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Far from the legendary skies above Hogwarts school, a young woman chased a "Golden Snitch" highlighting how the craze for Harry Potter's favourite sport, Quidditch, has taken hold in a remote Ugandan village.

Shivering in her flat after Russian strikes knocked out the heating, 91-year-old Lidia Teleschuk said she couldn't remember a winter this harsh since World War II.

A South Korean judge handed the country's former first lady Kim Keon Hee 20 months in jail for accepting lavish gifts from a cult-like church on Wednesday, but acquitted her for alleged stock manipulation and other charges.

Unemployment was soaring and the country was in economic turmoil when Monika Pudlik first left Poland to find a job in Ireland just over two decades ago.

Dutch tech giant ASML, which sells cutting-edge machines to make semiconductor chips, reported a significant gain in annual net profit Wednesday and predicted a bright future driven by demand for artificial intelligence.

A South Korean judge handed the country's former first lady Kim Keon Hee 20 months in jail for corruption on Wednesday but acquitted her for alleged stock manipulation and other charges.

Seconds after an attacker sprayed US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with unidentified liquid at a Minnesota meeting, she confronted the man and then defiantly went on to finish her comments, AFP journalists saw.

Jessica Pegula said she will have to "crack the code" of Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open semi-finals after dismantling error-strewn Amanda Anisimova on Wednesday in an all-American showdown.

Australian authorities have sparked a backlash by killing a group of dingoes linked to the death of a young Canadian woman on an island in the country's east.

Brazil has declared the acai berry a national fruit, a move to stamp its ownership on the popular "superfood" as concerns grow about foreign companies staking claims to the Amazon's biological riches.

Amanda Anisimova said she will "lose her mind" for a couple of days after suffering defeat in her Australian Open quarter-final on Wednesday to fellow American Jessica Pegula.

Sofia Goggia is on a mission for medals as she prepares for her home Winter Olympics, where the Italian speed specialist will be hunting for gold on one of her favourite pistes.

Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina will clash in the semi-finals at the Australian Open, where Novak Djokovic hopes to join them later Wednesday in his latest history bid.

Elena Rybakina credited a calmer mindset for helping her stun world number two Iga Swiatek Wednesday to race into the Australian Open semi-finals, calling it "just another day".

As the White House worked to "de-escalate" tensions in Minneapolis Tuesday, a man sprayed Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with a syringe of unknown liquid at a town hall meeting, where she called for curbing the Trump administration's anti-immigration crackdown.

Cade Cunningham finished with 22 points as the Detroit Pistons held off a late rally from the depleted Denver Nuggets to hang on for a 109-107 road victory on Tuesday.

Jessica Pegula will meet Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open semi-finals after dismantling error-strewn Amanda Anisimova on Wednesday in an all-American showdown.

World number two Iga Swiatek on Wednesday backed Coco Gauff's call for more privacy during tournaments, saying players sometimes feel "like animals in the zoo where they are observed even when they poop".

Ahead of a snap election in Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to scrap a tax on food, but a lack of clear funding is unnerving markets and voters.

Facing what activists say is a hardening of repression inside Chechnya amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Asil and Aishat, both young women, recently fled their violent families in search of safety.

Elena Rybakina ramped up her quest for a second major title as she dismantled Iga Swiatek to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open, where Novak Djokovic plays later Wednesday in his latest history bid.

The dollar ticked up Wednesday following another selloff fuelled by Donald Trump's suggestion he was happy with the currency's recent decline, while tech firms extended their rally ahead of much-anticipated earnings from the sector this week.

Presiding over the signing of a major trade deal alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen broke into a large smile.

As France moves one step closer to banning social media for children, the European Union is seriously considering whether it's time for the bloc to follow suit.

A Dutch court will decide Wednesday if the Netherlands must do more to protect the tiny Caribbean island of Bonaire from climate change, in a potentially landmark environmental justice ruling.

Fifth seed Elena Rybakina stunned world number two Iga Swiatek to race into the Australian Open semi-finals Wednesday and deny the Polish star in her latest bid to win a career Grand Slam.

The dramatic US operation that overthrew Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro this month may have left North Korean leader Kim Jong Un feeling he was also vulnerable to "decapitation", a former Pyongyang envoy to Havana told AFP.

Ukraine's Australian Open semi-finalist Elina Svitolina says she would not even have been in Melbourne without a break last year to recharge physically and mentally.

Japan did not win an Olympic figure skating medal until 1992 but it is now among the sport's world powers, with kids dreaming of becoming the next Yuzuru Hanyu or Mao Asada.

Venezuelan opposition figure Delsa Solorzano appeared in public for the first time in 17 months on Tuesday, hailing a new phase in the country's history after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro.

The murder of 11 people at a football game has sparked deep anger in the central Mexican town of Loma de Flores, where sport is promoted as a way of keeping young people safe from drug cartels.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will unveil plans to bolster his nuclear forces at an upcoming ruling party meeting, state media reported Wednesday, after a missile launch the despot said would bring "excruciating mental agony" to his enemies.