World datelines

France: Strike begins

PARIS — French air traffic controllers have launched a strike that is expected to cancel many flights in and out of France on Wednesday.

France's civil aviation authority said it asked airlines to scrap 20 percent of flights Wednesday at Charles de Gaulle airport and 50 percent at the smaller Orly airport.

While the strike officially started Tuesday evening, major disruptions weren't expected until the following day. The protest is to end Thursday morning.

Unions of air traffic controllers are striking over a plan to unify European airspace.

Spain: Ship set free

MADRID — Spain's Foreign Ministry says a Kenyan-flagged fishing vessel hijacked in February by Somali pirates has been released.

A ministry statement Tuesday says the Sakoba with its crew and Spanish captain was sailing toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

The ministry said it did not know how many crew members were aboard.

The statement says the vessel was hijacked Feb. 26 and the release followed intense negotiations on behalf of the ministry and Spain's embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

Argentina: Deadly cold

BUENOS AIRES — A cold front across much of South America is being linked to dozens of deaths, mounting losses for cattle ranchers and other hardships.

At least 26 people have died in Argentina from exposure, carbon monoxide inhalation from heaters and other weather-related causes.

Subfreezing temperatures have been reported in the country's normally temperate northern region.

Brazil: Penguins dying

SAO PAULO — Hundreds of penguins that apparently starved to death are washing up on the beaches of Brazil, worrying scientists who are still investigating what's causing them to die.

About 500 of the black-and-white birds have been found just in the last 10 days on Peruibe, Praia Grande and Itanhaem beaches in Sao Paulo state, said Thiago do Nascimento, a biologist at the Peruibe Aquarium.

Most were Magellan penguins migrating north from Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands in search of food in warmer waters.

Austria: Confessional sale