US lawmakers drew battle lines Sunday ahead of a dramatic showdown over the fate of Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, after a university professor who accuses the judge of sexual assault agreed to testify publicly in the Senate.

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has declared victory in the Maldives' presidential election Sunday, following a controversial campaign observers said was rigged in favour of strongman President Abdulla Yameen.

Tanzania declared the whole nation was in mourning Sunday as the first dozen bodies were buried from a devastating ferry capsize on Lake Victoria that left people 224 dead.

Tech giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google are joining forces with international organizations to help identify and head off famines in developing nations using data analysis and artificial intelligence, a new initiative unveiled Sunday.

The Bank of International Settlements said Sunday the global economy risked a "relapse" of the crisis that rocked it a decade ago, warning there was little "medicine" left to treat the patient a second time.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday pointed blame at Arab separatists for a deadly attack on a military parade and accused an unnamed US-backed Gulf state of supporting them.

A second Swiss canton will introduce a regional "burqa ban", after voters in St. Gallen on Sunday emphatically backed prohibiting all face-covering garments in public spaces.

A second Swiss canton will introduce a regional "burqa ban", after voters in St. Gallen emphatically voted Sunday to prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces.

A second Swiss canton will introduce a regional "burqa ban", after voters in St. Gallen overwhelmingly voted Sunday to prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday appeared to blame Arab separatists for an attack on a military parade the previous day that left 29 people dead.

Former world number one Karolina Pliskova stunned Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka in straights sets to capture the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday.

From the front lines of war to a staple of institutional catering, Spam is rarely seen as a gourmet ingredient -- but the canned pink meat holds a unique position in South Korea as a top-selling holiday gift.

On paper, the legal request was small: changing his name from Blerta to Blert.

After years watching Tesla's electric cars speed ahead while they have been on the defensive over an industry-wide diesel emissions scandal, German high-end manufacturers have finally unveiled their first challengers to the Californian upstart.

The woman whose sexual assault allegation threatens to bring down President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee has agreed to testify in the Senate, her lawyers said Saturday, setting up a dramatic showdown next week.

Kevin Anderson avenged a Wimbledon finals loss to Novak Djokovic as Team World dominated the night session Saturday to climb back into contention at the 2018 Laver Cup.

The landmark deal between China and the Vatican is a win for Beijing, giving official recognition to bishops appointed by the government despite a crackdown on religion, and potentially softening the ground for full diplomatic relations after 67 years of estrangement, analysts said.

America's ports are fearful that they will be big losers as the escalating trade fight between Washington and Beijing bites into business.

Campaigning for Indonesia's presidential election in April kicked off Sunday, pitting incumbent Joko Widodo against a former military general in the race to lead the world's third-biggest democracy.

Britain's Labour Party kicks off its annual conference on Sunday hoping to prove it is ready to unseat the embattled Conservative government despite its own splits on Brexit and rows over anti-Semitism.

A new high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and mainland China launched Sunday, a multi-billion-dollar project that critics say gives away part of the city's territory to an increasingly assertive Beijing.

People in the Maldives vote Sunday in elections that international monitors and the opposition fear will be rigged to ensure that China-friendly strongman Abdulla Yameen remains in power.

James and Candace Butcher were ready to finalize the purchase of their dream retirement home, and at closing time wired $272,000 from their bank following instructions they received by email.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed a "crushing" response after assailants sprayed a crowd with gunfire, shooting dead at least 29 people including women and children Saturday at a military parade near the Iraqi border.

Six siblings of a Republican congressman from Arizona seeking re-election in November's midterms have publicly endorsed his Democratic opponent -- all but ensuring an awkward Thanksgiving family dinner this year.

Tiger Woods is one round away from ending his five-year victory drought after storming into a three-shot lead on day three of the Tour Championship here Saturday.

US cable giant Comcast outbid Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox in a blind auction for the European TV operator Sky on Saturday that all but settled a titanic battle between the two media empires.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the world's biggest health insurance scheme, promising free coverage for half a billion of India's poorest citizens ahead of national elections next year.

