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US credit card giants Visa, Mastercard and American Express said they were blocking Russian banks from their payment networks following international sanctions in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Overflowing hospitals, empty supermarket shelves and grim quarantine camps -- Hong Kong is in chaos battling a ballooning Covid outbreak in a business hub once renowned for its efficiency.

The Women's Cricket World Cup begins in New Zealand on Friday, with organisers keen to capitalise on growing interest in the women's game after overcoming a string of pandemic-related hurdles.

Middlesbrough produced another FA Cup shock to extend Tottenham's long wait for silverware with a 1-0 win after extra time at the Riverside on Tuesday, while Manchester City eased into the last eight with a 2-0 victory at Peterborough.

The start of the Major League Baseball season was delayed on Tuesday after marathon labor talks between team owners and players ended in deadlock.

An Indigenous community in Canada said Tuesday it has identified 169 "potential" unmarked graves at a former residential school site, adding to a growing tally of such gruesome discoveries that first rocked the country last year.

Parents of transgender American minors are under investigation in Texas as part of a controversial new order by conservative Governor Greg Abbott, who has deemed the transitioning procedures "child abuse," according to a complaint filed Tuesday.

The European subsidiary of Russia's Sberbank will be wound up after coming under pressure from Western sanctions levelled against the bank in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, European banking regulators said Tuesday.

World oil prices again soared Tuesday while European and US equities sank after investors were unnerved by key crude producer Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Amazon launched its Luna video game streaming service for the general public on Tuesday in the United States, aiming to expand its multi-pronged empire into the booming gaming industry.

Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be allowed to continue competing in ATP and WTA tournaments and Grand Slam events, the sport's governing bodies said on Tuesday.

The government of newly elected Honduran President Xiomara Castro has banned open-pit mining, declaring it harmful to the environment and to people, and said it would scrap permits for such operations.

The three biggest container shipping groups in the world announced Tuesday that they were suspending non-essential deliveries to Russia, adding to the country's economic isolation following a raft of sanctions by the West.

Cryptocurrency purchases in rubles are at a record high following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, raising questions about whether piling into the likes of bitcoin can help Moscow get around sanctions.

Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky hopes he doesn't have to use a gun after joining the fight to protect his country from the Russian invasion.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday announced nationwide seven-and-a-half hour daily power cuts, the longest in more than a quarter of a century, as its foreign exchange crisis leaves it unable to import oil.

Thousands of refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine have arrived in Budapest after abandoning their homes fearing for their lives as they seek safety elsewhere.

A fire in a shopping centre in the Syrian capital Damascus killed at least 11 people early Tuesday, the interior ministry said, in one of the deadliest blazes of recent years.

The Russian military advance on Kyiv has momentarily stalled, hampered by Ukrainian resistance as well as fuel and food shortages, a senior US defense official said Tuesday.

An apparent Russian airstrike aimed at Kyiv's main television tower killed five people on Tuesday, officials said, knocking out some broadcasts but leaving the structure intact.

Afghanistan and Myanmar are vote for a United Nations General Assembly resolution denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to diplomats.

Germany's Munich Philharmonic fired Russian conductor and Kremlin loyalist Valery Gergiev on Tuesday after he failed to denounce Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while a top Russian soprano withdrew from concerts as the fallout from the war engulfed artists.

President Joe Biden will try to reboot his US domestic fortunes Tuesday in a tense State of the Union speech delivered under the shadow of the spiraling confrontation against Russia over Ukraine.

Russian air strikes hit a residential block in Kharkiv and the main TV tower in the capital Kyiv, Ukraine said on Tuesday, as Moscow stepped up attacks despite sanctions and warnings of a humanitarian crisis.

World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury accused Dillian Whyte of "showing the white flag" after the challenger failed to attend a press conference on Tuesday ahead of their April 23 WBC title bout at Wembley Stadium.

The Ukrainian special forces commander inspected the remains of a bridge his teams had blown up at the gates of Kyiv and explained his strategy for fighting Russian "saboteurs".

A first group of Ghanaian students evacuated from Ukraine arrived home on Tuesday as African governments stepped up efforts to extract stranded citizens following the Russian invasion.

They recount fears of a war they never imagined would happen and the kindness of strangers. The cars queue as far as the eye can see: thousands of Ukrainians desperate to cross into Poland and to safety.

Russian athletes were barred from all competitions by World Athletics on Tuesday over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a punishment the body's president said was "against the grain" but defendable.

In the mist and pouring rain, the usually bustling port of Taganrog in south-west Russia has come to a standstill. The Azov Sea, usually calm, has become a symbolic prize in Russia's war in Ukraine.

The tech industry is playing down fears of widespread raw materials shortages as a result of the war in Ukraine, after reports that chipmakers would face a severe crunch.

Dior's show at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday struck a sombre tone, with designer Maria Grazia Chiuri telling AFP her focus on combining "beauty and protection" was apt for a time of war.