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Animal rights groups said Wednesday that gunfire killed a beluga whale that rose to fame in Norway after its unusual harness sparked suspicions the creature had been trained by Russia as a spy.

Germany's military put a first Iris-T air-defence system into service on its own soil Wednesday having delivered several of them to war-torn Ukraine to intercept Russian rockets, drones and missiles.

Lady Gaga confessed to having been "deeply moved" by the original film "Joker" on Wednesday as the new sequel starring the pop star and Joaquin Phoenix gets its world premiere in Venice.

Tech firms led equity markets lower Wednesday as chip titan Nvidia lost further ground while disappointing data on US trade also hit sentiment.

Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei was still fighting for her life on Wednesday after being set on fire by a Kenyan man, just weeks after taking part in the Paris Olympics.

Social network X has committed to stop its much-criticised harvesting of European users' personal data to train its artificial intelligence program, Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) said Wednesday.

Stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope said Brendon McCullum can transform the fortunes of England's limited-overs teams in the same way he has reinvigorated the red-ball side.

The US trade deficit in July expanded to its largest since mid-2022, according to government data released Wednesday, as imports rose more quickly than exports.

A Russian missile attack Wednesday on the Ukrainian city of Lviv killed a woman and her three daughters, leaving their father as the only immediate survivor, Ukrainian officials said.

The London Film Festival returns next month with the premiere of Steve McQueen's wartime drama "Blitz", as well as the first look at a new television series from "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight, the organisers said Wednesday.

A Greenland court decided Wednesday to hold US-Canadian anti-whaling activist Paul Watson an additional 28 days pending a decision on his extradition to Japan, an anti-whaling group said.

Russia struck the city of Lviv in western Ukraine on Wednesday, killing seven people and damaging historical buildings in a rare attack hundreds of kilometres from the frontline.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended Wednesday his government's partial suspension of arms exports to Israel over fears they could be used in a breach of humanitarian law as "a legal decision".

Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said Wednesday the charges against him were "implausible" as he testified at his trial over the "dieselgate" scandal that rocked the German auto titan.

Germany striker Niclas Fuellkrug said Wednesday he hoped the retirement of several experienced players could be an advantage for the new-look side.

Colombian pop star Shakira accused Spain's tax office of confiscating all the income she earned when she lived there, comparing the institution to "the Inquisition" in a letter published Wednesday in Spanish daily El Mundo.

Dmytro Kuleba -- who resigned as Ukraine's top diplomat Wednesday -- tirelessly toured the world pleading for more military support and for Kyiv to be given the green light to strike targets deep inside Russia.

Authorities in Rome said Wednesday they were mulling introducing a ticketing system for visitors to the iconic Trevi Fountain, in the latest attempt in Italy to tackle overtourism.

A French investigator leading the probe into a man accused of recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife told a court Wednesday of painstaking efforts to identify the perpetrators via the husband's detailed records of the assaults.

Mexico's lower chamber approved a controversial judicial reform plan early Wednesday, passing the measure after a marathon session in a sports gym as protesters blocked access to Congress.

US cyclist Oksana Masters and British Paralympic great Sarah Storey added to their title hauls in early action on Wednesday as star Italian fencer Bebe Vio began her medal campaign with an easy victory.

President Vladimir Putin met Serbia's deputy premier in Russia on Wednesday, less than a week after Belgrade signed a multi-billion-dollar fighter jet deal with France.

A Russian strike on west Ukraine's Lviv, hundreds of kilometers from the front, killed seven people on Wednesday, authorities said as Moscow claimed advances in the war-torn nation's east.

Tech firms led a plunge across equity markets Wednesday after a rout on Wall Street fuelled by a collapse in chip titan Nvidia and disappointing data on US factory activity that revived recession fears and pushed the dollar lower.

Pope Francis waded back into a controversial debate on parenthood Wednesday, hailing Indonesia's birthrate and joking that people in other countries would rather have a pet cat or dog than their own babies.

Australian actor Simon Baker, the star of "Margin Call" and "Devil Wears Prada", pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drink driving, as his case was heard at a court near the beach resort of Byron Bay.

The UK's Grenfell Tower fire disaster that killed 72 people was the result of "decades of failure" by government and construction industry bodies and the "systematic dishonesty" of building material firms, a damning final report said on Wednesday.

Sales of new cars plummeted in Germany in August, official data showed Wednesday, dragged down by a record fall in demand for electric vehicles in Europe's biggest auto market.

Wout van Aert suffered a "serious" knee injury but no fracture in the crash that ended his involvement in the Vuelta a Espana, the Belgian's Visma-Lease team said on Wednesday.

Concussions in amateur sport are not linked to increased long-term risks of cognitive decline, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Rome's ancient Arch of Constantine was hit by lightning during a heavy storm, causing some fragments to fall off, an official said Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of pupils in France are going through a slightly different return to school this autumn, deprived of their mobile phones.