China's trade surplus with the United States ballooned to a new record $31 billion in August despite a raft of US tariffs, official data showed Saturday, adding fuel to the flames of a searing trade war.

Thai fishermen and labourers whose livelihoods are threatened by rising sea levels kicked off an international day of protests in Bangkok Saturday, where key UN talks are attempting to breathe life into the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Iraqi protesters on Friday torched the Iranian consulate in the southern city of Basra in fresh demonstrations over poor public services after parliament called for an emergency session on the unrest.

Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma plans to retire from the Chinese e-commerce giant on Monday to devote his time to philanthropy focused on education, he told the New York Times in an interview.

As facial recognition technology use generates intense scrutiny, a new system unveiled at Washington's Dulles airport is being touted as a "user friendly" way to help ease congestion for air travelers.

A former advisor to US President Donald Trump whose contacts with Russians set off the investigation into possible collusion with Moscow was jailed Friday for lying to the FBI.

Tiger Woods praised fellow comeback star Serena Williams for her US Open finals run on Friday while also lauding a new commercial for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Juan Martin del Potro reached the US Open final on Friday after defending champion and world number one Rafael Nadal quit their last-four clash with a knee injury.

Canada's armed forces issued orders Friday strictly limiting cannabis use among service members, just a month before the country legalizes the drug.

Alibaba co-founder and chief Jack Ma announced he will leave from the Chinese e-commerce giant Monday to devote his time to philanthropy focused on education.

President Donald Trump threatened Friday to slap tariffs on all of the Chinese goods imported into the United States, ramping up the already tense trade relations with Beijing amid ongoing talks with Canada and the EU.

Donald Trump on Friday urged his attorney general to investigate the anonymous author of a damning op-ed, escalating his long-running battles with the media and highlighting his suspicions that people are seeking to overthrow his presidency.

Barack Obama assailed US Republicans Friday for failing to keep President Donald Trump in check, in a forceful return to the political fray aimed at firing up Democratic voters ahead of key elections.

Shares of Tesla Motors tumbled Friday as investors were rattled by the departures of two executives and a late-night interview in which chief executive Elon Musk was seen smoking marijuana.

US President Donald Trump said Friday he was expecting a "positive" new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, indicating that negotiations on denuclearizing the peninsula remain alive after weeks of apparent deadlock.

Right-wing Brazilian election front-runner Jair Bolsonaro looks set to make a dramatic rise from the emergency room to the presidency, family and analysts predicted on Friday, a day after he was stabbed while campaigning.

President Donald Trump threatened Friday to slap tariffs on all of the Chinese goods imported into the United States, ramping up the already tense trade relations with Beijing.

American workers saw the biggest bump in pay in nearly a decade last month amid a surprise late-summer hiring spree that offered no sign jobs markets could be cooling, the government reported Friday.

Myanmar on Friday "resolutely" rejected a ruling by the International Criminal Court empowering the tribunal to probe alleged crimes against the Rohingya even though the Southeast Asian nation is not a member of it.

Iran, Russia and Turkey were unable to overcome their differences at a Tehran summit on Friday as they held talks on an imminent offensive against the last rebel stronghold in Syria, amid warnings from the international community of a looming humanitarian disaster.

British Airways will financially compensate customers whose bank card data were stolen in a "sophisticated" and "malicious" hack, chief executive Alex Cruz said Friday as he apologised for the fiasco.

Alastair Cook held firm in his last Test to guide England to 68 for one at lunch on the first day of their series finale against India at The Oval on Friday.

Brazil's right-wing presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro was transferred Friday to a hospital in Sao Paulo, a day after being stabbed while campaigning, a hospital official said.

An American-Colombian billionaire may soon be one of the world's most popular dinner hosts.

Donald Trump on Friday slammed investigative journalist Bob Woodward's damning portrayal of the inner workings of the US president's administration as a "scam," alleging that it includes made-up quotes.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with top Afghan leaders during an unannounced visit to Kabul on Friday, adding his weight to a flurry of diplomatic efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

No animal fur will be used on the catwalk at London Fashion Week, which starts next Thursday, following a survey of the attitudes of leading designers, the British Fashion Council (BFC) said Friday.

For most of his life Yen Wei-shun was on the wrong side of the law, but the former Taiwan gangster says he is making up for lost time by churning out noodles for the needy.

