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Chelsea were the biggest spenders of a record-breaking January transfer window for Premier League clubs while relegation-threatened teams also splashed the cash on a frenetic final day.

Saudi Arabia has won a bid to host the 2027 Asian Cup, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Wednesday.

The EU on Wednesday unveiled proposals to counter the threat to European industry from US green subsidies and unfair competition from China, with measures including a controversial expansion of state aid.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday said the football calendar is too demanding for players.

Japanese football star Kazuyoshi Miura extended his decades-long playing career on Wednesday less than a month before his 56th birthday, joining Portuguese second-division outfit Oliveirense on loan.

The head of French energy giant TotalEnergies is expected this week to visit Mozambique, where a multi-billion-dollar gas project has been on hold since a 2021 jihadist attack, according to government sources.

Owners of luxury flats in London on Wednesday won a legal battle to force the adjacent Tate Modern gallery to stop visitors peeping into their homes from a public viewing platform.

Paris Saint-Germain's attempt to sign Morocco star Hakim Ziyech on loan from Chelsea has failed after the French league (LFP) refused to ratify the player's contract, a source close to the deal told AFP on Wednesday.

Inflation has risen to a 48-year high in crisis-hit Pakistan, where the International Monetary Fund is visiting for urgent talks, according to data released on Wednesday by the country's statistics bureau.

The eurozone's annual inflation rate has fallen for a third consecutive month, official data showed on Wednesday, but uncertainty over the figures and continued price growth cooled optimism.

Norway has grown richer by the minute as the conflict in Ukraine boosts its gas revenues, but the country is not a war profiteer, its prime minister told AFP in an interview.

From his rooftop in the Syrian city of Raqa, Youssef Nasser watches nervously as hundreds of heavily armed Kurdish-led fighters sweep the streets of what was once the de facto capital of the Islamic State group.

Paris Saint-Germain have asked the French league to approve the loan signing of Morocco star Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea despite the necessary paperwork for the deal arriving after Tuesday's January transfer deadline, the club told AFP.

Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne on Wednesday announced he was cancelling tour dates in his native UK and Europe, saying his body was "still physically weak" after a spinal injury.

Chelsea on Wednesday confirmed the signing of Argentina's World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a record British transfer fee of 121 million euros (£106.8 million).

Half a million workers went on strike in Britain on Wednesday, calling for higher wages in the largest such walkout in over a decade, closing schools and severely disrupting transport.

Hong Kong's economy shrank by 3.5 percent in 2022, with exports plunging and the city's worst-ever coronavirus outbreak battering businesses, the government announced Wednesday, while saying it hoped China's reopening would spur a recovery.

Shares in the Indian tycoon Gautam Adani's flagship firm nosedived again on Wednesday as its owner dropped out of the Forbes top 10 rich list following allegations of massive accounting fraud.

Premier League clubs spent a record £815 million ($1 billion) in a frantic January transfer window -- nearly double the previous highest figure, according to sports finance experts Deloitte.

Residents of the Indonesian island of Pulau Pari have filed a complaint against the Swiss cement giant Holcim, demanding compensation for climate damage, the NGO backing them announced Wednesday.

Over a million worshippers turned out for a papal mass in DR Congo's capital Wednesday, organisers said, on the second day of Pope Francis's visit to the conflict-torn country.

After decades in the doldrums, Newcastle's progress to their first League Cup final in 47 years underlined the Saudi-funded club's emergence as a serious threat to the English football establishment.

The Federal Reserve starts the second day of its policy meeting Wednesday, on growing expectations that it will step down to a smaller interest rate hike as red-hot inflation shows signs of cooling.

A mosque blast that killed 101 people -- mostly police officers -- in northwest Pakistan this week has put a city long scarred by violence back on edge, residents said Wednesday.

NATO's chief on Wednesday applauded Japan's plan to double its defence spending, saying the pledge reflected the country's resolve for greater security involvement in a volatile world.

A new law criminalising the possession, consumption and selling of cannabidiol (CBD) in Hong Kong came into effect on Wednesday, placing the substance on par with heroin in terms of legal classification.

One hope united many of the people streaming to see Pope Francis perform mass in DR Congo's capital on Wednesday -- that his presence could at last bring peace to the war-wracked east of the African country.

A huge crowd of singing and dancing worshippers turned out to attend a papal mass in DR Congo's capital Wednesday, on the second day of Pope Francis's visit to the conflict-torn country.

Electric car sales set a new market share record in the European Union in 2022, industry figures showed Wednesday, as the region seeks to rid itself of fossil fuel cars.

A successful public offer failed to stop investors dumping shares in Indian tycoon Gautam Adani's business empire for a fifth day on Wednesday after allegations of massive accounting fraud from a short-seller investment group.

Asian markets bounced back from two days of losses on Wednesday as traders tracked a Wall Street surge fuelled by data pointing to slowing US inflation and hopes the Federal Reserve's rate hike drive is coming to an end.

Russia's invasion has seen Ukraine hurtle towards joining the EU, but the path to full membership remains long and complex despite bullishness in Kyiv.