Portugal Colonial - The latest news from Lisbon, Portugal and Europe, in six languages, around the clock every day

West Ham defender Kurt Zouma and his brother Yoan face prosecution under British animal welfare laws after a disturbing video circulated showing Kurt slapping and kicking one of his own pet cats.

Eugene Parker, a pioneering American astrophysicist whose mathematical prediction that charged particles streamed from stars in a solar wind was met with disbelief before he was ultimately vindicated, has died aged 94, NASA said on Wednesday.

The NFL will examine two overtime rule change proposals after the Buffalo Bills lost to Kansas City in a January playoff game without ever possessing the ball in extra time.

Global stocks rallied on Wednesday, buoyed by Ukraine peace hopes and China's pledge to help stabilise markets after recent routs.

The comedy satire in which Volodymyr Zelensky unexpectedly becomes Ukraine's president -- his now war-time job in real life -- will be aired again on Netflix, the streaming platform announced Wednesday.

West Ham defender Kurt Zouma and his brother Yoan are being prosecuted under British animal welfare laws after a disturbing video circulated showing Kurt slapping and kicking one of his own pet cats.

Russia on Wednesday ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe after over a quarter of a century of membership in the pan-European rights body, the council said in a statement.

Defensive end Carl Nassib, the NFL's first openly gay active player, was released on Wednesday by the Las Vegas Raiders, according to a report on the NFL website.

Trading in nickel resumed Wednesday on the London Metal Exchange but was disrupted by an IT glitch, after a suspension linked to the Ukraine crisis.

Frank Lampard has urged Everton's players and fans to stick together as his struggling side face the growing threat of relegation from the Premier League.

Two-time Grand National champion Tiger Roll came agonisingly close to a fairytale farewell to the sport he adorned, only to be denied by his stablemate Delta Work in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday.

The UN's top court on Wednesday ordered Russia to suspend its invasion of Ukraine, saying it was "profoundly concerned" by Moscow's use of force.

Sri Lanka will seek an International Monetary Fund bailout, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Wednesday, to battle record inflation and unprecedented food and fuel shortages as the country runs out of dollars to finance imports.

Dan Biggar and Alun Wyn Jones will decide who leads Wales out against Italy in the Six Nations on Saturday on what promises to be a landmark day for both stalwarts.

On the 21st day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, Russian forces remained in place around major cities including Kyiv but showed little sign of real progress in taking them.

Two British-Iranians flew home on Wednesday after being released from years of detention in Iran, as the UK government confirmed it had paid a longstanding debt over a cancelled defence contract.

England captain Joe Root and relative newcomer Alex Lees were kept in check by disciplined West Indies bowling in reaching 47 for one at lunch on the opening day of the second Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Wednesday.

Ukraine's leader on Wednesday issued an emotive appeal to US lawmakers for greater Western intervention against Russia, which insisted its invasion was going "successfully" despite the West rallying to Kyiv's side via arms and sanctions.

Walmart said Wednesday it plans to hire 50,000 workers in the United States by the end of April as it seeks to expand its retail operations amid a tight labor market.

Eugene Parker, a pioneering American astrophysicist who developed a mathematical model predicting the stream of charged particles from the Sun known as solar wind, has died aged 94, NASA said on Wednesday.

The world could face its biggest oil supply "shock" in decades as major crude exporter Russia is hit by sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, the International Energy Agency warned Wednesday.

A powerful 7.3-magnitude quake jolted east Japan on Wednesday night, rattling the capital Tokyo and prompting a tsunami advisory for parts of the northeast coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Mark Cavendish won the Milano-Torino cycling race on Wednesday by taking the bunch sprint to claim his 159th career victory.

England's Charlie Ewels has been banned for three games following his early red card against Ireland in the Six Nations, officials announced Wednesday.

Ecuadoran biologist Jorge Brito was trekking through the forest when he heard what he thought was the chirp of a cricket.

Russia is due to pay interest on its foreign debt Wednesday as sanctions over the Ukraine conflict have raised concerns that Moscow could face its first default in decades.

Ukraine's besieged leader invoked September 11 and Pearl Harbor in an impassioned address Wednesday to the US Congress, imploring Washington to step up military aid and impose a no-fly zone to counter the Russian invasion closing in on Kyiv.

The Justice Ministry awarded President Jair Bolsonaro Brazil's "medal of indigenous merit" Wednesday, drawing criticism for granting the honor to a leader that indigenous groups accuse of "genocide" and "ecocide."

Marco Odermatt became the first Swiss man to win the overall World Cup alpine skiing title since 2010 on Wednesday, while Mikaela Shiffrin stretched her lead in the women's standings.

Prima ballerina Olga Smirnova has quit the Bolshoi in Moscow to join the Dutch National Ballet, it was announced Wednesday, making her the first Russian to quit the fabled company over the war in Ukraine.

Chicago Cubs owners the Ricketts family have confirmed they are leading a consortium that will bid to buy English Premier League club Chelsea, according to press reports on Wednesday.

Ukraine's leader on Wednesday issued an emotive appeal to US lawmakers for greater Western intervention against Russia, which insisted its invasion was going "successfully" despite the West rallying to Kyiv's side via arms and sanctions.