President Joe Biden has rallied European allies to pledge as one that they will take tough measures against Russia if it rolls troops into Ukraine. But when it comes to what exactly the United States and Europe are willing to do, the allies don't look as united.

Militarily, for example, the United States, Turkey and Britain have stood out for supplying or agreeing to supply anti-tank missiles, armed drones, naval warships and other weapons, along with money to help Ukraine build its defenses. But key ally Germany appears averse to any such direct military aid — so much so that a British military flight taking weapons to Ukraine on Monday flew around German airspace rather than taking the most direct route through it.

Airlines across the world, including the long-haul carrier Emirates, rushed Wednesday to cancel or change flights heading into the U.S. over an ongoing dispute about the rollout of 5G mobile phone technology near American airports.

The issue appeared to particularly impact the Boeing 777, a long-range, wide-body aircraft used by carriers worldwide. Two Japanese airlines directly named the aircraft as being particularly affected by the 5G signals as they announced cancellations and changes to their schedules.

Russia is sending troops from the country's far east to Belarus for major war games, officials said Tuesday, in a deployment further beefing up Russian military assets near Ukraine amid Western fears of an invasion.

Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said the drills are intended to practice a joint response to external threats by the alliance of Russia and Belarus, which have close political, economic and military ties. Fomin didn't say how many troops and weapons were being redeployed for the exercises, or give the number of troops that will be involved in the war games.

Israel said Tuesday it has successfully tested a system designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside the earth's atmosphere.

The Arrow Weapon System is part of an array of missile defenses Israel has developed in recent years to protect itself in any future conflict with archenemy Iran or regional militant groups, such as the Lebanese Hizbullah or the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip, both allies of Iran.

Burnley's English Premier League match against Watford has been postponed for a second time, leaving the last-placed team having played five fewer games than some others.

It was a coronavirus outbreak in the Watford squad that led to the game being called off initially in December. Now it's a shortage of players at Burnley that has seen the league agree to postpone their attempt to play on Tuesday.

Gabon released Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina to return to their clubs on Monday after they were diagnosed with heart lesions during their recovery from COVID-19 at the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Aubameyang, a striker for Arsenal in the English Premier League, and Lemina, a midfielder with French club Nice, will undergo more thorough medical tests at their clubs, the Gabon Football Federation said.

Robert Lewandowski was voted the best men's player in the world, retaining the FIFA award he won last year despite being left off the ballot paper filed by runner-up Lionel Messi.

The Bayern Munich forward overturned the result last month of the Ballon d'Or prize where he placed second behind Messi, who finally led Argentina to a senior title at the 2021 Copa América. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool placed third.

Burkina Faso clinched a place in the last 16 at the African Cup of Nations behind host and group winner Cameroon on Monday, while Cape Verde must wait to see if it goes through as one of the four best third-place teams.

Meanwhile, Malawi's players have been given an unusual incentive to upset Senegal in their final group game on Tuesday: A year's supply of eggs for every member of the squad if Malawi wins and makes the knockout stages for the first time.

Microsoft is buying the gaming company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, gaining access to blockbuster games like "Call of Duty" and "Candy Crush."

The all-cash deal will let Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming system, accelerate mobile gaming and provide building blocks for the metaverse, or a virtual environment.

Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday called for a parliamentary inquiry into the police's alleged use of sophisticated spyware on Israeli citizens, including protesters opposed to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following a newspaper report on the surveillance.

Hebrew-language business newspaper Calcalist reported that in 2020, police used the NSO spyware Pegasus to surveil leaders of protests against Netanyahu, who was then prime minister. It said police also hacked the phones of two sitting mayors suspected of corruption and numerous other Israeli citizens, all without a court order or a judge's oversight.