A beluga whale spotted in the River Thames estuary outside London --- far from its natural Arctic habitat -- is "swimming strongly and feeding normally", Britain's main animal protection charity said on Wednesday.

Pope Francis called Wednesday for all Chinese Catholics to reconcile, while admitting that a historic deal with Beijing on nominating bishops may have caused "confusion".

After more than a century of conflicting evidence, Anglo-French animosity and a H.G. Wells novella involving murder most fowl, scientists said Wednesday they have finally solved the riddle of the world's largest bird.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a state visit to Germany this week as the two countries seek to rebuild ties after a series of sharp spats but the controversial trip is likely to be overshadowed by protests.

Economic activity in the United States could fall more than two percent within a year if Washington launched a trade war on a wide front, European Central Bank researchers suggested Wednesday.

Goals change games in football but for Dragan Stojkovic, the man Arsene Wenger once tipped to succeed him at Arsenal, one goal altered the course of his career and landed him in China instead of at Premier League outfit Swansea City.

A Danish court is due to rule on Wednesday on an appeal against a life sentence by Peter Madsen, convicted of the 2017 murder of a Swedish journalist aboard his homemade submarine.

Australia's scandal-plagued banks are braced for "judgement day", as a public inquiry into industry misconduct prepares to publish its initial findings after months of damning customer testimony.

In-form Australian Ashleigh Barty said she was hitting top gear as she upset Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-1 to reach the Wuhan Open quarter-finals in China on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump takes his campaign to isolate Iran to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, chairing for the first time a meeting that will lay bare divisions between Washington and key allies.

Illuminated under a spotlight at London's British Museum, hand-drawn sketches of Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Movement are part of a new exhibition on dissent that offers a rare glimpse of the artworks produced during the pro-democracy rallies.

As doubts grow over China's vast "Belt and Road" trade infrastructure project, the EU is launching an alternative plan for Asia that it says will not saddle countries with debt they cannot repay.

President Donald Trump dismissed the latest accuser of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as "drunk" and "messed up" on Tuesday, as Republicans prepared for a potentially explosive hearing over the judge's suitability.

Britain's opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will use a keynote conference speech Wednesday to present himself as the man to lead Britain but faces a daunting task uniting his rebellious MPs over the divisive Brexit question.

In a village in Vietnam's "elephant kingdom", a vendor holds up a severed, dried tail dotted with coarse hairs she promises will bring good luck -– a grim new trade that is endangering the country's few remaining elephants.

Global fashion giant Michael Kors announced Tuesday that it had agreed to buy Versace, signaling an intention to move deeper into the international big league after snapping up shoemaker Jimmy Choo last year.

Disgraced television icon Bill Cosby was handcuffed and taken into custody Tuesday to begin a minimum three-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman at his Philadelphia mansion 14 years ago.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an avid follower of sports who massively developed football infrastructure, has in 15 years in power always come away empty-handed from bids for Turkey to hold one of the world's great sporting events.

Paul Pogba has been stripped of the vice-captaincy of Manchester United by manager Jose Mourinho as tensions between United's star midfielder and manager continue to rise.

Nike's CEO said Tuesday a controversial ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick was connecting with consumers worldwide but shares fell after the sports giant reported slowing growth in China.

Argentina was paralyzed by a general strike on Tuesday while the central bank chief resigned amid talks with the International Monetary Fund on a revised crisis loan package.

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that he will have the last word on naming bishops in China after a "bilateral dialogue" on candidates, days after an historic accord paved the way for rapprochement between the Vatican and the Communist country.

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that he will have the last word on naming bishops in China after a "bilateral dialogue" on candidates, days after an historic accord paved the way for rapprochement between the Vatican and the Communist country.

Two patients in an experimental US rehabilitation program for paralyzed people have been able to walk again thanks to electrical stimulation of their spinal cords, and two others have been able to stand or sit, according to newly published results.

The United States cranked up the pressure on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday, imposing sanctions on his wife and more of his inner circle and issuing harsh warnings about his vulnerability to an overthrow.

France's ex-prime minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday became the most high profile beneficiary of European Union rules under which its citizens can vote and stand in local elections in other EU states.

