Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday he will call a referendum on a controversial new Mexico City airport that he has threatened to axe.

Turkey on Friday threatened to respond in kind if Washington imposed further sanctions over the detention of an American pastor which has sparked a diplomatic standoff and battered the Turkish currency.

US President Donald Trump said Friday he had cancelled a military parade planned for November due to high costs -- hours after the Pentagon indefinitely postponed the much-maligned event -- and would instead head to Paris for ceremonies marking the end of World War I.

Tributes poured in across the world to "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin on Friday, as her family and hometown made arrangements for her funeral and a celebration of the late singer's extraordinary career.

Grieving relatives wept over the coffins of dozens of victims of Genoa's bridge disaster Friday amid growing fury over a planned state funeral, while rescuers pressed on with their tireless search for those missing in the rubble.

A year after a jihadist rampage in Catalonia killed 16 people, Spain paid homage to the victims Friday without managing to set aside bitter divisions over the region's independence.

The death toll from floods that have triggered landslides and sent torrents sweeping through villages in the Indian state of Kerala trebled Friday to 324, authorities said, amid warnings of worse weather to come.

Belgian star Kevin De Bruyne, a pivotal figure in Manchester City's title-winning campaign, will be out of action for three months because of a knee injury, the club said Friday.

Tributes have poured in for the beloved and iconic singer Aretha Franklin from friends, musicians, politicians and fans after the legendary "Queen of Soul" died aged 76.

Hundreds of Google employees have signed a protest letter over the company's reported work on a censor-friendly search engine to get back into China, The New York Times said Thursday.

Turkey on Friday threatened to respond if the United States levied further sanctions over the detention of an American pastor, which has sparked a diplomatic standoff and battered the Turkish currency.

Two moon bears are gently removed from the cramped cages where they have been held for 13 years, rescuers carefully checking their rotten teeth and matted paws before sending them to their new home in a grassy sanctuary in northern Vietnam.

A spate of bloody killings is fuelling unease in the Rohingya camps on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, where overstretched police are struggling to protect nearly a million traumatised refugees from violent gangs.

Two million Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia this week for the hajj as the annual pilgrimage becomes increasingly hi-tech with apps to help the faithful navigate Islam's holiest sites.

Novak Djokovic's third-round struggle with defending champion Grigor Dimitrov was halted by rain, forcing the pair to come back on Friday at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.

Middle-aged people who get roughly half their daily calories from carbohydrates live several years longer on average than those with meat-heavy low-carb diets, researchers reported Friday.

Pope Francis is on the side of victims of more than 300 "predator" priests in the United States who are accused of abusing over 1,000 children across seven decades, the Vatican said Thursday.

The US warned Thursday it would levy more sanctions on the troubled Turkish economy if Ankara does not soon release a jailed American pastor described by President Donald Trump as a "hostage."

Rights groups Thursday condemned a suicide blast inside a school that killed dozens of students in Kabul a day earlier, as outrage over the attack grew while tearful families buried loved ones in the war-weary Afghan capital.

In a breakthrough that experts say will help feed the growing global population in the coming decades, scientists Thursday revealed they have cracked the full genome of wheat for the first time.

Three-time Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee died Thursday, sparking tributes from across the political spectrum as current leader Narendra Modi mourned the "irreplaceable loss" of the respected statesman.

Hundreds of troops led a desperate operation to rescue families trapped by mounting floods in India's Kerala state Thursday as the death toll reached 106 with nearly 150,000 left homeless.

Raised on gospel, bathed in rhythm and blues and fluent in jazz and pop, Aretha Franklin came to be known as the "Queen of Soul" through seven decades of electrifying performances.

German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer said Thursday that it would begin integrating seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto after a mega-merger, but its stock price was battered by the US firm's legal woes.

Madonna on Thursday took on the mantle of a "berber queen" to celebrate her 60th birthday, touring Morocco's former imperial city of Marrakech under the radar of the paparazzi.

German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer said Thursday it would finally begin integrating US seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto into its business, after meeting competition authorities' final conditions for the merger.

