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Former journalist and rights activist Dullas Alahapperuma is an unlikely contender to be Sri Lanka's leader, but is the main challenger to the current acting president in a parliamentary vote Wednesday.

China will host the 2022 Asian Games in autumn 2023, organisers said on Tuesday, after postponing the event in Hangzhou because of Covid-19.

US planemaker Boeing won a fresh boost Tuesday for its crisis-hit MAX aircraft, as investment fund 777 Partners ordered up to 66 of the passenger aircraft worth a combined $8 billion.

Europe's searing heatwave is generating very high levels of harmful ozone pollution, the region's atmospheric monitoring service warned Tuesday, adding that large areas of western Europe also face "extreme" danger of wildfires.

The 75th anniversary of the assassination of Myanmar's independence hero and father of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was a muted affair Tuesday, with soldiers patrolling Yangon's streets and anti-junta demonstrators staging small protests in other parts of the country.

A fierce heatwave left much of western Europe sweltering on Monday, fuelling ferocious wildfires and stretching emergency services, as it pushed north and took temperatures to record levels.

Europe's main stock markets steadied and the euro rallied against the dollar Tuesday as traders looked ahead to a key European Central Bank meeting later this week.

Japan's two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu said he felt "no sadness" after retiring from competition aged 27 on Tuesday, bringing the curtain down on one of the sport's most glittering careers.

Authorities in northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state have suspended a traditional chief after he conferred a royal title on a notorious gang leader wanted for deadly raids and kidnappings.

England managing director of cricket Rob Key has praised Ben Stokes for his "selfless" decision to ignore the "financial implications" of retiring from one-day internationals.

Just a month after a huge wildfire ravaged Spain's northwestern province of Zamora, flames are once again consuming swathes of the region as locals helplessly watch their land being destroyed.

The French government on Tuesday outlined its plans to take full control of EDF, the highly indebted power utility that is to spearhead efforts to relaunch the country's nuclear industry.

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith was on Tuesday named as the head of a new Twenty20 franchise tournament to be staged in the republic in January and February next year.

Acting Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is favourite to take the country's reins long term on Wednesday, as parliament votes to appoint a full successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Spaniard Alex Rins will join Honda-LCR next season after Suzuki announced their departure from MotoGP, his future outfit said on Tuesday.

Rare twins have been born to a Maasai giraffe in Nairobi's national park, the Kenyan wildlife minister said Tuesday.

Swiss state prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday they have started the appeal process against the acquittal of former football chiefs Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini over a suspected fraudulent payment.

Pakistan lost two wickets but opener Abdullah Shafique stood strong on 77 as the tourists chased 342 for victory on day four of the opening Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

A few steps from Venice's St. Mark's Square, a little girl fills her water bottle at a courtyard fountain, a haven of peace far from the hordes of tourists.

Award-winning dissident Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi, arrested last week in Tehran, must serve a six-year sentence previously handed to him in 2010, the judicial authority announced Tuesday.

Japan's two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu retired from competition aged 27 on Tuesday, after struggling with injuries at this year's Beijing Games.

A veteran politician backed by the party of ousted Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the favourite to be elected to replace him, analysts said after nominations closed Tuesday.

Tottenham signed Middlesbrough defender Djed Spence on Tuesday in a deal that could rise to a reported £20 million ($24 million).

Japan's "Ice Prince" Yuzuru Hanyu, who announced his retirement from competitive figure skating at the age of 27 on Tuesday, is one of the sport's all-time greats and an icon to his worldwide legion of adoring fans.

Japan's two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu retired from competition aged 27 on Tuesday, after struggling with injuries at this year's Beijing Games.

A fierce heatwave sweeping western Europe was on Tuesday set to smash Britain's all-time temperature record, as swathes of the continent wilted under a scorching sun which has fed ferocious wildfires and stretched emergency services.

Most stocks fell Tuesday after a Wall Street sell-off fuelled by fresh recession worries following a report that Apple planned to ease back on spending due to uncertainty over the economic outlook.

After years of setbacks, letdowns, and the change of its name, North Macedonia on Tuesday opened European Union membership talks even as unrest grows at home with a nationalist movement threatening to upend the process.

Three candidates were nominated Tuesday to replace former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country and resigned last week after protesters overran his residence.

Pakistan's openers reached 68-0 at lunch, chasing a record victory target of 342, after Dinesh Chandimal was left stranded on 94 not out as Sri Lanka made 337 in their second innings on day four of the opening Test on Tuesday.

Former tennis world number one Ashleigh Barty has dashed hopes she will make a return to professional sport, after speculation the Australian could switch to golf.

Ghanaian trader Mohammed Biney was already struggling when the government passed a new tax on electronic money transactions this year to try to revive the economy.