leg on Wednesday, as Kasper Hogh scored once and created two other goals.

Global stock markets rose Wednesday as traders assessed company earnings and economic data, while oil prices surged more than four percent on a toughening US posture towards Iran.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday he regretted Meta's slow progress in identifying underage users on Instagram, as he faced stinging criticism at a landmark social media trial over accusations that his company deliberately hooked under-13s.

Eileen Gu is one of the biggest names at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. That's obvious from how her answer to AFP's question about her performance at the Games has gone viral.

Lewis Hamilton on Wednesday said that Ferrari's new car has his "DNA" within it as the seven-time world champion put it through its paces on the first day of the second pre-season test in Bahrain.

Retail tycoon Les Wexner told US lawmakers Wednesday he was "conned" by Jeffrey Epstein and denied any knowledge of his crimes, as Democrats pressed him over his decades-long relationship with the notorious sex offender.

Mitch Marner scored in overtime as Canada saw off the Czech Republic 4-3 on Wednesday to advance to the Olympic men's ice hockey semi-finals.

A top UN official warned Wednesday that steps by Israel to tighten control of areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to "gradual de facto annexation."

Carlos Alcaraz maintained his 100-percent start to the year by battling past Frenchman Valentin Royer in Doha on Wednesday, while his great rival Jannik Sinner also secured a quarter-final place.

The Dallas Mavericks said star Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the NBA season as he continues to recover from knee surgery in March.