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Republicans were set to pick their candidate for speaker of the US House of Representatives on Wednesday as war in the Middle East and a looming government shutdown underscored the urgent need to end the leadership vacuum.

Zheng Qinwen underlined her status as the future of Chinese women's tennis with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 win over sixth-ranked Maria Sakkari at the Zhengzhou Open on Wednesday.

A French court on Wednesday sentenced the controversial Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky to six months in prison for his role in a sex tape scandal which ended a campaign by an ally of President Emmanuel Macron to become Paris mayor.

US and European stock markets were broadly steady Wednesday, holding onto big gains made the previous session, while European gas prices hit six-month highs on supply constraints.

Jamie George vowed that a "very different" England would take to the pitch for the World Cup quarter-final against Fiji on Sunday than the one that edged Samoa in their final pool match.

Two Nobel winners staged a rare denunciation of Russia's offensive in Ukraine in a Moscow courtroom Wednesday, as public dissent over the conflict has been all but silenced by a wave of arrests.

Niger's post-coup military regime has ordered the United Nations coordinator in the country to leave within 72 hours, blaming "obstacles" by the world body to its international recognition.

The World Bank's new president, Ajay Banga, said Wednesday that the global lender must become "better" and "bigger" to boost its capacity to help developing countries battle climate change, poverty and pandemics.

The road to Germany resumes this week as Euro 2024 qualifying kicks back into action with a number of teams in position to clinch qualification.

More than 90 per cent of those killed in a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan were women and children, UNICEF said Wednesday, as fresh tremors terrorised residents of villages flattened by the disaster.

Grigor Dimitrov fought back to beat top seed Carlos Alcaraz in three sets and reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday in the latest upset at the Shanghai Masters.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said it was "the big boy stuff now" after naming an unchanged team for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final with New Zealand.

France's hopes that skipper Antoine Dupont will be fit to face South Africa in the World Cup quarter-final this weekend were given a major boost on Wednesday when the scrum-half trained for the second day running with a headguard.

The German government slashed its growth forecast Wednesday, predicting Europe's top economy will shrink this year as it battles high inflation, elevated energy prices and a manufacturing slump.

Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai hit half-centuries as Afghanistan reached 272-8 against hosts India in their World Cup clash on Wednesday.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell selected the same starting XV for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final with New Zealand that whipped Scotland 36-14 last weekend.

Australia captain Pat Cummins described the World Cup as the "most physically taxing" format for fast bowlers as batsmen pile up record scores around India.

British businesses are seeking government help as shops suffer an unprecedented number of thefts and violence by criminal gangs, addicts and people struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Poor spectator turnout, a scheduling fiasco and a dubious outfield have cast a shadow over the Cricket World Cup in India, as the 50-over game itself faces an existential crisis.

ExxonMobil sealed a megadeal to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for about $60 billion, bolstering its holdings in the Permian Basin, a key US petroleum region, the companies announced Wednesday.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell selected the same starting XV for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final with New Zealand that whipped Scotland 36-14 last weekend.

A potential intervention by Tehran-backed Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and uncertainty over the role played by Iran itself are risk factors that could push the unprecedented conflict between Israel and Hamas into a wider regional war, analysts say.

European stock markets steadied Wednesday after big gains the previous session, while European gas prices hit six months highs on supply constraints.

The EU's top internet enforcer took to X, the rebranded Twitter, on Wednesday to trumpet a rival platform, as a duel with Elon Musk over disinformation ratcheted up.

A "paradigm shift" is needed on the risks posed to human health by plastics, researchers said Wednesday, warning of huge gaps in scientific understanding of the issue.

Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was hired as the new manager of Championship club Birmingham on Wednesday.

The outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas risks hardening anti-Israel sentiment in Saudi Arabia, which Washington has spent months trying to coax into a landmark normalisation deal.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) are investigating Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli over possible sports betting.

Afghanistan's Taliban government downgraded the death toll from a series of earthquakes to "over 1,000" on Wednesday, as fresh tremors panicked residents of villages flattened by the disaster.

Twin brothers Osher and Michael Vaknin organised rave parties across Israel, including the one close to the Gaza Strip, where a shock attack by Hamas fighters would leave one of them dead and the other missing.

President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine's allies on Wednesday to step up weapons supplies to help his country survive through the winter, on his first visit to the military alliance's headquarters during Russia's all-out war.

Qatar has agreed to supply France's TotalEnergies with natural gas for 27 years, its state energy company announced on Wednesday.