Sweden's centre-right opposition and the far right ousted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday, as the left and right blocs wrangle over who can form a new government after neither won a majority in September 9 elections.

The sight of cyclists hurtling along while glued to their smartphones is a common one in the bike-mad Netherlands, but it will soon be illegal.

Anthony Vaccarello made a splash by having his models walk on water for his Saint Laurent Paris fashion week show Tuesday.

Capsule flats, price rises forcing tenants out: rents in Spain are soaring post-crisis, fuelling concerns of a new "bubble" in a country still traumatised by the collapse of its housing sector.

Illuminated under a spotlight at London's British Museum, hand-drawn sketches of Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Movement are part of a new exhibition on dissent that offers a rare glimpse of the artworks produced during the pro-democracy rallies.

In a village in Vietnam's "elephant kingdom", a vendor holds up a severed, dried tail dotted with coarse hairs she promises will bring good luck -– a grim new trade that is endangering the country's few remaining elephants.

Global fashion giant Michael Kors announced Tuesday that it had agreed to buy Versace, signaling an intention to move deeper into the international big league after snapping up shoemaker Jimmy Choo last year.

New Zealand's prime minister has been proclaimed a history maker for taking "first baby" -- daughter Neve -- into the United Nations General Assembly hall, shaking up what is still a boys' club of world leaders.

Nike's CEO said Tuesday a controversial ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick was connecting with consumers worldwide but shares fell after the sports giant reported slowing growth in China.

Germany's Catholic Church on Tuesday apologised to thousands of victims of sexual assault by clergy, with the institution's top cardinal saying perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Two patients in an experimental US rehabilitation program for paralyzed people have been able to walk again thanks to electrical stimulation of their spinal cords, and two others have been able to stand or sit, according to newly published results.

Two patients in an experimental US rehabilitation program for paralyzed people have been able to walk again thanks to electrical stimulation of their spinal cords, and two others have been able to stand or sit, according to newly published results.

Many private sector doctors in India miss the signs of tuberculosis and therefore provide patients inadequate treatment, according to a new study published Tuesday involving people hired to act out the symptoms.

Twitter on Tuesday reached out to users for help crafting a ban on comments that dehumanize people and set the stage for real-world violence.

There has been an explosion of health care data breaches in the United States in recent years, a study out Tuesday says.

Fashion house Michael Kors announced Tuesday it had agreed to buy Italian luxury giant Versace, signalling an intention to move deeper into the international big league after snapping up shoemaker to the stars Jimmy Choo last year.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday over unprecedented levels of child mortality in southern Niger during the past month, with 10 children dying per day.

The departure of Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger adds to the woes of parent firm Facebook as it tries to repair its image hurt by privacy scandals and curb manipulation and misinformation.

Efforts to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo are being threatened by a "perfect storm" of challenges, including rebel violence and pre-election turbulence, the UN said Tuesday.

Europe's top agriculture official on Tuesday urged EU member states to prepare tougher measures to contain the spread of African swine fever after the latest outbreak in Belgium.

Life expectancy has fallen in Scotland and Wales and has stopped improving for the first time since 1982 in Britain as a whole, according to official data released on Tuesday.

One sunny morning in New York, a dozen biologists and volunteers stand in knee-deep water, chucking net sacks of oyster shells down a human chain, before planting them in containers on the riverbed.

A South Sudanese doctor who runs an overcrowded hospital with a dimly-lit surgical theatre and no regular supply of general anaesthetics on Tuesday won the UN refugee agency's prestigious Nansen award.

Tokyo police said Tuesday they had arrested a 49-year-old woman suspected of dumping a stillborn baby's body in a coin locker, amid reports she had moved the corpse around for as many as five years.

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have announced they are leaving the photo-sharing app bought by Facebook six years ago, setting a new test for the parent company as it works to quell mounting turmoil.

One of Singapore's most influential diplomats called Tuesday for the repeal of a law criminalising sex between men, saying it was time for the modern city-state to abandon the "antiquated" legislation.

The brochure portrayed it as a divers' paradise located along the Red Sea in Sudan. It was in fact one of the Israeli intelligence agency's most audacious operations.

