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French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited southern France with a packed schedule on Wednesday, fostering a relationship that Paris sees as an alternative to great power rivalries.

Mediators Qatar and Egypt were pushing to salvage the Gaza ceasefire Wednesday, a Palestinian source told AFP, after Israel and the United States told Hamas to release hostages this weekend or face a return to war.

Spanish public prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil on Wednesday told the trial of ex-football chief Luis Rubiales there was "no doubt" the kiss he gave Jenni Hermoso in 2023 was "non-consensual".

Top-order batsman Shubman Gill kept up his good form to hit 112 and help India reach 356 all out in the third and final one-day international against England on Wednesday.

Talks to form Austria's first far right-led government stalled on Wednesday, with the negotiating parties airing disagreements over key posts.

American Marc Fogel is back on US soil Wednesday after being released from a Russian prison, in what US President Donald Trump said he hoped was the start of warming ties between Washington and Moscow.

Sri Lanka pulled off a stunning comeback against world champions Australia to clinch a 49-run victory in the first one-day international on Wednesday after a century by captain Charith Asalanka.

More than 250 people rescued from online scam centres in Myanmar were handed over to Thailand on Wednesday, a senior Thai army official said, following a series of crackdowns on the illegal operations.

Russia on Wednesday rejected swapping occupied territory with Kyiv as part of any future peace deal hours after launching a barrage of drones and missiles on Kyiv that killed one person.

Switzerland's Franjo Von Allmen remained on course for a tilt at a golden double after the downhill section of the men's team combined event at the World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Wednesday.

Asian stock markets rose and there were fresh record highs for leading European indices Wednesday as attention turned to upcoming US inflation data.

Vinicius Junior started the night with a reminder of his Ballon d'Or heartbreak, but ended it by reminding Manchester City why Real Madrid have such a strong record in the Champions League.

Mediators Qatar and Egypt were pushing to resolve a crisis in the Gaza ceasefire Wednesday, a Palestinian source told AFP, after Israel and the United States told Hamas to release hostages this weekend or face a return to war.

In a few days, France will hand over its only military base in Ivory Coast, its former star colony in west Africa, and both sides say the run up is proceeding seamlessly without any rancour.

Algerian gold winning boxer Imane Khelif has denounced "false and offensive" allegations after the International Boxing Association (IBA) said it will sue the International Olympic Committee over her and another female athlete's inclusion at the games' women's boxing last year.

There will be a new name etched as the winner of the women's giant slalom at the World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Thursday after Mikaela Shiffrin's decision to not defend her title.

Saudi Arabia made their debut at the Asian Winter Games in China this week and will controversially host the next edition in a move derided as "awful" by one Olympic skier and denounced by environmental groups.

Two American astronauts who have been trapped on the International Space Station since June could return to Earth earlier in March than expected, NASA said Tuesday.

In a packed cafe in Cairo, all eyes were glued to a flickering flat-screen TV, waiting for Omar Marmoush, now donning Manchester City's sky-blue jersey, to step onto the pitch.

Bangladesh's former government was behind systematic attacks and killings of protesters as it tried to hold onto power last year, the UN said Wednesday, warning the abuses could amount to "crimes against humanity".

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks Wednesday, signing a series of agreements to boost trade and defence ties between the Muslim-majority nations, including a joint venture to build drones.

Shares in Dutch brewer Heineken fizzed at the market open on Wednesday, as traders cheered better-than-expected beer sales despite a slight dip in overall turnover.

Asian equities rose while London and Frankfurt hit fresh highs Wednesday as traders took in their stride a warning from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell that the US central bank was in no hurry to cut interest rates.

The latest in the Captain America film franchise which premiered in Hollywood Tuesday presents a vision of the United States out of step with the Trump era, with a diverse cast, a core message about unity and an endorsement of international diplomacy.

Most equities rose in Asia on Wednesday as traders took in their stride a warning from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell that the US central bank "did not need to be in a hurry" to cut interest rates again.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 40 points as the New York Knicks blew past the Indiana Pacers 128-115 in the latest instalment of the two clubs' bitter NBA rivalry on Tuesday.

Expat "mumfluencers" are taking to TikTok to sing the praises of life in Saudi Arabia and to extol the virtues of its new NEOM megacity, filming their idyllic lives spent picnicking by turquoise waters and shopping in gleaming malls.

With its flattering rhetoric, leniency in responding to US trade threats and alignment with Washington this week at a summit on artificial intelligence, the United Kingdom has signalled a willingness to take President Donald Trump's side over Europe.

A dramatic escalation of the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and swingeing US humanitarian aid cuts are set to dominate an African Union summit this week, overshadowing the election of its new chairman.

Australian spinner Matthew Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspect bowling action after his pivotal role in the Test series win in Sri Lanka, Cricket Australia said Wednesday.

LIV Golf's new chief Scott O'Neil said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was "likely" to do a deal with the PGA Tour which would send the sport "to the moon and back".

A truck cabin swallowed by a sinkhole in Japan has been found in a sewer pipe and may contain the body of its missing driver, a fire department official said Wednesday.