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The invasion of a remote Russian village by dozens of ravenous polar bears three years ago captured headlines around the world, with images of groups of animals gorging on rubbish in an open garbage dump.

The Swiss canton of Geneva has banned baptisms in the waters of Lake Geneva organised by evangelical churches -- a decision they branded a "witch hunt".

Victoria Beckham will join the official line-up of Paris Fashion Week with a live runway show this autumn, the organisers announced on Wednesday.

Abdullah Shafique hit an epic 160 to anchor Pakistan's record chase of 342 at Galle as the tourists won a thrilling opening Test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Italy's popular Prime Minister Mario Draghi told the country's fractious parties Wednesday they would have to support him at a crucial confidence vote or accept responsibility for a crisis analysts say could end in snap elections.

Greek planes and helicopters on Wednesday stepped up their battle against a wildfire raging for a second day that has forced hundreds of people to flee mountainside suburbs north of Athens.

A British firm says it has produced the world's first bioplastic vinyl record, which it hopes will reduce the need for highly toxic PVC.

Firefighters battling twin fires in southwest France said Wednesday the blazes were being brought under control thanks to improved weather conditions, but had not been stopped completely.

Abdullah Shafique hit an unbeaten 160 as Pakistan chased down a record target of 342 at Galle to win a tense opening Test by four wickets against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Italy's Prime Minister Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Wednesday the only way out of a political crisis threatening the country's stability was a new government pact based on "courage, selflessness, credibility".

India and Namibia signed a deal Wednesday to bring cheetahs into the South Asian country, with the first batch of eight wild cats set to arrive next month, officials said.

Rain halted Pakistan's record chase of 342 in Galle on Wednesday with the tourists 11 runs short of victory on the final day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka.

China on Wednesday slammed Washington as "a destroyer of peace" in the Taiwan Strait, following the latest in a series of passages by US warships through the waterway.

New Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's election on Wednesday is the fulfilment of a lifetime's ambition for a veteran political operator who is the nephew of one of his predecessors.

A senior European Union lawmaker said Wednesday that Taiwan's future should be decided by its own people and that the EU backs the island's "sovereign" existence, in a pointed warning to Beijing.

Six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as crisis-wracked Sri Lanka's new president by the country's parliament Wednesday, with the backing of the party of the ex-leader -- who fled abroad after his palace was stormed by protesters.

Equities piled higher Wednesday following a surge on Wall Street, as investors grow hopeful in the ongoing earnings season, while sentiment was also boosted by news that Russian gas flows to Europe will not be cut off.

The final two candidates to become UK prime minister will be decided Wednesday, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt battling it out with frontrunner Rishi Sunak.

Opener Abdullah Shafique stood unbeaten on 139 as Pakistan reached lunch needing 44 more runs with five wickets in hand to complete record chase at Galle in the opening Test against Sri Lanka.

Hundreds of people were evacuated early Wednesday as firefighters deployed planes and helicopters to fight a surging wildfire in mountainside suburbs north of Athens for a second day.

Greece, scorched by a heatwave ravaging parts of Europe, deployed planes and helicopters early Wednesday to stop wildfires from spreading to mountainside suburbs north of Athens.

Yevgeny Roizman tries to conceal his sadness behind a mountain of work at his charity fund in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, where visitors queue to see him.

China has ramped up approvals for new coal power plants this year, Greenpeace said Wednesday, with authorities trying to lower the risk of economically painful electricity shortages.

Sri Lanka's parliament began voting Wednesday for a president to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled abroad after his palace was stormed by angry protesters now bracing for a crackdown from his likely successor.

Commonwealth Games medal hope Isaac Cooper was Tuesday axed from Australia's swim team and sent home over "wellbeing challenges, including the use of medication".

Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton and Minnesota's Byron Buxton hit back-to-back home runs to key the American League's 3-2 victory in the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Alison Dos Santos ended Karsten Warholm's reign as hurdles king at the world championships on Tuesday while Britain's Jake Wightman won his country's first 1500m gold in 39 years on a day of upsets.

British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce is "championing" the energy transition and the decarbonisation of aviation, its outgoing chief executive Warren East told AFP on Tuesday at the Farnborough airshow.

Every day, Indian octogenarian Kaleem Ullah Khan wakes at dawn, prays, then ambles about a mile to his 120-year-old mango tree, which he has coaxed into producing more than 300 varieties of the beloved fruit over the years.

China is preparing to hit ride-hailing giant Didi with a fine of more than $1 billion to wrap up a long-running probe, media reports said, boosting investor hopes that the country's tech crackdown is winding down.

Australia's Eleanor Patterson soared to victory in the women's high jump at the World Championships in Oregon on Tuesday.

Brazil's Alison Dos Santos ran the third fastest time of all time to win the world 400m hurdles on Tuesday as Norwegian prodigy Karsten Warholm wilted at Hayward Field.