From the front lines of war to a staple of institutional catering, Spam is rarely seen as a gourmet ingredient -- but the canned pink meat holds a unique position in South Korea as a top-selling holiday gift.

The landmark deal between China and the Vatican is a win for Beijing, giving official recognition to bishops appointed by the government despite a crackdown on religion, and potentially softening the ground for full diplomatic relations after 67 years of estrangement, analysts said.

Artists melted a ton of ice spelling out the word "truth" in the shadow of the US Capitol on Saturday, in a poetic protest at the caustic state of politics in the era of "fake news" under President Donald Trump.

When US President Donald Trump demanded to know why his Supreme Court nominee's sexual assault accuser did not come forward sooner, he sought to cast doubt over her claims.

Some 20,000 people marched in Bern Saturday demanding wage equality between the genders, organisers said, warning that women are prepared to go on strike if Swiss parliamentarians do not fix the pay gap.

Facebook said Friday a dating service it teased early this year is being rolled out in Colombia.

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art made a surprise announcement Friday it would reboot stalled renovations of its modern and contemporary wing, and temporarily turn over the building housing the works to the nearby Frick Collection.

Italian designer Antonio Marras unleashed a procession of fauvist travellers on the catwalk Friday in a collection dedicated to "those who have still not left and those who are forced to leave".

President Donald Trump's outburst demanding to know why a university academic accusing his Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault in the 1980s failed to come forward sooner, saw a new #MeToo era hashtag storm the internet Friday.

Alcohol kills three million people worldwide each year -- more than AIDS, violence and road accidents combined, the World Health Organization said Friday, adding that men are particularly at risk.

Italy's fashion industry responded Friday to accusations of widespread underpaid and undeclared subcontracted work in a New York Times article, saying that the problem is limited and already being dealt with.

Ireland will hold a referendum on October 26 to repeal its constitutional law forbidding blasphemy, Dublin announced on Friday.

German authorities said Friday they were blocking a plan to rebuild part of the Berlin Wall for a massive film-art project in the German capital.

Few places are more peaceful than the gentle slopes of France's Alsace wine region -- but should any heinous crimes like grape theft occur, Jason the horse is on hand to catch the perpetrators.

The mighty Heera marched through a crowded slum chewing bamboo, oblivious that freedom from life as one of Delhi's last six elephants at work in the polluted city could be just around the corner.

Jose Augustin Hernandez is a 53-year-old local government official in Cuba -- who is transgender, sports a flamboyant pink wig and goes by the name Adela.

More than half of all countries will likely fail to hit the UN target of reducing premature deaths from a quartet of chronic diseases by a third before 2030, researchers said Friday.

Financial giant John Hancock is converting all its life insurance policies to an incentive-based system using activity tracking, a move aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles but which also raises privacy questions.

One of the largest swinging bells in the world, weighing 55 tons (7,850 stone), was unveiled in the Polish city of Krakow on Thursday ahead of being installed at a major pilgrimage site in Brazil.

Indiana Jones's signature fedora fetched more than half a million dollars at a blockbuster London auction of rare memorabilia from some of the most iconic movies of the past 40 years.

A local canoeing association filed a lawsuit on Thursday to ensure access to a section of the Potomac River that abuts a Trump golf course where the president plays frequently.

The decision by a fiercely pro-Western region of Ukraine to ban Russian-language arts, from songs to books and films, prompted widespread condemnation on Thursday even as it remained unclear how it would be implemented.

A cockpit mix-up left more than 30 passengers on an Indian plane bleeding from their ears and noses Thursday after the crew reportedly forgot to flick a switch regulating cabin air pressure.

Three years ago, asphyxiated by Venezuela's economic meltdown, Francisco Rojas and his wife Elena packed up four suitcases with the barest of essentials and walked out of their Caracas apartment.

