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Tariq Ramadan's lawyers pleaded Wednesday for the controversial Islamic scholar to be acquitted on the third and final day of his trial in Geneva on charges of rape and sexual coercion.

A high-tech Patriot air defense system provided to Ukraine suffered damage but is still working, a US defense official said Wednesday.

Reigning US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick said the crucial lessons he learned contending for a title at last year's PGA Championship helped him win his first major a month later.

On a sandy lot below a Khartoum apartment building, helmetless Sudanese soldiers in a mishmash of uniforms raised their fists as machine gunners blasted away from atop two small trucks.

Publisher Penguin Random House and the writers' group PEN America filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against a Florida school district over the removal of books from public school libraries that address race and LGBTQ issues.

Rafael Nadal will announce if he will compete in the French Open on Thursday, amid a long-term injury struggle and some Spanish reports that he will withdraw.

Eder Militao returned to the heart of the Real Madrid defence for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final, second leg against Manchester City in the only change in either side from the first leg, which ended 1-1.

Ukraine's foreign minister met China's special envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday, insisting that the war-torn country would not accept a peace plan that relied on giving up territory after Russia's invasion.

James Milner will leave Liverpool when his contract expires at the end of the season, the Premier League giants announced Wednesday as they confirmed several departures from Anfield.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been banned from all football-related activity for eight months over breaches of betting rules.

Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" involving paparazzi in New York, a spokesperson for the couple said Wednesday.

The dollar rose while stocks moved in different directions on Wednesday as investors track talks aimed at breaking an impasse over raising the US debt ceiling.

Johnny Depp dismissed years of negative press over his tumultuous marriage to Amber Heard, telling the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday that most of the stories about him were "fantastically, horrifically written fiction".

French judo legend Teddy Riner, fresh from being crowned world champion, can breathe a sigh of relief after The International Judo Federation (IJF) admitted Wednesday it should have been his opponent Inal Tasoev who took gold.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he is confident a deal can be reached with Republicans leaders to avert a potentially catastrophic US debt default as early as June 1.

At least eight people died in Italy's northern Emilia Romagna region as heavy rains flooded rivers and submerged entire neighbourhoods and farmland Wednesday, prompting the cancellation of this weekend's Imola Grand Prix.

In his darkest moments battling back pain and vertigo, Jason Day had already written the epitaph on his career, so winning last week was a joyful reward for fighting through.

US lawmakers on a new committee pressing a tough line on China will seek cooperation with Britain on their first foreign visit, people involved said Wednesday.

Residents of Myanmar's cyclone-ravaged Rakhine state capital queued for rice and drinking water on Wednesday as the United Nations negotiated with the internationally isolated junta for access to hard-hit areas.

Pascal Ackermann edged Jonathan Milan in a photo finish on stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, as accidents and sickness continued to force riders out.

James Anderson said Wednesday he was willing to miss England's upcoming Test against Ireland if that means he has fully recovered from a groin strain in time for the Ashes.

Veteran movie star Michael Douglas knows a thing or two about shooting a sex scene, having starred in some of the steamiest films of the 1980s and 1990s.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday announced a two-month extension of a UN-backed deal under which Ukraine ships grain across the Black Sea to global markets.

Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" involving paparazzi in New York, a spokesperson for the couple said Wednesday.

World number seven Holger Rune beat a frustrated Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 on Wednesday, sending the top seed spinning out in a dramatic rain-interrupted quarter-final at the Italian Open.

A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld a prison sentence of three years, including two suspended, against former president Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling.

The latest edition of smash-hit video game franchise "Zelda" sold more than 10 million copies in its first three days, Japanese firm Nintendo said on Wednesday.

Nicolas Sarkozy, who ruled France as a tough-talking right-wing president from 2007 to 2012, is seen by supporters as a dynamic saviour but by detractors as a vulgar populist mired in corruption.

Thai opposition groups met for coalition talks Wednesday after hammering government rivals at the ballot box, but some junta-appointed senators warned they would try to stop the victorious party's leader from becoming prime minister.

Most stock markets and the dollar rose on Wednesday as investors track talks aimed at breaking an impasse over raising the US debt ceiling.

Rights groups announced on Wednesday they had filed a new complaint in France against clothing giants including Uniqlo and Zara owner Inditex for allegedly profiting from forced labour of the Uyghur minority in China.

Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso, who is weathering impeachment proceedings in congress over alleged corruption, issued a decree Wednesday dissolving the legislature.