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Israel's president landed in Ankara on Wednesday to meet Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the first visit by an Israeli head of state since 2007, as the countries seek to mend fractured ties.

Antoine Dupont will skipper France against Wales in the Six Nations in Cardiff on Friday as a Covid-19 outbreak in the squad has left coach Fabien Galthie preparing for the worst.

Five-year-old Leonid Shapoval had been due to have a bone marrow transplant to treat life-threatening leukaemia this week, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced his family to flee.

The next step in Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to urban warfare, an immense challenge for even numerically superior armies with deadly consequences for civilians caught up in the fighting, experts say.

Dutch brewer Heineken and Universal Music Group have become the latest Western firms to halt operations in Russia over Moscow's war in Ukraine.

An Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber who killed 64 people at a Shiite mosque in northwest Pakistan last week was an Afghan exile who returned home to train for the attack, police said Wednesday.

The lips pouted to perfection, the neck was long and poised, and the judges were sure that no Botox was involved as they awarded Qatar's largest cash prize for a camel beauty contest in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Russia's offer of "humanitarian corridors" for civilians to flee the Ukrainian cities it has besieged is a well-tried approach Moscow adopted during Syria's devastating civil war.

The flood of refugees escaping war in Ukraine for the European Union has sparked a rare show of unity from the bloc's 27 nations after years of disputes over the sensitive issue of migration.

Israel's president left for Turkey Wednesday to meet his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the first visit by an Israeli head of state since 2007, as the countries seek to mend fractured ties.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to open more humanitarian corridors on Wednesday to evacuate terrified civilians from bombarded cities as Moscow said some progress was being made in talks with Kyiv.

China on Wednesday blasted a decision by Norway's sovereign wealth fund to sell off its stake in a Chinese company due to rights concerns, warning the move may cause "unnecessary losses" to Oslo's interests.

Air defence systems have been front and centre at Saudi Arabia's first defence show as drone and missile attacks increase in the energy-rich Gulf.

US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Poland on Wednesday to discuss how to provide "military assistance" for Ukraine, White House officials said, hours after Washington rejected Warsaw's offer of Soviet-era fighter jets.

India's Ravindra Jadeja has returned as the world's number one-ranked all-rounder after his stand-out effort with bat and ball against Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council said Wednesday.

Austria said Wednesday it is suspending mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all adults saying the pandemic no longer poses the same danger, just weeks after the law took effect in an EU first.

A promising season for Sevilla could be in danger of petering out but it would be no surprise if they finished with a flourish in the Europa League.

One of the world's most storied shipwrecks, Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, has been discovered off the coast of Antarctica more than a century after its sinking, explorers announced Wednesday.

Australian cricket superstar Shane Warne will be honoured with a state funeral at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the evening of March 30, the Victorian state government said Wednesday.

Equities were mixed Wednesday as three days of painful losses gave way to a semblance of stability, though oil prices extended gains after the United States and Britain moved to ban imports of Russian crude.

Guatemala's conservative-led Congress approved on Tuesday a law ramping up the prison sentence for women who choose to have an abortion, while banning both gay marriage and teaching on sexual diversity.

Scores of protesters in a flood-wrecked city in eastern Australia vented their fury Wednesday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the heart of the disaster zone.

Cross-country skiers ploughed through slushy snow wearing T-shirts on day five of the Beijing Winter Paralympics Wednesday as spring-like weather pushed temperatures well above freezing.

South Koreans are voting Wednesday in a tightly fought presidential election with the deciding votes set to be cast by young people, whose top concerns are economic inequality and unemployment -- not recent sabre-rattling from the nuclear-armed North.

Hong Kong's leader said Wednesday that mandatory coronavirus testing was no longer a priority after plans for mass screening of all 7.4 million residents and an accompanying citywide lockdown triggered panic.

Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, an account on the Telegram messaging platform posing as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his armed forces to surrender.

Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq has shed some of the burden of being the nephew of a legend with a century in each innings against Australia in the drawn first Test.

In deeply divided Bosnia, the country's Croats have unleashed new calls for sweeping electoral reforms along with threats of a potential boycott of upcoming polls, sparking fears that a new period of instability awaits the impoverished Balkan nation.

Asian equities were mixed Wednesday as three days of painful losses gave way to a semblance of stability, though oil prices extended gains after the United States and Britain moved to ban imports of Russian crude.

Defending champions England slumped to a second loss at the Women's Cricket World Cup on Wednesday as underdogs the West Indies continued their sparkling start to the tournament.

Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific on Wednesday posted a loss of just over US$703 million for last year, a massive improvement on the record loss suffered in 2020 even as the airline struggled with tough travel restrictions.

The United States has banned imports of Russian oil, firing one of its biggest economic weapons against Moscow over the war in Ukraine where new humanitarian corridors were set to open Wednesday for civilians trying to escape besieged cities.