Beneath the carved timber roof of a traditional "marae" meeting house at Wellington High School, dozens of students watch entranced as a play performed entirely in the Maori language unfolds.

Justin Thomas said his friendship with Tiger Woods still strikes him as "bizarre" having drawn his golfing inspiration from the 14-time major champion in his youth.

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim insists he will not walk away from the club after their dreadful start to the season continued on Tuesday.

Bubba Watson played down comments he made after missing the cut at the 2011 French Open, insisting on Wednesday they were taken out of context and that he "loves" the country.

Sri Lanka's sacked skipper Angelo Mathews was dropped Wednesday from the ODI and T20 squads against England after he accused the board of making him a scapegoat for the team's Asia Cup debacle.

Troubled former cycling star Jan Ullrich is again under police investigation over a fresh assault allegation.

In the controversy surrounding Qatar's 2022 football World Cup, it's almost forgotten that in exactly one year Doha will host its biggest sporting event to date, the World Athletics Championships.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich had sought to move to Switzerland but withdrew his residency bid when it looked set to be rejected, a Swiss migration official said Wednesday.

Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba were involved in a tense-looking exchange at Manchester United's training ground on Wednesday, a day after the manager confirmed the World Cup star had been stripped of the role of vice-captain.

Argentina and Britain have been awarded wild cards into the 2019 Davis Cup, the first to be played under a radically changed format, organisers announced Wednesday.

Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka faces a race to be fit to face Hertha Berlin on Friday after twisting his ankle playing out of position at left-back.

Paul Pogba's relationship with Jose Mourinho appears to be fractured beyond repair after the Manchester United boss said the French World Cup star would never captain the side again.

Russian athletics, emboldened by WADA's lifting of the three-year ban on Russia's anti-doping agency (RUSADA) has demanded to have its ban from track and field terminated, according to a letter seen by The Times.

Germany head coach Joachim Loew was reportedly blocked from meeting Mesut Ozil at Arsenal's training ground on Monday to discuss the midfielder's fiery retirement from international duty.

Coach Luciano Spalletti believes Inter Milan are finally beginning to gel as a team after a 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Tuesday night gave them their first back-to-back wins this season in Serie A, lifting them up towards the top of the table.

Before the start of the Asia Cup Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan had warned his team would not only compete but would achieve something special.

Mauricio Pochettino is confident Tottenham will be playing in their new stadium by the end of the year and said once they are installed there will be "no excuses" for not winning trophies.

Justin Rose believes the first tee at the Ryder Cup presents a unique test of character that challenges even the very best players regardless of past experience.

With five rookies in their Ryder Cup team this week, Europe will need the new boys to fire, and in the charismatic Jon Rahm they may have found a man up to the task.

Sergio Garcia said the European team want to make the family of Spanish golfer Celia Barquin, who was stabbed to death in the US last week, proud at the Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy will adopt a calmer tone for this week's Ryder Cup than his emotional high-energy style from 2016, the four-time major winner saying Wednesday he wants no repeat of an energy fade.

Sergio Garcia said on Wednesday that he has proved his Ryder Cup qualities "over and over", after being handed a wildcard pick by European captain Thomas Bjorn.

Goals change games in football but for Dragan Stojkovic, the man Arsene Wenger once tipped to succeed him at Arsenal, one goal altered the course of his career and landed him in China instead of at Premier League outfit Swansea City.

In-form Australian Ashleigh Barty said she was hitting top gear as she upset Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-1 to reach the Wuhan Open quarter-finals in China on Wednesday.

After a decade of tearing up professional men's volleyball leagues in Europe, Tiffany Abreu is used to taking on steep challenges. Fresh from becoming Brazil's first transgender player, she is running for Congress in next month's elections.

Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani will undergo Tommy John surgery in the first week of the off-season, the team confirmed Tuesday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an avid follower of sports who massively developed football infrastructure, has in 15 years in power always come away empty-handed from bids for Turkey to hold one of the world's great sporting events.

Paul Pogba has been stripped of the vice-captaincy of Manchester United by manager Jose Mourinho as tensions between United's star midfielder and manager continue to rise.

