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A huge fire ripped through several high-rise blocks in a Hong Kong residential estate on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, with media reporting that some residents were trapped inside.

EU lawmakers on Wednesday called to make it easier to suspend e-commerce platforms, following outrage in France over the sale of childlike sex dolls on Shein, and demanded better policing of such websites.

Russia has seen the latest copy of a draft US plan to end the Ukraine war and views some of it positively, but wants a discussion about the other parts, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

Tijjani Reijnders has insisted there will be no loss of nerve at Manchester City following their surprise defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

Starved of 13 players back on club duty, Wales coach Steve Tandy on Wednesday made wholesale changes to the team to take on world champions South Africa on the weekend.

Ireland lock James Ryan has been banned for three matches after making a dangerous clearout at a ruck during last weekend's loss to South Africa in the Autumn Nations Series, organisers announced on Wednesday.

The World Robot Olympiad opened in Singapore on Wednesday with hundreds of international students, some as young as eight, set to compete using automatons to solve real-world problems.

New International Olympic Committee chief Kirsty Coventry fought back tears on Wednesday as she urged nations to come together in the 2026 Winter Games, as the torch relay set off from ancient Olympia in Greece.

Asia and Europe extended a global equities rally Wednesday after another round of tepid US data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.

Skipper Temba Bavuma said his South Africa team had written their names in history after romping to a 2-0 Test whitewash in India on Wednesday.

US Democratic lawmakers accused Donald Trump on Tuesday of using the FBI to "intimidate" members of Congress and said the law enforcement agency had requested interviews with them following their criticism of the president.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson paid tribute Wednesday to his wife Joan Templeman shortly after announcing her death, saying "life will never be the same without her".

At least four people were killed when a fire engulfed several high-rise blocks in a Hong Kong residential estate on Wednesday, the government said, with media reporting that some residents were trapped inside.

Underfire Gautam Gambhir said it was up to the Indian cricket board to decide his fate as coach after overseeing a 2-0 Test series defeat to South Africa on Wednesday.

Heightened market exuberance around artificial intelligence and eye-popping levels of government debt could pose risks to eurozone financial stability, the European Central Bank warned Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that Germany's public spending ramp-up must be accompanied by "pro-growth" reforms to ensure Europe's beleaguered top economy makes a sustained recovery.

An internet rights group launched a legal challenge Wednesday to halt world-first Australian laws that will soon ban under-16s from social media.

Asia and Europe extended a global equities rally Wednesday after another round of tepid US data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.

A Thai court has issued an arrest warrant for the media mogul co-owner of the Miss Universe beauty pageant over alleged fraud worth $930,000, a court official told AFP on Wednesday.

Spinner Simon Harmer took six wickets as South Africa thrashed India by 408 runs in the second Test on Wednesday to sweep the series and condemn the hosts to a record loss.

Ukrainian sumo wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn celebrated his promotion to the ancient Japanese sport's second-highest rank on Wednesday by holding aloft a large sea bream.

Anabel Cano thought cancer had spared her after she underwent a mammogram in the Spanish region of Andalusia. Having now lost a breast to a mastectomy, she feels betrayed.

The death toll from days of widespread flooding in southern Thailand rose to 33 on Wednesday, with tens of thousands displaced in the country and neighbouring Malaysia, officials said.

In a small Dutch village just two hours from Amsterdam, women wearing traditional shawls, bonnets and pleated skirts set out to do their groceries one Monday morning.

High in the mountain meadows of southern Bosnia, farmer Branka Buha monitors her cows through a GPS signal on her husband's phone.

Spinner Simon Harmer took six wickets as South Africa romped to victory by 408 runs in the second Test for their first series win in India in 25 years on Wednesday.

The co-founder of activist group Palestine Action will Wednesday challenge a UK government ban under anti-terror laws that has led to mass arrests, sparking free speech and civil liberties concerns.

Fighting for control of Pokrovsk in Ukraine's east is raging on, but in pro-Russian social media circles, Moscow has already won: viral, AI-generated videos depict a Ukrainian army in retreat, complete with fake, tearful soldiers.

Simon Harmer took four wickets to leave India foundering at 90-5 and put South Africa on the cusp of a 2-0 Test whitewash on day five of the second match on Wednesday.

China is among parties interested in bidding to build two new ports on the Panama Canal, its administrator said Tuesday, despite US talk of retaking control of the vital trade route.

Washington's C.J. McCollum scored a season-high 46 points and the NBA-worst Wizards snapped a 14-game losing streak on Tuesday by routing Atlanta 132-113 in an NBA Cup contest.

Sumo wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn made more history on Wednesday as he became the first Ukrainian to be promoted to the ancient Japanese sport's second-highest rank, doing it in record time.

Hundreds of women protested in Mexico City on Tuesday against gender-based violence, which kills an average of 10 women or girls every day in Mexico, according to official data.

Iconic footballer Pele's brand came under the ownership of another prominent Brazilian athlete, Neymar Santos Jr., after the company owned by his father said Tuesday it had bought the rights to use it.

After three years of breakneck growth and soaring valuations, the AI industry enters 2026 with some of the euphoria giving way to tough questions.

Latin America has navigated a minefield of economic and military coercion since Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Asia extended a global equities rally Wednesday after another round of tepid US data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.

China's stranglehold on the rare earths industry -- from natural reserves and mining through processing and innovation -- is the result of a decades-long drive, now giving Beijing crucial leverage in its trade war with the United States.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said his government will propose $40 billion in additional defence spending over several years, as the democratic island seeks to deter a potential Chinese invasion.