Raised on gospel, bathed in rhythm and blues and fluent in jazz and pop, Aretha Franklin came to be known as the "Queen of Soul" through seven decades of electrifying performances.

The Swiss city of Lausanne has blocked a Muslim couple's bid to become Swiss nationals over their refusal to shake hands with members of the opposite sex.

Two Chinese academics have proposed a controversial idea to encourage childbirth as their country faces an ageing population: Make people with no or fewer than two children pay into a "maternity fund".

Rita Choksi says yoga and breathing exercises have kept her sharp as the Indian grandmother goes for gold at the age of 79 -- just one of many elderly contenders in the Asian Games bridge competition.

By the time Baba John escaped the tribal militia he had joined as an 11-year-old, he had long stopped counting the number of people he had killed.

Two moon bears are gently removed from the cramped cages where they have been held for 13 years, rescuers carefully checking their rotten teeth and matted paws before sending them to their new home in a grassy sanctuary in northern Vietnam.

A spate of bloody killings is fuelling unease in the Rohingya camps on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, where overstretched police are struggling to protect nearly a million traumatised refugees from violent gangs.

Two million Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia this week for the hajj as the annual pilgrimage becomes increasingly hi-tech with apps to help the faithful navigate Islam's holiest sites.

Couples twist across a wood floor to the melancholy sounds of tango music, swaying and swivelling in a dance that comes from far away.

China's Communist Party has sacked a dozen provincial and local officials and vowed to punish a pharmaceutical firm over a vaccine scandal that inflamed public fears over the safety of domestically produced drugs.

Middle-aged people who get roughly half their daily calories from carbohydrates live several years longer on average than those with meat-heavy low-carb diets, researchers reported Friday.

Middle-aged people who get roughly half their daily calories from carbohydrates live several years longer on average than those with low-carb diets, researchers reported Friday.

New York University said Thursday it would offer all its current and future medical school students free tuition in an effort to tackle soaring debt levels and encourage more applicants.

US regulators Thursday approved the first generic alternative for the EpiPen, a life-saving emergency allergy medicine, two years after soaring prices for the original version owned by Mylan stoked controversy.

US drug overdose deaths surged to nearly 72,000 last year, as addicts increasingly turn to extremely powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl as the supply of prescription painkillers has tightened.

A set of Roman-era tombs dating back some 2,000 years have been discovered near the Palestinian city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank during road works, an official said Thursday.

Ajla Nizic did not know what cancer was when she was diagnosed with it at age four.

Visitors to a theme park in western France this week have a new attraction to enjoy: six crows that have been specially trained to pick up cigarette ends and rubbish.

The first reunions in years of families divided by the Korean War evoke bittersweet memories for Kim Jong-gyu, whose few hours with her brother in 2014 -– under the watchful eyes of the North's agents -– were probably their last ever together.

First came the war, which developed into a brutal, bloody tussle between militias who abused civilians or killed them.

With hotels facing mass cancellations, Iraqis in the holy city of Najaf are being hit hard by US sanctions on neighbouring Iran, which have forced cash-strapped pilgrims to stay home.

A cholera epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 127 people since February, while a further 22 have died in Niger, officials said on Wednesday.

The number of days marked by potentially destructive ocean heatwaves has doubled in 35 years, and will multiply another five-fold at current rates of climate change, scientists warned Wednesday.

Spirits company Constellation Brands announced Wednesday it will significantly boost its investment in Canada's Canopy Growth in a big bet on the growth of cannabis-based products.

Austria has rejected the asylum application of an Afghan claiming to be gay because he did not "act" or "dress" like a homosexual, according to a media report.

The Rohingya had no time to consider what to take as Myanmar forces drove the Muslim minority into Bangladesh in a crackdown a year ago likened by the UN to ethnic cleansing.

The prime minister of Tonga has challenged fellow Pacific leaders to a year-long weight-loss competition to combat soaring obesity levels in the region.

Manmade global warming and a natural surge in Earth's surface temperature will join forces to make the next five years exceptionally hot, according to a study published Tuesday.