A Toronto marketing company is looking to recruit six "cannabis enthusiasts" to test strains of pot and report back on their characteristics.

Madagascar's seasonal outbreak of plague, which has so far killed two people, is "under control", Health Minister Yoel Rantomalala said Thursday.

Rising quarterback star Patrick Mahomes extended his phenomenal start to the season as the Kansas City Chiefs maintained their perfect record with a 38-27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

John Isner and Jack Sock saved two match points before snatching a thrilling doubles victory over Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev as the World Team took a one-point lead over Europe at the Laver Cup on Sunday.

France international centre Gael Fickou continued his blistering new life with Stade Francais by scoring two more tries in a 25-13 away win over Pau in the Top 14 on Sunday.

Liverpool secured a sixth straight win at the opening of a league season for the first time in 28 years to pull clear in the Premier League title race as Chelsea stumbled for the first time this season at West Ham on Sunday.

From a deeper than usual playmaker role Brazil's Neymar pulled the strings as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Rennes 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Sunday, helping to dispel midweek memories of a European flop at Liverpool.

French veteran Gilles Simon overcame a shaky opening set on his way to winning a 14th career singles title with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 win over German qualifier Matthias Bachinger in Metz.

Alexandre Lacazette fired Arsenal to a fourth successive Premier League win as the French forward's superb strike inspired a hard-fought 2-0 success against Everton on Sunday.

Maurizio Sarri laughed off suggestions that next week's summit meeting with Liverpool is a "must-win" game after seeing Chelsea's 100 percent Premier League record ended by stubborn West Ham in a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

Struggling Schalke 04 were boosted on Sunday by news their US midfielder Weston McKennie escaped serious injury in their Bundesliga defeat to Bayern Munich.

Spain's Marc Marquez, riding a Honda, won Sunday's Aragon MotoGP to extend his lead atop the championship standings but it was a miserable day on the track for Jorge Lorenzo.

Top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria beat Slovakia's Martin Klizan in straight sets to secure his third ATP title of the season in the Saint Petersburg Open on Sunday.

Belgian cycling outfit Quick Step capped a fabulous season by racing to gold in the world championships team time-trial on Sunday, fending off defending champions Sunweb by 18 seconds.

Rangers' rise under Steven Gerrard continued with a 5-1 thrashing of St Johnstone to move into second in the Scottish Premiership, while Celtic slipped to sixth after a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock on Sunday.

World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is unbeaten in 22 professional fights and on Saturday he stopped a man who had never been stopped before.

Mick Schumacher, the teenage son of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, is living up to the famous family name in Formula Three by dominating the drivers' championship after picking up his fifth straight win on Sunday.

Lorenzo Insigne bagged a brace to inspire Napoli to a 3-1 win over Torino and join Juventus at the top of Serie A on Sunday, as Roma plunged further into crisis with a 2-0 loss at Bologna.

Rising Germany star Kai Havertz ended Bayer Leverkusen's miserable losing start to the season with a second-half winner to seal a 1-0 victory over Mainz and escape the Bundesliga's bottom three.

France manager Didier Deschamps believes the outside world has the wrong image of Paul Pogba, who played a key role in leading Les Bleus to winning the World Cup.

Lorenzo Insigne scored a double either side of a Simone Verdi goal as Napoli dominated Torino 3-1 to join Juventus on top of Serie A on Sunday.

Former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni is in talks to take over the Japan national football team, according to reports in Italy on Sunday.

France international centre Gael Fickou continued his blistering new life with Stade Francais by scoring two more tries in a 25-13 away win over Pau in the Top 14 on Sunday.

Japan's Kento Momota suffered a shock loss in China on Sunday as he was bested by Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in just two sets.

Britain's Anthony Joshua believes his long-awaited clash with fellow world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will take place as it would be "silly not to".

Kiki Bertens defeated Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the Korea Open final on Sunday, securing her third WTA Tour singles title of the season to continue her career-best year.

Red cards meted out as part of a crackdown on concussion-related injuries are here to stay, World Rugby chief Brett Gosper said Sunday, despite frustration over recent decisions.