On a seaside podium in Lebanon, Halim el-Achkar locks hands with an opponent, exerting pressure until he slams both contestants' forearms down with a fearsome growl, to win the bout.

Kate Spade put the sparkle into New York Fashion Week on Friday, paying tribute in a riot of color to the handbag brand's founder, three months after her tragic death.

As facial recognition technology use generates intense scrutiny, a new system unveiled at Washington's Dulles airport is being touted as a "user friendly" way to help ease congestion for air travelers.

Canada's armed forces issued orders Friday strictly limiting cannabis use among service members, just a month before the country legalizes the drug.

Kate Spade put the sparkle into New York Fashion Week on Friday, paying tribute in a riot of color to the handbag brand's founder, three months after her tragic death.

Automation is killing us, warns filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin in his new documentary "The Truth About Killer Robots," which premieres Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point on Friday said a surveillance operation had targeted the smartphones of several hundred Iranian citizens via malware implanted in their handsets, indicating Tehran was responsible.

Employees of a McDonald's in a deprived neighbourhood of Marseille, southern France, erupted in joy Friday after a court blocked the restaurant's sale.

An American-Colombian billionaire may soon be one of the world's most popular dinner hosts.

No animal fur will be used on the catwalk at London Fashion Week, which starts next Thursday, following a survey of the attitudes of leading designers, the British Fashion Council (BFC) said Friday.

One of the last Indian activists facing action under an anti-gay colonial-era law killed off by a landmark Supreme Court ruling expressed hope Friday that he would escape punishment in a new age of liberalisation.

A senior Singapore diplomat Friday urged the country's gay community to challenge a law banning homosexual sex after India's top court stuck down similar legislation, a rare high-level intervention on the issue.

Indian media on Friday -- including some conservative outlets -- hailed a Supreme Court ruling to decriminalise gay sex whilst highlighting a "deafening" silence from Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, ding rings out from a home in India's Mumbai where Chandrakant Bhide is creating his latest artwork -- on a typewriter.

Years waiting on death row, inmates told their fate just hours before their execution, and guards paid $180 to do an "unbearable" job –- Japan's capital punishment system is criticised as cruel and secretive yet remains popular.

The use of the death penalty is declining: more than two-thirds of countries have abolished or ceased to use it and executions continued to decrease in 2017, Amnesty International says.

Laid-back Uruguay has long been synonymous with herb-infused mate tea, and more recently became the world's first country to legalize cannabis -- so now manufacturers are bowing to the inevitable and putting the two together.

Music throbs from a bar set up on a patch of scrubland and artists toil in what was once a tyre factory. This is the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, but not as the locals know it.

A black woman who presents the weather forecast on a Belgium public broadcaster posted an emotional video Thursday which quickly went viral calling out the torrent of racist abuse she has received since appearing on television.

Two of France's biggest rap stars were both responsible for a brawl between their entourages that forced a partial shutdown of a Paris airport, each driven both by a fear of losing face, a French court heard on Thursday.

Once worn by global celebrities ranging from Sofia Loren to Naomi Campbell, hundreds of priceless emerald, diamond and pearl pieces of jewelry go on show at the Kremlin starting Friday.

A Barcelona company sparked outrage in Spain on Thursday with a plan to rent tiny pods where low income workers would live side-by-side like bees in a hive for as little as 200 euros ($232) a month

Danish brewer Carlsberg said Thursday it was ditching the plastic rings that hold together its six-packs, launching a glued "Snap Pack" aimed at cutting waste and emissions.

India's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a ban on gay sex sparking emotional and joyous celebrations among activists after a decades-long campaign against a colonial-era law used to clamp down on homosexual rights.

Barcelona's hotel sector posted a 14 percent drop in turnover during the key holiday months of July and August compared to the same time last year due to the volatile political situation in Catalonia over its independence drive, the city's main hotel association said Thursday.

For anyone terrified of an albino python, an orange corn snake or a scaly, bearded iguana, Chea Raty says getting up close and personal at Phnom Penh's first reptile-themed cafe is the only remedy.

US Open at a glance -- day 12

Novak Djokovic hailed Juan Martin del Potro as a "gentle giant" but he'll have no hesitation in attempting to cut his close friend down to size in Sunday's US Open final.

Kei Nishikori stumbled into a buzzsaw in the shape of Novak Djokovic on Friday, but the Japanese star leaves the US Open pleased with a semi-final run one year after missing the tournament through injury.

