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Every day, farmer Nguyen Hoai Thuong prays in vain for rain to fall on the cracked dry earth of her garden in Vietnam's Mekong Delta -- the country's "rice bowl" agricultural heartland.

The lakeside mansion where Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent years under house arrest went under auction on Wednesday with a minimum price of $150 million -- but attracted no bids, officials said.

Former NBA champion Jeremy Lin has been banned for five games for violating anti-doping rules over blood treatment for an injury, Taiwan's P. League+ said.

China lashed out against critics of Hong Kong's new national security law on Wednesday, accusing the British government of having the "mindset of a coloniser" and condemning the EU's "hypocritical" position.

Brazil's justice system on Wednesday will decide whether former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will serve his nine-year rape sentence, handed down by an Italian court, in the South American country.

A Texas law that would allow state police to arrest and deport migrants who cross illegally into the United States from Mexico was again placed on hold late Tuesday, the latest in an ongoing legal back-and-forth over its fate.

Asian markets mostly rose Wednesday as traders tracked another record day on Wall Street, with focus squarely on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Ex-England flanker Brad Shields and All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett will return for the Wellington Hurricanes when the Super Rugby leaders host the mid-table Melbourne Rebels on Friday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to return Wednesday to the Middle East in a new bid to secure a truce in the Israel-Hamas war.

A plastic statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken's founder Colonel Sanders that was a lucky charm for superstitious Japanese baseball fans has been "disposed of" 15 years after being dredged out of an Osaka river, the firm said.

Head coach Rob Penney on Wednesday compared the Canterbury Crusaders to a misfiring engine as the defending champions look to snap their horror start to the Super Rugby season.

Nikola Jokic scored 35 points as the Denver Nuggets held off a second-half rally by the Minnesota Timberwolves to record a 115-112 victory over their Western Conference rivals on Tuesday.

As Playmobil turns 50, the German company behind the popular plastic figures is hoping that pop megastar Taylor Swift can help it shake off a slump in fortunes.

Japan has warned football fans not to attempt to travel to "hostile" North Korea for next week's World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang.

China and Australia claimed to have stabilised long-strained relations after talks in Canberra on Wednesday, despite tensions over a high-profile prisoner, trade and China's crackdowns in Hong Kong and elsewhere remaining evident.

Asian markets fluctuated Wednesday as traders struggled to track another record day on Wall Street, with focus squarely on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Seven million Senegalese are due to head to the polls on Sunday to vote in a wide open presidential election following weeks of chaos and uncertainty.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful test of a solid-fuel engine for a "new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile", Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday.

Israel's footballers are aiming to make history by reaching the European Championship for the first time amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with the final three places at Euro 2024 up for grabs over the next week.

Max Verstappen will be heavy favourite to make it three wins from three this season as his Red Bull team attempt to put weeks of paddock intrigue behind them at the Australian Grand Prix.

In a surf town in El Salvador nicknamed "Bitcoin Beach," shopkeeper Maria Aguirre watched with delight as the cryptocurrency -- and her investment in it -- recently soared to new all-time highs.

The US Federal Reserve could provide additional clues on Wednesday about how much it will cut interest rates this year, but it is almost certain to leave its key lending rate unchanged for the time being.

Louisiana's strict abortion ban is having spillover effects across women's health care in the US state, leading doctors to turn away patients for routine prenatal visits and perform unnecessary Cesarean sections, according to a report released Tuesday.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka intends to play in the Miami Open this week, organisers said Tuesday, as fellow players offered their support following the death of her boyfriend in an apparent suicide.

South Africa's top diplomat on Tuesday accused Israel of setting a precedent for leaders to defy the top UN court, as she again alleged a campaign of starvation in Gaza.

Spain's Paula Badosa says her second round Miami Open match with close friend Aryna Sabalenka, whose boyfriend died on Monday, will be an "uncomfortable" encounter.

US President Joe Biden accused election rival Donald Trump of despising Latinos as the incumbent tried Tuesday to shore up support from a crucial demographic in the battleground states of Nevada and Arizona.

Finland remained the world's happiest country for a seventh straight year in an annual UN sponsored World Happiness Report published on Wednesday.

Former world number one Simona Halep's return to tennis ended in a first-round defeat at the Miami Open on Tuesday as she lost 6-1, 4-6, 3-6 to Spain's Paula Badosa.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka intends to play in the Miami Open this week, organisers said Tuesday, following the death of her boyfriend in an apparent suicide.

Chelsea hammered last-eight debutants Ajax 3-0 while Lyon needed two second-half goals to claim a 2-1 win over Benfica in the opening first-leg quarter-final clashes of the women's Champions League on Tuesday.

Divisions between Premier League clubs and the lower leagues of English football were exposed on Tuesday after the UK government introduced a bill to enshrine an independent regulator into law.