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A US-sanctioned Ukrainian ex-MP and senior aide to the country's former pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot dead near Madrid on Wednesday, a Spanish police source told AFP.

Euro 2028 hosts England, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales will compete in qualifying for the tournament, UEFA said Wednesday.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has recovered well after his release from jail last year, his wife told AFP ahead of the premiere of a documentary Wednesday that includes never-seen-before footage of the whistleblower.

Bordeaux-Begles' Matthieu Jalibert made his France debut as a teenager in 2018 with expectations of a big future for the fly-half, for club and country.

The French Open women's tournament gets under way this weekend without a clear favourite for the first time in several years, with a clutch of players in strong form and Iga Swiatek enduring an unprecedented slump.

Eric Trump attended a groundbreaking ceremony in Vietnam Wednesday for a $1.5-billion luxury resort and golf course due to be developed by his father US President Donald Trump's real estate group.

Carlos Alcaraz arrives at Roland Garros brimming with confidence after taking down chief rival Jannik Sinner in Rome, but the defending champion expects the Italian to be an even tougher proposition after shaking off the rust following his doping ban.

Bloomberg, the financial data service used by traders around the world, was hit by an outage on Wednesday, briefly disrupting an auction of UK government debt.

The EU unveiled plans Wednesday to cut red tape for medium-sized companies and abolish barriers for businesses to sell goods across the bloc as part of its efforts to catch up with China and the United States.

The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected Ukrainian and European accusations that it was stalling Ukraine peace talks, saying it plans to name its conditions for a ceasefire, but declining to give a time frame.

Manchester United and Tottenham face off in the Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday with both clubs eyeing a golden ticket into the Champions League after historically poor seasons.

A Vietnamese court on Wednesday jailed 23 officials and business people over the illegal exploitation and export of rare earths.

Pepe Reina will hang up his gloves after he plays his final match on Friday, against Inter Milan for Como where he will finish his career at the age of 42.

US director Spike Lee says music artists today are not as politically active as they were in the 1970s, because doing so is going to "hurt your pocketbook".

Chinese internet giant Baidu on Wednesday posted a quarterly revenue increase of three percent, as the firm seeks to grow its presence in artificial intelligence and expand its robotaxi business abroad.

South Africa's competition authority announced Wednesday it had approved the buyout of Africa's largest pay TV enterprise MultiChoice by France's Canal+, which wants to expand its footprint on the continent.

Pakistan dropped stars Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan on Wednesday as they named a new-look squad for three home Twenty20 internationals against Bangladesh.

The famously volatile father of Australian former tennis star Jelena Dokic has died, she said on Wednesday, calling her grief "difficult and complicated".

The 2025 Tour de France will make three circuits of the historic Paris district of Montmartre on its last stage in what organisers said Wednesday would add a competitive finale to the world's greatest bike race.

The eldest son of US President Donald Trump, Don Jr, said Wednesday he could run for president "maybe one day", after previously denying he was considering a White House bid.

Gazans waited desperately for vital supplies on Wednesday after Israel said it let in dozens of UN trucks but faced mounting international pressure to increase the aid flow and abandon its intensified military campaign.

French President Emmanuel Macron's political party wants to ban minors under 15 from wearing the Muslim headscarf in public, with the government set to review a report Wednesday on the spread of "political Islamism" in France.

The 2025 Tour de France will make three circuits of the historic Paris district of Montmartre on its last stage in what organisers said Wednesday would add a competitive finale to the world's greatest bike race.

Prosecutors on Wednesday urged a French court to hand a 10-year prison sentence to the main suspect in the 2016 robbery of US celebrity Kim Kardashian in a Paris hotel after a trial that saw the influencer testify.

Pep Guardiola has said he could quit his position as Manchester City manager if he is given too large a squad next season as he can no longer bear to leave out large numbers of fit players from his team.

British clothes-to-food retailer Marks and Spencer on Wednesday said a cyberattack disrupting its online service is set to last through to July and hit group profit by around £300 million ($404 million).

A suspected suicide bomber targeted a schoolbus in southwestern Pakistan killing at least four children and two adults on Wednesday, in an attack the government accused India of backing.

India's Asiatic lion population has increased by over a third to 891, according to a five-yearly census released on Wednesday, boosting efforts to conserve the vulnerable species.

Britain's annual inflation rate surged more than expected in April as energy and water bills rose sharply, official data showed on Wednesday.

Crude prices rallied Wednesday following a report that US intelligence suggested Israel was planning a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, which would send geopolitical tensions into overdrive and fuel regional conflict fears.

A British team of veteran ex-special forces soldiers summited Everest on Wednesday, expedition organisers said, in a bid to fly from London, climb the highest peak and return home within seven days.

Beijing condemned on Wednesday new US warnings on the use of AI chips by Chinese tech giant Huawei, vowing it would take steps against "bullying" efforts to restrict access to high-tech semiconductors and supply chains.