Napoli signed Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina on a season-long loan on Friday.

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri insists misfiring striker Alvaro Morata will find his best form this season.

Estonia's Ott Tanak remained on course for a second successive victory when he swept five of Friday's six stages on the Rally of Germany.

Dates have been set for the Serie A games of both Genoa teams which were postponed after a bridge collapsed killing dozens in the northwestern port city, the Italian football league confirmed on Friday.

Just a week after making his first Premier League start for Manchester United, Andreas Pereira received a surprise first call-up to Tite's Brazil squad ahead of two friendlies next month.

England international Jason Roy said he was "extremely embarrassed" after suffering an injury when his bat, which he had thrown to the ground in frustration, bounced back and hit him in the face.

Kenya must scale new heights if they hope to overtake leaders Namibia and qualify for a maiden Rugby World Cup, coach Ian Snook admitted Friday.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi was left out of the first post-World Cup Argentina squad announced on Friday ahead of four upcoming friendlies.

Jurgen Klopp admits he is willing to allow some of Liverpool's fringe players to leave before the end of the August.

Danny Cipriani is to face disciplinary proceedings, the Rugby Football Union said Friday, following his guilty plea to charges of common assault and resisting arrest at a nightclub although his club claim he is being "singled out".

AC Milan completed the signings of Spanish winger Samu Castillejo and Uruguayan midfielder Diego Laxalt on the final day of the transfer window in Italy on Friday, signalling the Serie A club's intentions for the new season despite a backdrop of financial chaos.

A village team including a car salesmen, a tax advisor and a stone mason is dreaming of dumping mighty Bayern Munich out of the German Cup on Saturday.

World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe has been named in Paris Saint-Germain's squad for the first time this season as the French champions go to Guingamp in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

India captain Virat Kohli said "the only option is to win this game" as he urged his side to make a virtue of their dire position heading into the third Test against England.

Pep Guardiola has suggested post-World Cup fatigue could have been a factor in the knee injury that has ruled out Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne for around three months.

Jakarta workmen held their own version of the Asian Games in the city's streets as they downed tools for Indonesia's annual independence day celebrations on Friday.

England have recalled Ben Stokes to their starting XI for the third Test against India at Trent Bridge just 72 hours after he was cleared in a trial for affray, captain Joe Root announced Friday.

Jose Mourinho has broken his silence on his relationship with French World Cup winner Paul Pogba and insists there has been no disagreement with Manchester United's record signing.

Cristiano Ronaldo is curious to find out about life in Serie A and will make his debut in the opening match of the season for champions Juventus against Chievo in Verona, coach Massimiliano Allegri confirmed on Friday.

French star Paul Pogba should have been Manchester United captain from the moment he arrived in 2016 and that might have prompted more consistency, former United midfield star Paul Scholes told the BBC on Friday.

Bordeaux have suspended coach Gustavo Poyet for a week after his angry outburst at club bosses over their transfer policy, the French side announced on Friday.

Geraint Thomas said on Friday that he will make his first stage-race appearance since his stunning Tour de France victory in next week's Tour of Germany.

Italian international midfielder Claudio Marchisio has called time on his Juventus career after 25 years spent with the Turin giants.

A trying week for Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers brightened a little with highly-regarded Australian teenager Daniel Arzani completing a two-year loan deal from Manchester City.

England star Danny Cipriani apologised Friday for an incident at a nightclub and is praying it has not ended what has been a redemptive road back to Test rugby.

Rita Choksi says yoga and breathing exercises have kept her sharp as the Indian grandmother goes for gold at the age of 79 -- just one of many elderly contenders in the Asian Games bridge competition.

Disgraced Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft will play for Durham in 2019, the English county side announced on Friday, omitting to mention in their statement his role in a scandal that rocked the sport.

Tesla shares fell hard Friday after chief executive Elon Musk's comments about his struggles with exhaustion as he works to ramp up production for the electric automaker and a lengthy but unsuccessful effort to find a number two executive.

Tributes poured in across the world to "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin on Friday, as her family and hometown made arrangements for her funeral and a celebration of the late singer's extraordinary career.

