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Former world number one and three-time major champion Andy Murray crashed to one of the heaviest defeats of his career on Wednesday, winning just a single game in a straight-sets loss to Roberto Bautista Agut at the Qatar Open.

Germany will start rolling back most of its coronavirus restrictions as the country's falling infection rate suggests the Omicron-fuelled wave has peaked, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday after talks with regional leaders.

Spain was in mourning Wednesday after its worst fishing tragedy in decades, as rescue teams off Canada warned it was unlikely they would find any of the missing 11 crew members alive.

The NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl, said Wednesday they have signed coach Zac Taylor to a contract extension.

Google announced plans Wednesday to limit ad tracking on its Android operating system running on billions of devices, a sensitive privacy issue that rival Apple has already moved to address on its iPhones.

The EU's top court on Wednesday rejected a challenge by Poland and Hungary to a mechanism allowing Brussels to slash funding to member states that flout democratic standards.

Injured Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is expected to remain sidelined for his side's Europa League last-16 clash with Rangers on Thursday, despite returning to team training.

Ukraine's leader vowed Wednesday that his country would stand tall against any invasion, as NATO warned it could see no sign that Russia is withdrawing its forces.

Two of English cricket's oldest fixtures, Oxford v Cambridge and Eton v Harrow, will no longer be staged annually at Lord's after this year.

At least 55 people were killed in devastating flash floods and landslides that hit the picturesque Brazilian city of Petropolis, turning streets into torrential rivers and sweeping away houses, officials said Wednesday.

European and US stock markets headed lower while oil prices shot higher on Wednesday as investors tracked developments surrounding the Ukraine crisis and awaited fresh clues about the US Federal Reserve's interest rate plans.

Holding the few possessions they are able to carry, families stream down the slopes of the hillside neighborhood of Alto da Serra, many in tears, fleeing the devastation left by deadly landslides in the Brazilian city of Petropolis.

England fly-half Marcus Smith says he learned valuable lessons from Dan Biggar during last year's British and Irish Lions tour as he prepares to go head to head with the Wales stand-off in the Six Nations.

Sotheby's announced Wednesday that it would offer the largest-ever blue diamond to go up for auction at a sale in Hong Kong in April.

US scientists have measured Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity -- which holds that gravity slows time down -- at the smallest scale ever, demonstrating that clocks tick at different rates when separated by fractions of a millimeter.

Spain was in mourning Wednesday for its worst fishing tragedy in almost 40 years, as Canadian rescuers warned it was unlikely they would find any of the missing 11 crew members alive.

At least 44 people were killed in devastating flash floods and landslides that hit the picturesque Brazilian city of Petropolis, turning streets into torrential rivers and sweeping away houses, officials said Wednesday.

Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, detained pending a decision on his extradition to the United States on drug trafficking charges, will appear Wednesday before a judge in Tegucigalpa assigned to determine his fate.

European and US stock markets drifted lower while oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors tracked developments surrounding the Ukraine crisis and awaited fresh clues about the US Federal Reserve's interest rate plans.

Ukraine staged military drills and defiant displays of flag-waving patriotism on Wednesday as Western powers warned Russia is continuing to mass forces for a possible invasion.

Russian leader President Vladimir Putin welcomed "constructive" talks Wednesday with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was on his first official trip to Moscow, defying US concerns amid the Ukraine crisis.

Ukrainian cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska has failed a doping test at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Games' testing authority said on Wednesday.

Google announced plans Wednesday to limit ad tracking on its Android operating system, a sensitive privacy issue that rival Apple has already moved to address on its iPhones.

US retailers more than regained ground lost in an unexpected December slump, with a surprise boom in January sales, according to government data released Wednesday.

Nepali police fired tear gas and water cannon and arrested 77 demonstrators in the capital Kathmandu as several hundred people protested against a $500-million US grant, authorities said.

Bali began a tentative re-opening to foreign tourists on Wednesday with the first international passenger flight to the Indonesian holiday island in nearly two years.

Teenage Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will go for a second Beijing Olympics title on Thursday, the next chapter in a damaging doping scandal which has overshadowed the Games.

The centuries-old language watchdog Academie Francaise has warned that growing use of English by public and private bodies risks poor communication and could even undermine social cohesion.

Outspoken British Olympian Gus Kenworthy said Wednesday that he is biting his tongue while in Beijing because of the "very real risks" of criticising hosts China.

The manuscript of "The Little Prince" travels to France for the first time this week as part of an exhibition about its legendary author Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Disgraced British royal Prince Andrew was urged Wednesday to "live out his retirement in ignominy" after reportedly settling a sexual assault lawsuit for a whopping £12 million ($16.3 million, 14.3 million euros).

European stock markets steadied Wednesday after a volatile start to the trading week, as investors tracked developments surrounding the Ukraine crisis.