Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hosted dozens of African leaders at a Russia-Africa summit, part of Moscow's efforts to expand its influence across the continent.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, Putin cast it as an "organic part of a global transformation" and an end to Western domination, noting that "we are witnessing a multipolar world becoming a reality — a trend that is both objective and irreversible."

British Treasury chief John Healey faces a fine balancing act when he delivers his first budget statement Wednesday, with the economic backdrop made more difficult as a result of the turmoil caused by the Iran war.

Healey, who was appointed chancellor of the exchequer in July when Andy Burnham became prime minister, takes center stage when he stands up in the House of Commons in what is arguably the key set piece of the parliamentary calendar. He emerged with his famous ceremonial red budget briefcase and his Treasury team from his office at 11 Downing Street a little more than an hour before he is due to deliver his speech.

Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great-grandson of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, scored his first goal for Lazio on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old Floriani Mussolini — who has "Romano" on the back of his jersey — struck in the 16th minute for Lazio's third goal in its 6-2 rout of Sassuolo in Serie A.

Lazio saw two penalties saved but still managed to rout 10-man Sassuolo 6-2 to remain top of Serie A on Tuesday.

Espanyol suffered a shock loss at fourth-tier Sestao River in the Spanish Cup, with its coach quickly paying the price, while Premier League champion Arsenal was beaten by fourth-tier Fleetwood Town in a penalty shootout in the English League Cup.

The prospect of a general strike in France next week amid national protests on cost of living issues has pushed UEFA to change a Europa League match date in Rennes.

UEFA said Rennes will now host Olympiakos of Greece on Wednesday of next week at 4:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT) instead of the Europa League's scheduled program Thursday.

A planned six-day ceasefire in and around a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine held for its first day and night, officials said Wednesday, but Moscow and Kyiv continued to batter each other elsewhere.

The localized truce in the devastated southern city of Oleshky began Tuesday and is due to last through Sunday as a humanitarian operation races to get urgently needed food and medicine to about 2,000 remaining residents, as well as evacuate those who want to leave.

Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated Brazilian presidential candidate, fled his country to Argentina and then Ecuador alongside his wife and two daughters, Argentina's migration authority said on Wednesday. The 45-year-old senator and his family were granted United States visas the day before by the Trump administration.

The move is almost certain to cause a big diplomatic rift between Brazil's newly reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei, who traveled to Brazil to take part in Bolsonaro's campaign.

A high-speed train slammed into the rear of another train that had stopped, derailing two cars and killing at least 64 people on Wednesday in central Spain, authorities said.

The central government's office for Castilla La Mancha confirmed the death toll had risen.

China's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it has taken footballstar Kylian Mbappé's apology "seriously" for comments considered to be disrespectful of Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China, as the fallout over the issue continues.

Mbappé faced a backlash Tuesday over comments he made in an online interview, losing brand deals with at least three different Chinese companies. Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground said in similarly worded statements that they were ending agreements with the star forward, each saying they oppose "any words and actions that hurt national sentiment."

The United Nations is set to vote Wednesday on a resolution condemning the decades-long U.S. economic embargo on Cuba as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign to undermine Cuba's socialist government, including by threatening military intervention.

The annual exercise aimed at calling out the U.S. government's "maximum pressure policy" has been put before the U.N. General Assembly for the past 34 years, and each time the resolution has received overwhelming support from the 193 member states. Last year, the vote was 165-7, with 12 abstentions.