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About to turn 36, Lionel Messi could hang up his boots content that his glorious career is complete after he led Argentina to victory at last year's World Cup.

Lionel Messi on Wednesday announced he will sign for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, choosing the United States as his next destination over a Barcelona reunion or blockbuster deal to play in Saudi Arabia.

The vaquita, a small porpoise on the verge of extinction, is still hanging in there, said scientists Wednesday who had spotted about a dozen specimens of Mexico's "panda of the sea" on an expedition in May.

Canada's Quebec province, now the epicenter of a devastating wildfire season that has ravaged the country, expects thousands more people to be forced to flee advancing fires, its leader said Wednesday.

One of the world's most active volcanoes has erupted again, with lava spewing from Kilauea in Hawaii on Wednesday.

Pope Francis was said to be awake and cheerful Wednesday after undergoing a three-hour hernia operation which has revived concerns over the 86-year-old's increasingly fragile health.

Alexander Zverev made an emotional return to the French Open semi-finals on Wednesday, one year after a horror ankle injury sent his career into a tailspin, as Iga Swiatek set up a last-four clash with Brazilian trailblazer Beatriz Haddad Maia.

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine will have a catastrophic effect on locating landmines in the affected region, the Red Cross warned Wednesday.

Alexander Zverev reached the French Open semi-finals for a third successive season on Wednesday, one year after his tournament ended in pain and tears when he tore ankle ligaments which left him in a wheelchair.

The United States offered a $5 million reward Wednesday for the Swedish man who marketed an encrypted communications network for drug traffickers -- unaware that the technology was developed by the FBI.

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted an improved fifth and final bid for Manchester United and wants an answer by Friday.

Travis Head's dashing century was the centrepiece of an Australia fightback against India on the opening day of the World Test Championship final at The Oval on Wednesday.

Global oceans were warmer last month than any other May in records stretching back to the 19th century, the European Union's climate monitoring unit reported Wednesday.

US teenage star Coco Gauff admitted losing for the seventh time in seven meetings with Iga Swiatek "sucks" after slumping to a French Open quarter-final defeat on Wednesday.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned Sofia Sapega, a student arrested with her partner, the dissident Roman Protasevich, when their plane was forcibly grounded in 2021.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed Wednesday for a leading UK role in regulating the fast-growing field of artificial intelligence, on a visit to Washington where he is also highlighting unstinting support on Ukraine.

Pope Francis underwent an operation on a painful abdominal hernia Wednesday, which was completed without complications but which revived concerns over the 86-year-old's increasingly fragile health.

Norway has rescued a Russian in need of emergency medical assistance on board a scientific vessel stuck in ice near the North Pole in a spectacular helicopter operation, its rescue services said Wednesday.

An orange-tinged smog caused by Canada's wildfires shrouded New York on Wednesday, obscuring its famous skyscrapers and causing residents to don face masks, as cities along the US East Coast issued air quality alerts.

Britain is unwilling to apportion blame at this stage for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine and is awaiting "all available facts", Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told AFP on Wednesday.

Ukraine's assault against Russian positions flanking the city of Bakhmut has triggered a surge in battlefield casualties and piled pressure on frontline medics.

Spanish giants Real Madrid signed Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to secure one of the most exciting young talents in world football.

Chris Licht, the embattled head of CNN, has stepped down "effective immediately," the network's parent company Warner Brothers Discovery announced Wednesday, as the global news outlet struggles to reverse a ratings decline.

Dane Mikkel Bjerg won the individual time trial at the Criterium du Dauphine on Wednesday to claim the race's overall lead.

Stocks slipped Wednesday after Canada's central bank made a surprise interest rate hike, dampening hopes that the US Federal Reserve would skip an interest rate increase later this month.

National flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines has been summoned for a court hearing Friday over claims by a human rights group that it discriminated against travellers from Tigray, according to court documents seen by AFP.

Rory McIlroy on Wednesday welcomed the PGA Tour's shock merger with the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf but said rebel players who joined the upstart circuit should not be granted an automatic return to the sport.

Travis Head's dashing century put Australia in a strong position against India on Wednesday's opening day of the World Test Championship final at the Oval.

Artificial intelligence has proven itself useful in reading medical imaging and even shown it can pass doctors' licensing exams.

Canada's central bank on Wednesday increased its key lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent, as the economy surged unexpectedly and inflation remained stubbornly high.

Ukraine has to breach multiple lines of heavily fortified defenses in its counteroffensive against invading Russian forces, and equipment and training provided by the United States and others will play a central role.

France's opposition parties on Wednesday vowed to submit a no-confidence motion against the government after the parliament speaker said she would block an attempt to repeal an unpopular pension overhaul that raised the retirement age.