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First there was a teasing crackle of small arms fire then a burst of sharp bangs as Ukrainian assault infantry fired their US-made grenade launder at the Russian positions opposite.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that clinical trials could start within weeks on vaccines to combat the strain of Ebola behind a deadly outbreak in Uganda.

Global finance chiefs were expected to discuss a proposed price cap on Russian oil and support for Ukraine on Wednesday as the conflict takes center stage during the IMF's annual meetings.

Andrew Bailey is no stranger to economic storms as head of the Bank of England, becoming governor just as Covid was taking hold in Britain.

President Joe Biden's administration said Wednesday it would prioritize winning a competition with China, seeing it as the only global rival to the United States, even as it also works to constrain a "dangerous" Russia.

A nurse at a UK hospital tried to kill a baby girl four times before she was successful, then sent a sympathy card to her victim's parents, a court was told on Wednesday.

Chadian ruler Mahamat Idriss Deby pushed ahead Wednesday with declared plans to steer the country back to civilian government, appointing a former opposition figure as prime minister to head an interim administration of "national union."

About 500 people have died in Nigeria's worst floods in a decade and 1.4 million others been displaced from their homes since the start of the rainy season, the government said.

Amazon workers at an upstate New York warehouse began voting Wednesday on whether to unionize in the latest labor battle following a surprise union win earlier this year at another Amazon site.

Scientists have successfully implanted and integrated human brain cells into newborn rats, creating a new way to study complex psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism, and perhaps eventually test treatments.

Brain cells living in a dish can learn to play the classic video game Pong, thus demonstrating "intelligent and sentient behavior," Australian neuroscientists argue in a new paper.

Britain will introduce a cap on the revenues of companies that produce low-carbon electricity in an attempt to mitigate the impact of soaring energy prices on consumers.

A cargo ship traffic jam stretched as far as the eye could see off Istanbul, where a key deal to get Ukraine grain to market has translated into major hold-ups.

Paulo Dybala still has a chance of going to the World Cup despite the Argentina forward picking up a thigh injury at the weekend, a source told AFP on Wednesday.

Gunshots were fired as Iranian security forces confronted protests Wednesday over Mahsa Amini's death in a crackdown that rights groups say has already cost at least 108 lives with many children among the dead.

Erik ten Hag said on Wednesday that Cristiano Ronaldo will reject an improper conduct charge from the Football Association after the Manchester United star was involved in an altercation with an Everton fan last season.

Soaring food and energy prices are raising the risk of social unrest, but attempting to tame costs through tax cuts, subsidies and price controls would be too costly, the IMF said Wednesday.

White-ball specialist Liam Livingstone has been given the chance to shine with the red ball for England's Test tour to Pakistan as opener Alex Lees was dropped from the 15-man squad announced on Wednesday.

Qatar World Cup organisers on Wednesday warned fans to brace for "congestion" in the first two weeks of the tournament when the peak number of supporters will be packing the Gulf state's capital.

Germany will sink into recession next year and inflation will soar, the government forecast Wednesday, as Europe's top economy battles skyrocketing energy prices following Russia's gas shutdown.

Wasps have withdrawn from Saturday's English Premiership rugby game against Exeter with the cash-strapped club "likely" to enter administration within days.

The United States and other Western powers on Wednesday urged Ethiopia's government and Tigrayan rebels to start African Union-led peace talks, warning of humanitarian risks if the renewed conflict persists.

Britain's beleaguered Prime Minister Liz Truss vowed Wednesday not to cut public spending, once again defending last month's uncosted tax-slashing mini-budget that has sparked weeks of UK market turmoil.

Iranian security forces fired tear gas Wednesday at a lawyers' protest over Mahsa Amini's death, said a rights group, which also raised the death toll to at least 108 from the crackdown on the nearly month-long movement.

Myanmar's junta on Wednesday jailed a Japanese journalist arrested while filming an anti-coup protest for three more years for violating immigration law, a diplomatic source told AFP.

A major exhibition of impressionist art opened Wednesday at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, featuring works from masters such as Cezanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Pissarro and Renoir.

Saudi golf coach Faraj Mezhar hit his first shots on a sandy course in neighbouring Qatar three decades ago, an outing that changed his life forever.

The Bank of England on Wednesday insisted it would end emergency buying of UK bonds by the weekend but sent markets into further frenzy as economic uncertainty grips Britain.

Britain's approach to changing public travel, heating and food habits is "inadequate" to meet its net zero and environment targets, a parliamentary committee warned Wednesday.

The pound rallied and UK government bond yields rose Wednesday, with the Bank of England accused of fuelling markets uncertainty.

Ukraine said Wednesday it reclaimed more territory from Russia in the south, while welcoming the delivery of Western air defence systems that Kyiv said would usher in a "new era" after mass strikes from Moscow.

Iranian activists called for nationwide protests Wednesday in response to a bloody crackdown on demonstrations over Mahsa Amini's death that a human rights group says has killed at least 108 people.