Heraldo de Madrid - News from Madrid, Spain, Europe and the whole world

BRICS leaders on Wednesday will debate admitting new members to their five-nation bloc as it pursues a bigger role in shaping world affairs it sees as dominated by western powers.

Sweden's pole vault king Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis on Wednesday soared into the final at the World Athletics Championships.

Stock markets mostly rose Wednesday as traders battled to maintain momentum in this week's rally despite worries about an extended period of elevated interest rates.

Nicknamed "General Armageddon" for his ruthless methods, Sergei Surovikin was one of the leading commanders of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine until his sacking which was announced on Wednesday.

The Spanish government on Wednesday demanded transparency and urgent action from the country's football federation against president Luis Rubiales over his kiss on the lips of a Women's World Cup player.

The initial public offering of British chip designing giant Arm, announced on Monday, could signal a rebound in companies introducing their shares on stock markets after a year of relatively few such listings.

Sha'Carri Richardson coasted into the 200m semi-finals on Wednesday as she bids to become only the fourth woman and first American to achieve the sprint double at the World Athletics Championships

With their access to the West cut off since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Russian filmmakers have turned to the city of Kaliningrad as a backdrop for Europe in their pictures.

Some 184 content moderators and Facebook's parent company Meta have agreed to pursue an out of court settlement in a lawsuit claiming unfair dismissal, court documents seen by AFP show.

Ukrainian professor-turned-soldier Fedir Shandor shot to fame when he taught his students remotely from the trenches. Now, he is preparing for perhaps another unlikely role: Kyiv's ambassador to Kremlin-friendly Hungary.

Temperatures in France hit an all-time high for late summer on Tuesday, the weather authority said, as the country continues to swelter under a punishing heatwave.

The eurozone economy is contracting at its fastest rate in three years as a steep decline in manufacturing begins to spread to services, a key survey said Wednesday.

At his restaurant in central Beijing, controversy over the release of Fukushima wastewater has left Yao facing a choice: continue stocking his popular Japanese tuna and risk the ire of some consumers or source it from other countries where price and quality could vary.

England's Billy Vunipola has joined captain Owen Farrell in being banned for the start of this year's Rugby World Cup after receiving a three-week suspension for his red card in a warm-up match against Ireland, officials announced Wednesday.

Zimbabweans on Wednesday voted in closely-watched presidential and legislative elections after a campaign tainted by a crackdown on the opposition, fears of vote rigging and public anger at the economic crisis.

The head of Russia's aerospace force General Sergei Surovikin has been sacked, state media said Wednesday, after he disappeared from public view following a failed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in June.

Final preparations to discharge waste water from the crippled Fukushima power plant in Japan were under way Wednesday, its operator said, a day before the scheduled release into the Pacific Ocean.

A Malaysian court ruled Wednesday that Swatch can challenge the seizure of more than 100 Pride-themed watches, the Swiss company's lawyer said.

Markets mostly rose Wednesday with traders battling to maintain momentum from the previous day's much-needed rally as they contemplate an extended period of elevated interest rates.

Greek firefighters on Wednesday struggled to contained uncontrolled fires throughout the country for a fifth day, several of them bordering an acrid, smoke-filled Athens.

As a US military surveillance plane circled overhead, eight Chinese ships chased and briefly blocked four Philippine boats on a resupply mission to a tiny garrison in the hotly contested South China Sea.

Zimbabweans on Wednesday began voting in closely-watched presidential and legislative elections after a campaign tainted by a crackdown on the opposition, fears of vote rigging and public anger at the economic crisis.

As a survivor of an attempted rape in Poland, Ukrainian Nastya Podorozhnya knows how lonely the struggle of a woman living in a foreign country can be.

Rusted Russian tanks, which the Kremlin had hoped would parade victorious through Kyiv days after it invaded Ukraine, have instead been lined up as war trophies ahead of Ukraine's independence day.

Unsafe. Unsanitary. Teeming with insects.

At least 1,100 people are still missing two weeks after deadly wildfires ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui, authorities said Tuesday, with the FBI seeking family members' help in identifying the remains of the dead.

The final preparations to discharge waste water from the crippled Fukushima power plant in Japan began Wednesday, its operator said, a day before the scheduled release into the Pacific Ocean.

After hiding at home for weeks, Sudanese refugees evaded militias in Darfur and fled on foot to neighbouring Chad with children on their backs and safety their destination.

A Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow damaged a building in a central business district, authorities said on Wednesday, in the sixth straight night of aerial attacks on Russia's capital region.

Thailand's former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was moved from prison to a police hospital on Wednesday, officials said, a day after he was jailed on his return from 15 years in exile.

Asian markets drifted between gains and losses Wednesday with traders struggling to maintain momentum from the previous day's much-needed bounce as they contemplate an extended period of elevated interest rates.

Military helicopters and ziplining commandos rescued eight people, including six schoolboys, who were trapped for hours on Tuesday in a stricken cable car high above a remote Pakistani valley.