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Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard took control of the Paris-Nice stage race with victory on Wednesday's fourth stage marred by lashing rain, cross-winds and crashes.

Billions of mussels scorched and baby birds dropping from sweltering nests: North America's 2021 heatwave caused a cascade of ecological damage, some of it catastrophic, some unexpected, a new study showed Wednesday.

Iran said Wednesday it was ready for a long war of attrition that would "destroy" the world economy, after firing on two commercial ships and threatening any vessels from the US or its allies.

Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Jonas Urbig will all miss matches after picking up fresh injuries in Tuesday's 6-1 Champions League win at Atalanta.

The United Nations aid chief warned Wednesday that the Middle East war was impacting aid routes and called for "exemptions" so humanitarian supplies could get through.

A record release of oil from strategic reserves by IEA nations failed to ease concerns about the impact from the Middle East war, with crude prices pushing further higher and stocks sliding.

Melting glaciers and ice sheets are raising sea levels while the Arctic is poised to log one of its worst winters on record.

Arctic sea ice is headed for one of its smallest winter peaks on record, an AFP review of US data showed Wednesday, as climate change shrinks the region's frozen cover and heightens geopolitical tensions.

An inferno on a Swiss bus that killed six people was seemingly started by a "disturbed" man on board who set himself alight, the investigating prosecutor said Wednesday.

An Irish-language singer from punk-rap group Kneecap will not face a terrorism charge after UK prosecutors lost a High Court challenge Wednesday against a judge's decision to dismiss the case.

Multilingual scripts, images of young women and timed toilet breaks: a police tour of a newly busted cyberscam operation in Cambodia on Wednesday revealed how fraudsters ensnare foreign victims online.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday announced the creation of a tool to track hate speech on social media and hold them accountable, in his latest measure targeting tech giants.

The death toll from a Ukrainian missile strike on the western Russian city of Bryansk rose to seven people on Wednesday, the region's governor said.

Hollywood and Broadway legend Barbra Streisand will be awarded an Honorary Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, organisers announced Wednesday, honouring a career that has spanned more than six decades.

New Zealand's Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney of Australia topped the bidding in the inaugural auction for English cricket's women's Hundred on Wednesday, each securing deals worth £210,000 ($282,000)

British fintech company Revolut on Wednesday said it had obtained a full UK banking licence from regulators, lifting restrictions on it competing with established retail lenders.

Consumer inflation in the United States remained stable at 2.4 percent in February, official data showed Wednesday, with price shocks from the US-Israel war on Iran yet to be reflected in the data.

An Irish-language singer from punk-rap group Kneecap will not face a terrorism charge after UK prosecutors lost a High Court challenge Wednesday against a judge's decision to dismiss the case.

The International Energy Agency said Wednesday its member countries would unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves to ease the impact of the Middle East war, the biggest such release ever.

A UN watchdog warned on Wednesday that racist hate speech by US President Donald Trump and other political leaders coupled with intensified immigration crackdowns were fuelling grave rights violations.

Russian and Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least four people Wednesday, officials said, as the war between the neighbours dragged on for more than four years with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight.

Indian cricket fans were stumped to discover that star all-rounder Shivam Dube could have been travelling incognito on a train with them, fresh from delivering a record third T20 World Cup crown.

Iran fired on two commercial ships in the Gulf on Wednesday, setting at least one vessel on fire, as it pressed its campaign against its energy-exporting neighbours and forced world governments to dip into their strategic oil reserves.

Mobile internet outages in Russia will last as long as "necessary" to ensure citizens' safety, the Kremlin said Wednesday, after network disruptions were recorded in Moscow and other Russian cities.

Consumer inflation in the United States remained stable at 2.4 percent in February, in line with market expectations, government data showed Wednesday, as affordability concerns persist in the world's largest economy.

Bangladesh pace sensation Nahid Rana claimed his first five-wicket haul in one-day internationals to lead his team to a crushing eight-wicket win over Pakistan in their opening match on Wednesday.

A red-faced Barcelona fan was treated to a surprise evening of third-tier English football after mixing up Exeter's St James Park with the famous home of Newcastle.

Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim reached the Asian Champions League quarter-finals for the first time despite a 1-0 loss to Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Wednesday, advancing 3-2 on aggregate.

Oil prices rallied and equities mostly dropped Wednesday as traders assessed the latest developments affecting global markets as a result of the Middle East war.

A French aid worker for the UN children's agency has been killed in an air strike in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in a city controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia.

Japan and Germany said Wednesday they would tap into their oil reserves to tackle the rise in crude prices due to the Middle East war, with Berlin saying the IEA global energy body had asked member states to release 400 million barrels.

German arms maker Rheinmetall said Wednesday the Middle East war offered new business opportunities, especially for its air defence systems, as it forecast continued strong growth this year.

A Malawi High Court has dismissed a wrongful‑termination case against US pop star Madonna brought by the sister of a former president, in one of the country's longest-running NGO disputes.

New attacks hit three commercial ships in the Gulf on Wednesday, with one of the vessels in flames as Iran pressed its campaign against its oil-exporting neighbours, threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and plunging the global energy economy into crisis.

Global airlines are grappling with the effects of the war in the Middle East, as fuel prices soar and customers reassess their travel plans.

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is injured but "safe and sound", the son of the president said Wednesday, offering the first official explanation for why the 56-year-old has not been seen since his appointment at the weekend.

A Thai bulk carrier travelling in the crucial Strait of Hormuz was attacked Wednesday, with 20 crew members rescued so far, the Thai navy said.

Polish prosecutors said Wednesday they were investigating human trafficking tied to Jeffrey Epstein they suspect took place in the country.

The Group of Seven advanced economies inched closer Wednesday to tapping strategic oil reserves to tackle the rise in crude oil prices due to the Middle East war as energy ministers said they stood ready to take "all necessary measures".