The expected attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin at Saturday's wedding of Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl sparked a row Friday over whether the visit was appropriate.

Top names in French cooking, as well as foreign followers and hundreds of well-wishers, attended a memorial service Friday for Joel Robuchon, the world's most-starred Michelin chef who died earlier this month.

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is "losing hope" and no longer believes that he will be freed after almost 100 days on hunger strike in a Russian prison, his cousin told AFP.

Top names in French cooking, as well as foreign followers and thousands of well-wishers, are to attend a memorial service Friday for Joel Robuchon, the world's most-starred Michelin chef who died earlier this month.

Thousands of mourners in white funereal dress escorted the coffin of three-time prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee through the Indian capital on Friday, showering his body in rose petals before his cremation.

Tributes have poured in for the beloved and iconic singer Aretha Franklin from friends, musicians, politicians and fans after the legendary "Queen of Soul" died aged 76.

When Aretha Franklin's death was announced over the PA system, glass maker Maurice Black says grief was so great at his Detroit auto plant that supervisors briefly shut the line.

The death of soul queen Aretha Franklin on Thursday marked the passing of the last of the great musical icons of cult comedy movie "The Blues Brothers."

British grime artist Stormzy on Thursday announced he is offering a scholarship to help support black students at Cambridge University.

The death of 76-year-old music icon Aretha Franklin prompted figures across the spectrum, from politics to pop, to pay homage to her tremendous influence on American culture.

Madonna remains one of the most controversial artists of all time, with the Material Girl refusing to hold back with age from the unbridled sexuality that helped make her a superstar.

The French top chef who cooked for fast-food-loving US President Donald Trump atop the Eiffel Tower during his visit to Paris last year went to court Thursday to challenge his eviction from his lofty perch.

The death of 76-year-old music icon Aretha Franklin prompted figures across the spectrum, from politics to pop, to pay homage to her tremendous influence on American culture.

Raised on gospel, bathed in rhythm and blues and fluent in jazz and pop, Aretha Franklin came to be known as the "Queen of Soul" through seven decades of electrifying performances.

The foundation run by US billionaire George Soros said Thursday that the last of its operations in Hungary would cease by August 31, with its activities being transferred to Berlin.

A Ugandan pop star turned opposition MP was charged in a military court Thursday with illegal possession of weapons, following his arrest after the presidential convoy was pelted with stones.

Madonna on Thursday took on the mantle of a "berber queen" to celebrate her 60th birthday, touring Morocco's former imperial city of Marrakech under the radar of the paparazzi.

It may be the most rousing feminist anthem ever, but "Respect" -- the song that made Aretha Franklin the "Queen of Soul" -- was actually written about a man demanding a break from his wife.

Raised on gospel, bathed in rhythm and blues and fluent in jazz and pop, Aretha Franklin came to be known as the "Queen of Soul" through seven decades of electrifying performances.

Ex-Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is not being moved from his home in Switzerland to the Spanish island of Mallorca, a spokeswoman said Thursday, denying a report by a Swiss magazine.

Rich, dashing man sweeps sweet young girl off her feet. It's the fantasy to launch a thousand love stories, but Hollywood's latest rom-com oozes more than sentimental escapism.

Hollywood director Peter Weir made a surprise appearance at a court in the Cambodian capital on Thursday, testifying in the trial of a filmmaker accused of espionage, the latest twist in a case decried by rights groups as "bogus".

The reclusive British street artist Banksy has said in a bemused social media post he was not involved in a major exhibition of his works currently on display in Moscow.

The Detroit church once led by Aretha Franklin's father -- and where she first tested her remarkable voice -- filled with music once again Wednesday as dozens gathered for a prayer vigil for the ailing "Queen of Soul."

A US man accused of taking a pickaxe to President Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame justified his actions on Wednesday as he pleaded not guilty to a felony vandalism charge.

The death toll from floods that have triggered landslides and sent torrents sweeping through villages in the Indian state of Kerala trebled Friday to 324, authorities said, amid warnings of worse weather to come.

