Athens News - News from Athens, the political, economic and cultural centre of Greece, the European Union and the whole world

England captain Ben Stokes has warned leading players such as Jofra Archer could be driven away from international cricket if England attempt to limit their Indian Premier League commitments.

Forwards Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams should be fit for Spain's World Cup opener, coach Luis de la Fuente said on Wednesday.

British leader Keir Starmer said Wednesday there was "no justification" for violence after protesters clashed with police in a demonstration against officers' handling of the murder of a white student by a Sikh man.

The EU on Wednesday unveiled its plan for slashing dependence on American and Asian technology, including favouring European firms in the most sensitive public contracts for cloud computing and AI.

England captain Ben Stokes said the "landscape of cricket" has changed as he defended Jofra Archer's absence from the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's because of the fast bowler's IPL commitments.

Oil prices jumped and stock markets diverged Wednesday as fresh Middle East attacks dented hopes of an imminent peace deal.

World number 114 Maja Chwalinska continued her stunning French Open run on Wednesday by beating 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya to become just the second women's qualifier to reach the last four at Roland Garros in the professional era.

Bringing a horror series that went viral on YouTube to the big screen, "Backrooms" smashed box office records in its opening weekend in the US.

Politicians want to meet them, the media want to hire them -- content creators, seen as a key to reaching their young followers, are readying to be players in the 2027 presidential campaign.

French authorities said Wednesday that they had imposed two fines on Shein totalling more than 22 million euros ($25.5 million), citing problems with product traceability, environmental labelling and delivery times.

The Democratic Republic of Congo are willing to play their pre-World Cup friendly with Chile behind closed doors, their head coach Sebastien Desabre has said.

Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in Saint Petersburg early Wednesday morning as officials gathered for a flagship economic forum in the city, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said.

CBS News fired longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday following clashes over the show's future, the latest shakeup under the network's new leadership.

From laptops designed for the artificial intelligence era to advances in robotics and sky-high tech shares, here are five hot topics at Taipei's huge Computex trade show:

Pope Leo XIV heads to Spain on Saturday for a visit with a strong focus on immigration and politics, in a traditionally Catholic country where religious observance is fast declining.

Charles Leclerc has agreed a multi-year extension with his "second family" Ferrari days out from his home Monaco Grand Prix, the Formula One team announced on Wednesday.

Hundreds of foreigners fearing for their lives have taken shelter in community halls on South Africa's south coast, saying mobs of locals were going door-to-door telling them to leave the country.

A severe tropical storm brought torrential rain to Tokyo on Wednesday, swelling rivers, grounding flights and sparking calls to evacuate for hundreds of thousands of people across wide swathes of Japan.

A drone strike on a passenger terminal in Kuwait's international airport wounded several people Wednesday and forced air traffic to be suspended, as Iranian and US forces traded attacks in the Gulf.

Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in Saint Petersburg early Wednesday morning as officials gathered for a flagship economic forum in the city, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said.

Iran's World Cup squad will arrive early on Sunday in Mexico where they will be based for the duration of the global football tournament, a team statement said Wednesday.

Bollywood stars are campaigning to end the use of elephants in Indian films, saying that life-size robot replicas and AI-generated images do the job without cruelty.

The war in the Middle East has dented economic growth prospects worldwide, with a more severe shock likely if no effective ceasefire is agreed before 2027, the OECD warned Wednesday.

Oil prices extended gains Wednesday as Middle East peace talks stuttered, though stocks mostly rose on the back of continued demand for all things linked to artificial intelligence.

When a drone threat alert blared out in Lithuania's capital Vilnius urging residents to seek shelter, Ruta Gaskauskaite hurried down to the nearest one, only to discover it was locked.

French mixed martial artist Ciryl Gane said he is blocking out the political noise ahead of his unprecedented fight at the White House in Washington.

England will have a chance to prove they have learned from their Ashes drubbing when they face New Zealand in the first Test of their home season at Lord's on Thursday.

In the small Romanian town of Onesti, people chanted Nadia Comaneci's name on Sunday as the gymnast who received the first perfect 10 in Olympic history returned home 50 years after the feat.

Coach Darren Bazeley called it "really disappointing" as his New Zealand side suffered a demoralizing 4-0 World Cup warm-up defeat to fellow qualifiers Haiti on Tuesday, in a match delayed by lightning in Florida.

Indonesian military prosecutors sought two-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday for each of the four soldiers charged over an acid attack on an activist critical of the armed forces' perceived expanding role in government.

In a dark exhibition space in Saint Petersburg, visitors stare at giant paintings of Russian battles down the centuries, including World War II, Afghanistan -- and Z-marked fighters in Ukraine.

Claudia Wuttke had no idea she may be a rape victim until police showed her a series of screenshots taken from the laptop of her former husband.

More and more EU countries are being thrown in the public spending sin bin over their mushrooming deficits, with Bulgaria expected to be added Wednesday.

Japan's thousand-year-old samurai horse festival has survived wars, earthquakes and a nuclear disaster. Now it's battling a new challenge -- climate change.

New Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale said Wednesday he would be reviewing a secretive 2022 security pact with Beijing, which rattled Canberra and Washington by opening the door to Chinese forces in the South Pacific.

Oil prices extended gains Wednesday as Middle East peace talks stuttered, though stocks mostly rose on the back of continued demand for all things linked to artificial intelligence.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka can take her quest for a maiden French Open title into the last four on Wednesday, while Felix Auger-Aliassime will be hoping it's la dolce vita as he eyes a first major crown.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order creating a voluntary framework under which AI developers will share advanced models with the government before public release.

Pope Leo XIV will celebrate mass next week at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, the unfinished basilica designed by famed architect Antoni Gaudi, a fervent Catholic whose cause for sainthood is advancing in the Vatican.