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Wales hooker Ken Owens announced his retirement on Wednesday after failing to recover from a persistent back injury.

European stock markets rebounded Wednesday after heavy losses the previous session, as traders tracked fallout from Iran's attack on Israel and assessed the outlook for interest rates.

Two-time world champion Mollie O'Callaghan fired a Paris Olympics warning Wednesday with a blistering 100m freestyle at the Australian championships, while Kaylee McKeown joined an elite group in the 200m medley.

A Russian strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv killed 13 people and wounded dozens more on Wednesday, as Kyiv sounded the alarm over shortages in its air defence capabilities.

France has appointed investigating magistrates to run a war crimes probe into the death of Franco-Irish Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski who was killed covering the war in Ukraine, a judicial source said Wednesday.

Israel faced pressure from its allies on Wednesday to refrain from striking back at Iran for its unprecedented missile and drone attack as Washington and Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions against the Islamic republic.

Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain will meet in the Champions League semi-finals, almost eight months after facing off in the opening match of their European campaigns.

A Russian strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv Wednesday killed 11 people and 20 wounded more, as Kyiv again sounded the alarm over shortages in its air defence capabilities.

Danish firefighters on Wednesday battled for a second day to extinguish a fire that gutted Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange after working through the night to douse the flames.

A Brussels gathering of hard-right European politicians resumed Wednesday for a second day headlined by Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, after a top court scrapped a local ban widely denounced as an assault on free speech.

"Our history and our identity have been erased," laments Samira after the destruction of her birthplace in the historic Piassa district in the heart of Ethiopia's capital.

Barcelona woke up with a familiar sinking feeling on Wednesday, another Champions League hangover, after Paris Saint-Germain thrashed them 4-1 at home to eliminate them in the quarter-finals.

At least 65 people have died in storm-related incidents including lightning in Pakistan, officials said, with rain so far in April falling at nearly twice the historical average rate.

A Russian strike Wednesday on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv killed nine people and wounded about 20, as Kyiv sounds the alarm over shortages in its air defence capabilities.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell's indication that interest rates could stay higher for longer offset a rebound following the latest bout of Middle East-fuelled selling.

Dutch Crown Princess Amalia fled to Spain to escape threats to her safety, local media reported, as she prepared to make her official debut at a state occasion later Wednesday.

Australia unveiled its first National Defence Strategy on Wednesday, signalling a new focus on deterring China's "coercive tactics" in a region seen as lurching towards conflict.

The EU risks lagging further behind the United States unless Brussels makes significant changes to the single market to give it "teeth", warned the author of a report that will be submitted to leaders Thursday.

West Indies skipper Rovman Powell is trying to convince fellow IPL star Sunil Narine to come out of international retirement for their home T20 World Cup.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell's indication that interest rates could stay higher for longer offset a rebound following the latest bout of Middle East-fuelled selling.

Dutch tech giant ASML, which supplies chip-making machines to the semiconductor industry, on Wednesday reported a drop in net profits and orders amid a high-tech trade spat between China and the West.

Jailed Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a military official said Wednesday, as the junta announced a heatwave had prompted measures to protect inmates.

France's far-right National Rally is banking on its youthful and charismatic party leader to be a major asset as it scents massive gains in upcoming European elections.

Dubai's giant highways were clogged by flooding and airport passengers were urged to stay away on Wednesday as the glitzy financial centre reeled from record rains.

At a South African wine farm, dry, uprooted grapevines are stacked at the bottom of a hilly stretch of brown fallow land.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers held off a furious late rally to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 on Tuesday and book a first-round NBA playoff clash with the defending champion Denver Nuggets.

Dutch tech giant ASML, which supplies chip-making machines to the semiconductor industry, on Wednesday reported a drop in net profits and orders amid a high-tech trade spat between China and the West.

Croatia began voting in a parliamentary election on Wednesday after a bitter campaign between a prime minister seeking a new term and a populist president who wants to be head-of-government despite a court warning.

Israel and Iran traded threats after Tehran's first-ever direct attack on its arch-foe sharply heightened tensions in a region already on edge after six months of war in Gaza.

The Sacramento Kings ended the playoff hopes of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, routing the 2022 champions 118-94 in the NBA Play-in tournament.

The booming popularity of road running in China has "exposed problems", the country's top athletics body says, after a half marathon went viral because of its bizarre finish.

The US ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday she believed sanctions were still an "effective tool" to discourage North Korea and its nuclear development, even as global enforcement of UN sanctions stumbles.