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Cyprus has reintroduced the mandatory use of face masks indoors for all people aged over 12, as coronavirus cases spike, the Mediterranean holiday island's health ministry announced Wednesday.

South Africa bade an emotional farewell on Wednesday to 21 people, mostly teens, who died in unclear circumstances at a township tavern last month, in an incident that deeply shook the nation.

Pakistan is enjoying a bumper climbing season with around 1,400 foreign mountaineers bidding to scale its lofty peaks -- including hundreds on the 8,611-metre (28,251-feet) K2, the world's second highest.

OPEC Secretary General, Nigeria's Mohammad Barkindo, has died unexpectedly at the age of 63, it was announced on Wednesday, leaving the oil cartel without a head at a tumultuous time for the markets.

At least 77 people have died in monsoon rains lashing Pakistan, the country's climate change minister said Wednesday, warning more heavier-than-usual downpours lay ahead.

Australia's Steve Smith said Wednesday he found England's new attacking "Bazball" approach entertaining to watch, but questioned whether it was sustainable.

Britain's new finance minister, Iraqi-born Nadhim Zahawi, has inherited a cost-of-living crisis that risks pushing the UK economy into recession.

Six months after Spain pushed through a key reform aimed at reducing labour market insecurity, the number of temporary contracts has fallen sharply, giving the government some welcome breathing space in a difficult economic context.

Francesco Bagnaia apologised for a "serious misjudgement" after the normally abstemious Italian MotoGP rider was found to have been drink driving on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza.

Rafael Nadal has shrugged off new concerns over his fitness as he targets a place in an eighth Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday while Nick Kyrgios plays in the shadow of fresh controversy.

Boris Johnson's position as UK prime minister was on the brink on Wednesday, after two of his senior ministers quit in protest at his scandal-hit leadership, piling on pressure as he faced a grilling from angry MPs.

New Zealand's women cricketers have won the right to the same match fees as men in a deal announced as ground-breaking by players and cricketing chiefs.

Picky penguins and ornery otters at a Japanese aquarium are facing the effects of inflation, refusing the new bargain bites their keepers are now offering after a jump in prices.

Equities fell in Asia on Wednesday and the euro remained stuck at a 20-year low as recession fears continued to flow through trading floors, though oil bounced slightly after the previous day's painful losses.

After two nights in police custody, Indian teenager Somaiya Fatima was released in time to watch live footage of an excavator claw smashing into the walls of her childhood home.

Twitter is challenging the Indian government's orders to block content on its social media site in court, local media reported Wednesday citing legal documents.

Tens of millions of people were under lockdown in China on Wednesday as businesses in a major tourist city were forced to shut their doors and fresh clusters sparked fears of a return to blanket restrictions.

Of the hundreds of thousands of Muslims arriving in Mecca this week for the annual hajj pilgrimage, perhaps none had a more arduous journey than Adam Mohammed, a 53-year-old electrical engineer from the United Kingdom.

French Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne will on Wednesday lay out the government's policy priorities in her first speech in front of what promises to be a stormy parliament.

Ukrainian officials have called on civilians to urgently evacuate the city of Sloviansk as Russian troops press towards it in their campaign to secure the Donbas region.

Pene Pati remembers his teachers at university telling him: "Don't be ashamed if you don't make it because a lot of Pacific singers won't." In fact, they added, no one from Samoa had ever become an opera star.

As once relatively wealthy Sri Lanka suffers a dire economic crisis with shortages of everything from medicines to gas, people are returning to cooking with firewood.

Australia forward Darcy Swain will miss the rest of the series against England after being suspended for two weeks by a judicial committee on Wednesday for a headbutt in the first Test.

Thousands of people on Australia's east coast fled their homes Wednesday as torrential rains tracked north after unleashing floods in Sydney that submerged communities, roads and bridges under mud-brown water.

Long before whiteboards, beamers and laptops entered modern school classrooms, teachers relied on the humble, dusty, sometimes screechy blackboard chalk -- a material that has created a Jordanian business success story.

Oil prices rose Wednesday after suffering a painful drop the previous day, though the euro remained wedged at a 20-year low and equities mostly fell in Asia as recession fears continue to flow through trading floors.

Love him or hate him, the flawed genius that is Nick Kyrgios is one of the most polarising figures on the tennis circuit but he, at least, is "comfortable" with himself.

Euro 2022 will be lit up by one of the brightest stars in women's football thanks to Ada Hegerberg's decision to end a self-imposed exile from international duty with Norway.

Christophe Galtier's appointment as Paris Saint-Germain coach confirms a change in approach from the Qatar-owned club as they continue their search for elusive Champions League glory, but there will be huge pressure on Mauricio Pochettino's successor.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces two high-stakes encounters in parliament on Wednesday after his government was rocked by the shock departures of two senior ministers.

The biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began kicks off Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of mostly maskless worshippers expected to circle Islam's holiest site in Saudi Arabia's Mecca.

Harumichi Shibasaki was nearly 70 when he began making YouTube art tutorials from his quiet home in the Japanese countryside. Five years on, he has 1.4 million subscribers.