Former world number one Karolina Pliskova stunned Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka in straights sets to capture the Pan Pacific Open on Sunday.

Australia Sunday joined an international mission to rescue an injured Indian sailor stranded in the Indian Ocean while competing in the round-the-world Golden Globe Race.

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.

Michel Houellebecq, the enfant terrible of French literature whose descriptions of swingers' clubs, anonymous sex and misogynistic men have made him a global star, has married for the third time in secret, a friend revealed on Sunday.

US cable giant Comcast outbid Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox in a blind auction for the European TV operator Sky on Saturday that all but settled a titanic battle between the two media empires.

Still adored at home despite three separate rape charges in France, Moroccan pop star Saad Lamjarred's latest arrest has reignited a debate on violence against women in the North African kingdom.

Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei has early-stage nose cancer and is being treated in Taiwan, sports officials said Saturday, after weeks of speculation about his health.

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art made a surprise announcement Friday it would reboot stalled renovations of its modern and contemporary wing, and temporarily turn over the building housing the works to the nearby Frick Collection.

Rihanna is now Ambassador Rihanna, after her home country tasked her with promoting investment and tourism.

Italian designer Antonio Marras unleashed a procession of fauvist travellers on the catwalk Friday in a collection dedicated to "those who have still not left and those who are forced to leave".

Bianca Jagger once defended the Sandinista revolution of Daniel Ortega. But today, the Nicaraguan rights campaigner wants to see the controversial leader leave office in her homeland.

A museum dedicated to late and notorious Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar has been shut down in Medellin, according to local authorities.

The Sundance Kid may have a few acting adventures left in him.

Italy's fashion industry responded Friday to accusations of widespread underpaid and undeclared subcontracted work in a New York Times article, saying that the problem is limited and already being dealt with.

Opening his era in charge of the New York Philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden could not have been clearer that he welcomes fresh ideas.

Kenya on Friday overturned a ban on Rafiki, a film about a lesbian love affair and the first ever movie from the country to be shown at the Cannes film festival.

Olympic legend Michael Phelps called for new leadership in the fight against drugs in sport on Friday after the World Anti-Doping Agency controversially reinstated Russia's tainted anti-drugs body.

A 19-year-old singer in Kyrgyzstan has filed a complaint with police after receiving death threats over a music video she released targeting gender discrimination in the ex-Soviet republic.

There is a disturbance in the Force.

Pop-country superstar Carrie Underwood on Thursday got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame -- the latest honor for the Grammy-winning onetime champion of TV reality show "American Idol."

"Serial," the hit US internet radio sensation and most downloaded podcast in history, is back for season three. This time, focused on explaining to listeners how ordinary American criminal justice functions.

More than 150 works by American artist Alexander Calder, including his famous mobiles, will go on display starting Friday at Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts, Canada's first retrospective dedicated to the influential sculptor.

Fendi presented a jungle-themed collection aimed at the inner Lara Croft, Prada shone with its own impression of strong women and Emporio Armani invaded an airport on the second day of Milan Fashion Week on Thursday.

Former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter on Thursday and will serve 28 years in prison for running over and killing a man three years ago.

Rockers Wolf Alice defied the odds to win Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize on Thursday for their second album "Visions of a Life", beating off competition from heavyweights Arctic Monkeys and Noel Gallagher.

There is a disturbance in the Force.

Indiana Jones's signature fedora fetched more than half a million dollars at a blockbuster London auction of rare memorabilia from some of the most iconic movies of the past 40 years.

The decision by a fiercely pro-Western region of Ukraine to ban Russian-language arts, from songs to books and films, prompted widespread condemnation on Thursday even as it remained unclear how it would be implemented.

What seemed a like a crazy idea turned out to be just that: a 1980s experiment that saw 25,000 car tyres dumped into the crystal-clear waters of the Mediterranean to create a sanctuary for sealife off the French coast is being cleaned up after it was found to be polluting.

