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The number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine has surged to nearly 875,000, UN figures showed on Wednesday, as fighting intensified on day seven of Russia's invasion.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other top oil producers on Wednesday agreed to hold firm on only gradually opening the taps despite Russia's assault on Ukraine sending prices spiralling.

From world boxing champions to football stars, top Ukrainian sports people are resisting the Russian invasion of their country, with some even returning home to take up arms.

Two years after the official start of the pandemic, some countries are now trying to "live with Covid", however scientists warn that potential new variants and unequal vaccination rates threaten any long-awaited return to normality.

Oil prices soared Wednesday above $113 per barrel and natural gas spiked to a record peak, as investors fretted over key producer Russia's intensifying assault on Ukraine.

Japan will accept Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's ongoing invasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday, in a break with the country's usual reticence to accept humanitarian arrivals.

Russia's largest lender Sberbank said Wednesday it was leaving the European market after Western sanctions were levelled against the state bank in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian and Belarusian athletes were given the all-clear Wednesday to compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics, which open this week under the shadow of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Germany's Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that a new Iran nuclear agreement "cannot be postponed any longer", during his first visit as chancellor to Israel, which staunchly opposes efforts to forge a deal with Tehran.

Netflix said Wednesday it plans to buy Finnish developer Next Games for more than $70 million, signaling the US streaming giant's intent to expand into the video gaming industry.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked a widespread backlash in the sports world, with the country booted out of this year's World Cup. However their Paralympians will be permitted to compete at the Beijing Winter Games under the Paralympic flag.

On the seventh day of fighting in Ukraine Wednesday, Russia claims control of the southern port city of Kherson, street battles rage in Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv, and Kyiv braces for a feared Russian assault.

Climate change has already caused "irreversible losses" for Nature, UN experts have said, warning that if emissions are not cut quickly, warming could trigger chain reactions with potentially catastrophic effects for all species, including humans.

Eighty years after the ravine at Babi Yar served as the mass grave of 30,000 Jews murdered by Ukraine's Nazi occupiers, five more corpses lay on the ground Wednesday covered in dust and fine layer of snow.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that a new Iran nuclear agreement "cannot be postponed any longer", during a visit to Israel which staunchly opposes efforts to forge a deal.

Shares in Russian aluminium giant Rusal plunged 26 percent on Wednesday after the world's largest commodity trader said it would review its business ties in Russia while condemning the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other top oil producers are expected Wednesday to agree to hold firm on only gradually opening the taps despite Russia's assault on Ukraine sending prices spiralling.

Russian forces said they had captured a Ukrainian port on Wednesday as Russian and Ukrainian troops battled for another urban centre and President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow wanted to "erase" his country.

Tyson Fury says he will retire after next month's defence of his WBC title against fellow British heavyweight Dillian Whyte in London, stating he has "nothing to prove".

Their homes are a scattering of huts made of branches and dry leaves that seem to almost dissolve into the arid landscape.

Emergency services ordered some Sydney residents to prepare to flee Wednesday as heavy rainfall barrelled down Australia's east coast, burying towns in floodwater, killing 13 and putting hundreds of thousands at risk.

Hansjorg Wyss, one of Switzerland's richest men, said Wednesday he had been offered the chance to buy Chelsea, with the English Premier League side's Russian owner Roman Abramovich under growing scrutiny.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday made his first visit to Israel since taking office, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and international efforts to forge a new Iran nuclear deal.

India's superstar cricketer Virat Kohli plays his 100th Test on Friday, but not as captain following his shock resignation from one of world sport's top jobs in January.

Crude surged past $113 a barrel Wednesday and equities sank with investors growing increasingly fearful about the Ukraine war's impact on global energy supplies and the economic recovery.

The latest damning report into former president Jacob Zuma, released late Tuesday, laid out the most detailed roadmap yet into how to prosecute his fusion of state, party and private business.

Crude surged past $110 a barrel Wednesday and equities sank with investors growing increasingly fearful about the Ukraine war's impact on global energy supplies and the economic recovery.

The United States warned citizens against travelling to Hong Kong on Wednesday, citing the risk of children being separated from parents as the Chinese city imposes controversial Covid isolation policies.

A leading Myanmar actor, singer and model jailed for supporting pro-democracy protests has been pardoned and released, his legal team said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka's public transport was crippled Wednesday as buses ran out of diesel, officials said as the country's foreign exchange crisis worsened with no dollars to import fuel.

After more than 100 countries spoke during two days of extraordinary debate, the UN General Assembly was poised to vote Wednesday on whether it will vigorously deplore Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demand Moscow withdraw troops immediately.

Democratic countries must not "turn a blind eye to military aggression", Taiwan's leader said Wednesday, warning her island faces threats similar to those confronted by Ukraine at a meeting with a delegation of former US security officials.

Russia's war against Ukraine is a week old, but its consequences are already reverberating across the globe: it has upended international relations, left Moscow isolated, united a previously divided West, and raised the specter of a nuclear standoff.

New Zealand anti-vaccination demonstrators set alight their own protest camp outside parliament Wednesday after riot police moved to end their weeks-long occupation of the legislative precinct.

Russian forces landed in Ukraine's second biggest city on Wednesday and triggered immediate clashes in the streets of Kharkiv, the military said, following Moscow's relentless air assault across the ex-Soviet state.

Luka Doncic scored 25 points as the Dallas Mavericks sent the Los Angeles Lakers spinning to a third straight defeat on Tuesday.

Novak Djokovic's turbulent start to 2022 took another twist Wednesday as the 20-time Grand Slam champion revealed he had split from his long-time coach Marian Vajda after last year's ATP Finals.

Floodwaters crashed into more towns on Australia's east coast as a deadly storm front barrelled south on Wednesday towards Sydney, where the main dam began to spill water.

Ashes-winning Australia will face unfamiliar conditions, heavy security and unpredictable, but talented, opponents when they begin their first Test in Pakistan for 24 years on Friday.