French director Claude Lelouch has started shooting a sequel to his classic romance "A Man and a Woman" with the same actors, 52 years after the original was a box office smash.

The gesture is so mechanical few people even notice it.

The luxury-loving wife of Malaysia's former prime minister Wednesday faced a marathon questioning session by investigators probing the multi-billion-dollar scandal that helped topple her husband's government.

Queen Paola, mother of King Philippe of Belgium, fell ill on a visit to Venice and will be flown home on Wednesday, royal officials said.

Disgraced television icon Bill Cosby was handcuffed and taken into custody Tuesday to begin a minimum three-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman at his Philadelphia mansion 14 years ago.

Cher has a stately air as she receives a steady line of journalists in a West Hollywood hotel room with the studied equanimity of Catherine the Great addressing her subjects at the Winter Palace.

From US cultural icon blazing past racial barriers to prison for aggravated indecent assault: a judge's sentencing Tuesday saw "America's Dad" Bill Cosby reduced to a sexually violent predator in handcuffs.

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that he will have the last word on naming bishops in China after a "bilateral dialogue" on candidates, days after an historic accord paved the way for rapprochement between the Vatican and the Communist country.

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that he will have the last word on naming bishops in China after a "bilateral dialogue" on candidates, days after an historic accord paved the way for rapprochement between the Vatican and the Communist country.

British screen legend Judi Dench was honoured Tuesday with a lifetime achievement award at Spain's famous San Sebastian film festival.

Pope Francis on Tuesday became an e-resident of Estonia while on a visit to the cyber-savvy Baltic country known for being one of the world's most wired nations.

An activist with Russian protest group Pussy Riot said on Tuesday he had regained consciousness after a suspected poisoning and spending 12 days in a "black hole."

One of the greatest mysteries in art history appears to have been solved.

The brochure portrayed it as a divers' paradise located along the Red Sea in Sudan. It was in fact one of the Israeli intelligence agency's most audacious operations.

When a Malian illegal immigrant rescued a child dangling from a Paris balcony, he was hailed worldwide as a hero -- but the little boy's father will appear in court Tuesday charged with negligence.

New Zealand's prime minister, who shot to international fame for giving birth while in office, turned heads Monday by bringing her three-month-old daughter into the UN assembly hall.

Disgraced television icon Bill Cosby risks being sentenced to a maximum punishment of 10 years on Tuesday after the Canadian woman whom he sexually assaulted appealed for "justice" from a US court.

Satellite radio titan SiriusXM unveiled plans Monday to acquire online rival Pandora for $3.5 billion, ramping up competition in the streaming music market dominated by Spotify and Apple.

K-Pop sensation BTS brought their star power to the United Nations on Monday, telling the world's youth to listen to their inner voice and resist pressure to conform.

US actor Jimmy Bennett, who accuses Asia Argento of sexually assaulting him as a teenager, said in his first television interview since the allegation emerged that they had a "complete" sexual relationship.

A turbulent global political environment has helped inspire the finalists in this year's Turner Prize for contemporary art, which includes only video submissions for the first time.

From Dolce & Gabbana's opera and Prada techno beats to Robbie Williams performing at Emporio Armani, Milan Fashion Week offered a sparkling, colourful extravaganza. Ahead of Tuesday's closing shows, we take a look at some of next season's biggest trends.

Canada-based Cirque du Soleil staged their first show in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with a dazzling display of high-wire thrills, despite a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and Riyadh.

Paris women's fashion week starts Monday with fashionistas waiting with bated breath to finally see Hedi Slimane's debut at Celine.

Disgraced US television icon Bill Cosby will return to a Pennsylvania court on Monday to face sentencing for sexual assault, five months after his conviction at the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

A horror comedy about a clock counting down to doomsday chimed in at the top of the North American box office this weekend, industry estimates showed on Sunday.

The lights dim in the packed cinema as the holding music fades. The film title "Rafiki" flashes up on the screen, and some 230 hushed spectators burst out in euphoric applause.

A beluga whale spotted in the River Thames estuary outside London --- far from its natural Arctic habitat -- is "swimming strongly and feeding normally", Britain's main animal protection charity said on Wednesday.