Four large sharks have been killed in Australia after a woman and a 12-year-old girl were attacked at a popular Great Barrier Reef tourist spot.

Sports car maker Porsche said Sunday it would become the first German auto giant to abandon the diesel engine, reacting to parent company Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal and urban driving bans.

Sports car maker Porsche said Sunday it would become the first German auto giant to abandon the diesel engine, reacting to parent company Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal and resulting urban driving bans.

After years watching Tesla's electric cars speed ahead while they have been on the defensive over an industry-wide diesel emissions scandal, German high-end manufacturers have finally unveiled their first challengers to the Californian upstart.

A pair of robot rovers have landed on an asteroid and begun a survey, Japan's space agency said Saturday, as it conducts a mission aiming to shed light on the origins of the solar system.

Astronauts traveling through space on the long trip to Mars will not have the usual backup from mission control on Earth and will need to think of themselves as Martians to survive, Canada's most famous spaceman half-jokingly said Friday.

The Canadian government on Friday ordered a new review of the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Pacific taking into account the impact of increased tanker traffic on endangered killer whales along the coast.

It has been a question plaguing the museum dedicated to one of America's greatest presidents: Is the hat real?

The number of rhino killed for their horns by poachers in South Africa dipped by 26 percent in the first eight months of the year, officials said on Friday.

The death toll from a landslide in the central Philippines has risen to 29, police said Friday, as rescuers frantically dug for survivors of the latest tragedy in the storm-hit nation.

Indian authorities Friday ordered a probe into the deaths of a dozen endangered wild Asiatic lions, half of them cubs, over the last 10 days, officials said.

A Japanese space probe Friday released a pair of exploring rovers towards an egg-shaped asteroid to collect mineral samples that may shed light on the origin of the solar system.

The mighty Heera marched through a crowded slum chewing bamboo, oblivious that freedom from life as one of Delhi's last six elephants at work in the polluted city could be just around the corner.

Dozens of farmers and local officials stormed out of a meeting with France's new environment minister on Thursday as he confirmed two more bears would soon be released into the Pyrenees mountains.

Singapore Airlines said Friday it has stopped accepting lion bones for cargo after the carrier was singled out in a report for transporting the animal parts from South Africa.

A gadget to "translate" dog barks for humans, a "babypod" that plays music inside the mother's vagina for unborn babies and the world's first self-colonoscopy method were among the whacky inventions on show Friday at a new Tokyo exhibition.

California restaurants will soon stop providing plastic straws unless customers explicitly ask for them, under a new law signed on Thursday by the state's environment-friendly governor.

Coca-Cola, Walmart and other big multinationals pledged on Thursday to help reduce plastic pollution in the world's oceans in support of a campaign by five of the G7 industrialized nations.

At least 34 people have died in northern Ghana during flooding caused by heavy rains and waters spilling from a dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso, relief agency officials said Thursday.

A strange fossil that looks a bit like a giant leaf, or a fingerprint the size of a coffee table, has intrigued scientists for decades.

As global warming outpaces efforts to tame it, scientists have proposed building massive underwater structures to prevent an Antarctic glacier the size of Britain from sliding into the sea and lifting the world's oceans by several metres.

Indonesia's president has signed a moratorium on all new palm oil plantation development, an official said Thursday, in a move hailed by environmentalists.

Dozens of farmers and lawmakers stormed out of a meeting Thursday with France's new environment minister after he confirmed that two more bears would soon be released into the Pyrenees mountains.

There might not be a maniacal cat-killer on the loose in London after all, or at least not a human one.

It's a devastating disease driving a dementia epidemic ruining tens of millions of lives, but with no new medical treatment since the turn of the century the fight against Alzheimer's is foundering.

Eliminating dead-but-toxic cells occurring naturally in the brains of mice designed to mimic Alzheimer's slowed neuron damage and memory loss associated with the disease, according to a study published Wednesday that could open a new front in the fight against dementia.