The death toll from major floods in India's tourist hotspot Kerala has jumped to 164, state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Friday, issuing a fresh heavy rainfall warning for the battered region.

Two moon bears are gently removed from the cramped cages where they have been held for 13 years, rescuers carefully checking their rotten teeth and matted paws before sending them to their new home in a grassy sanctuary in northern Vietnam.

Indonesia is about to open the Asian Games but its traffic-clogged capital Jakarta remains shrouded in a haze of air pollution that threatens to mar the world's second-biggest multi-sport event.

A rare rodent species known as a "bamboo rat" that lives around the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu in Peru has resurfaced after a decade of absence and been photographed for the first time.

In a breakthrough that experts say will help feed the growing global population in the coming decades, scientists Thursday revealed they have cracked the full genome of wheat for the first time.

Hundreds of troops led a desperate operation to rescue families trapped by mounting floods in India's Kerala state Thursday as the death toll reached 106 with nearly 150,000 left homeless.

Visitors to a theme park in western France this week have a new attraction to enjoy: six crows that have been specially trained to pick up cigarette ends and rubbish.

First came the war, which developed into a brutal, bloody tussle between militias who abused civilians or killed them.

A state of emergency has been declared in Florida as the worst red tide in a decade blackens the ocean water, killing dolphins, sea turtles and fish at a relentless pace.

A new class of pesticides positioned to replace neonicotinoids may be just as harmful to crop-pollinating bees, researchers cautioned Wednesday.

The flood toll in India's southern tourist hotspot of Kerala jumped to 67 after another 25 deaths were reported Wednesday, with more than 50,000 people seeking shelter in relief camps, a state official told AFP.

British Columbia declared a province-wide state of emergency Wednesday as Canada's military joined firefighters in trying to douse 556 wildfires burning across the craggy region.

Canada announced plans Wednesday to phase out two pesticides widely applied to canola, corn and soybean crops in this country and linked to bee and now also aquatic insect deaths.

The number of days marked by potentially destructive ocean heatwaves has doubled in 35 years, and will multiply another five-fold at current rates of climate change, scientists warned Wednesday.

Manmade global warming and a natural surge in Earth's surface temperature will join forces to make the next five years exceptionally hot, according to a study published Tuesday.

Botanists have discovered a new species of orchid in Peru's central Amazonian rainforest, the country's national parks service announced Tuesday.

Bin bags at the ready, "long-distance activist" Mohamed Oussama Houij moves methodically along a beach in Tunisia's Mediterranean town of Nabeul, scooping up all kinds of trash as he goes along.

Burundi's president, Pierre Nkurunziza, has issued a decree banning the use of plastic bags in the small central African country within the next 18 months.

New Caledonia agreed Tuesday to tougher protections around a huge swathe of some of the world's last near-pristine coral reefs, in a move conservationists hailed as a major breakthrough.

Tech magnate Elon Musk's SpaceX vowed Monday to send its first astronauts into orbit on schedule next year -- part of a drive to restore America's dominance of the space race.

Scientists on Monday unveiled a previously unknown species of giant pterosaur, the first creatures with a backbone to fly under their own power.

France plans to introduce a penalty system next year that would increase the costs of consumer goods with packaging made of non-recycled plastic, part of a pledge to use only recycled plastic nationwide by 2025, an environment ministry official said Sunday.

France plans to introduce a penalty system next year that would increase the costs of consumer goods with packaging made of non-recycled plastic, part of a pledge to use only recycled plastic nationwide by 2025, an environment ministry official said Sunday.

NASA on Sunday blasted off its first-ever spaceship to explore the Sun, the $1.5 billion Parker Solar Probe, on a strategic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.

The leaders of the five states bordering the resource-rich Caspian Sea signed a landmark deal Sunday on the legal status of the inland sea which boasts a wealth of oil and gas reserves and sturgeon.

After his wheat crop failed and wells dried up, Ghulam Abbas sold his animals and joined thousands of other farmers migrating to cities as Afghanistan's worst drought in living memory ravages the war-torn country.