An Austria fruit grower was handed a rare prison sentence Wednesday for having illegally spread an insecticide which led to the deaths of dozens of neighbouring bee colonies.

A critically endangered Sumatran tiger has died after being caught in a hunter's trap on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an official said Wednesday.

After more than a century of conflicting evidence, Anglo-French animosity and a H.G. Wells novella involving murder most fowl, scientists said Wednesday they have finally solved the riddle of the world's largest bird.

Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche is to bow out from the Mercedes-Benz maker's top job next year, with the veteran chief executive leaving a long list of problems for his Swedish successor to tackle.

A Japanese start-up is to send spacecraft to the moon in a deal signed with Elon Musk's SpaceX, the Tokyo-based firm said Wednesday.

The Dutch are proud of the way they have created a country by fighting back the ocean -- but when they started making their own earthquakes it proved a step too far.

In a village in Vietnam's "elephant kingdom", a vendor holds up a severed, dried tail dotted with coarse hairs she promises will bring good luck -– a grim new trade that is endangering the country's few remaining elephants.

A US federal judge has restored endangered species protections to the Yellowstone grizzly bear a year after it was taken off the list by the Trump administration, preventing the animal from being hunted for the first time in decades.

A European-made rocket has blasted off from French Guiana for the 100th time, in a symbolic landmark for its manufacturer as it comes under increasing pressure from Elon Musk's SpaceX programme.

NASA scientists can now see their solar-powered probe that was lost in a Martian dust storm more than 100 days ago -- but the vintage robot hasn't shown any signs of life.

Twitter on Tuesday reached out to users for help crafting a ban on comments that dehumanize people and set the stage for real-world violence.

Europe's top agriculture official on Tuesday urged EU member states to prepare tougher measures to contain the spread of African swine fever after the latest outbreak in Belgium.

A vast forest fire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from their houses in Tuscany, with firefighters Tuesday battling to extinguish flames fanned by fierce winds.

German high-end carmaker BMW said Tuesday that new stricter emissions tests for cars as well as refits to older vehicles and global trade tensions would leave revenues and profits short of its full-year forecast.

Greenpeace activists Tuesday scaled storage tanks at an Indonesian palm oil refinery along with a popular rock band which played pro-environment songs, protesting against a commodity found in everything from soap to biscuits.

One sunny morning in New York, a dozen biologists and volunteers stand in knee-deep water, chucking net sacks of oyster shells down a human chain, before planting them in containers on the riverbed.

An ardent critic of an Australian rare earths plant in Malaysia said Tuesday she will head a government review into the controversial site after her political alliance took power at landmark elections.

Scientists said Monday they had succeeded for the first time in wiping out an entire population of malaria-carrying mosquitos in the lab using a gene editing tool to programme their extinction.

A Frenchman who spent his whole adult life searching for his American father, a soldier who fought in Europe during World War Two, said he was "bowled over" after coming face-to-face with a previously unknown half-brother on Monday thanks to a chance DNA breakthrough.

Abu Dhabi's Yahsat on Monday launched its satellite broadband service in Ivory Coast in a bid to boost internet access in this west African nation where only 27 percent of the population is online.

Britain laid out Monday the potential impact of Brexit for ferrets in case no deal is reached with the EU, along with warnings on air travel, freight transport and copyrights.

Heads of state and government on Monday kicked off "Climate Week," held every year on the margins of the UN General Assembly, by urging world leaders to act urgently to reduce global warming.

The European Union on Monday welcomed Belgium's decision to slaughter thousands of healthy pigs to isolate and eradicate an outbreak of swine fever.

The sandy cove along California's picturesque coast beckons visitors to what is supposed to be a public beach. But the imposing gate, the security guard and the annual $100 access fee tell a different story.

Nepal's wild tiger population has nearly doubled over the last nine years, officials said Monday, in a victory for the impoverished country's drive to save the endangered big cats.

Conservationists on Monday slammed the baiting and killing of sharks at a popular Great Barrier Reef tourist spot after two swimmers were attacked, saying the policy was brutal and indiscriminate.