Kei Nishikori couldn't make it two Japanese players in the US Open finals, but he backed compatriot Naomi Osaka to give Serena Williams a run for her money in the women's championship match.

Roberto Mancini believes that only confidence is needed to turn a mediocre Italy into a world class team again after Jorginho rescued a point for the new-look Azzurri in a 1-1 draw against Poland in their Nations League A Group 3 opener on Friday.

Juan Martin del Potro's return to the US Open final is a celebration of friendship that saw the 2009 champion through his darkest days of injury and doubt.

Juan Martin del Potro set up a US Open final clash against Novak Djokovic on Friday after defending champion and world number one Rafael Nadal quit his last-four clash against the giant Argentine with a knee injury.

Australia's star fullback, Israel Folau, was pulled from the lineup for Saturday's Test against South Africa due to a nagging ankle injury, the Wallabies announced.

Tiger Woods praised fellow comeback star Serena Williams for her US Open finals run on Friday while also lauding a new commercial for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Juan Martin del Potro reached the US Open final on Friday after defending champion and world number one Rafael Nadal quit their last-four clash with a knee injury.

Devastated Rafael Nadal vowed the knee injury that forced him out of the US Open semi-finals on Friday won't stop him chasing more Grand Slam glory.

Two-time Olympic taekwondo champion Steven Lopez has been handed a life ban by the US Center for SafeSport following an allegation of sexual misconduct, it was confirmed on Friday.

Roberto Mancini's first competitive game as Italy coach ended in a 1-1 Nations League draw with Poland, midfielder Jorginho saving Azzurri blushes with a second-half penalty to level Piotr Zielinski's first-half opener in Bologna on Friday.

World Cup semi-finalists Belgium capitalised on a series of Scotland mistakes with goals from Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and a Michy Batshuayi double to thrash the hosts 4-0 in a friendly at Hampden on Friday.

Artem Dzyuba hit a second-half winner as World Cup quarter-finalists Russia opened their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 away win over Turkey on Friday.

Former Bundesliga and US national team midfielder Jermaine Jones announced his retirement on Friday, calling time on an 18-year career.

Japan's Hideto Tanihara holds a two-shot lead at the midway stage of the European Masters after a bogey-free second round 66 at Crans-sur-Sierre on Friday.

Serena Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian celebrated her return to the US Open final with a touching Twitter tribute interspersing video of her on-court exploits and the first days of their daughter Olympia a year ago.

Moeen Ali said England's batsmen need to "change our mentality" after yet another collapse against India but remains positive about the future despite the impending retirement of opening linchpin Alastair Cook.

Women's final on Saturday, the 13th day of the US Open (x denotes seeding):

Atlanta Falcons starting defensive back Keanu Neal will miss the remainder of the NFL season after injuring his right knee in Thursday's season-opening loss at Philadelphia, the team announced Friday.

Serena Williams takes on Naomi Osaka on Saturday in search of a record seventh US Open title. AFP Sport looks back at Williams's six prior Flushing Meadows victories:

New Spain coach Luis Enrique wants his side to evolve from the style that brought La Roja great success in the past decade before growing stale in recent years.

The National Football League's season-opening clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons saw a sharp dip in ratings, figures showed Friday, as President Donald Trump renewed criticism of the league.

Sweden's Olle Dahlin was on Friday elected president of biathlon's ruling body the IBU which has been battered by a damaging doping and corruption scandal.

Alastair Cook marked his final Test appearance with a fifty before India's Jasprit Bumrah sparked an England collapse at the Oval on Friday.

Xander Schauffele boosted his chances of securing the final berth on the US Ryder Cup team, firing a six-under par 64 Friday to seize a two-stroke lead after the second round of the PGA BMW Championship.

Rapper Mac Miller, who found fame early with his raucous, retro hip-hop but struggled with substance abuse and a painfully public breakup with pop star Ariana Grande, died Friday, officials said. He was 26.

Jack Ma was a cash-strapped Chinese entrepreneur and former English teacher when he convinced friends to give him $60,000 to start a Chinese e-commerce firm called Alibaba in 1999.

Kate Spade put the sparkle into New York Fashion Week on Friday, paying tribute in a riot of color to the handbag brand's founder, three months after her tragic death.

Automation is killing us, warns filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin in his new documentary "The Truth About Killer Robots," which premieres Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Filmmaker Michael Moore calls on Americans to take back their democracy in his new documentary "Fahrenheit 11/9" exploring Donald Trump's ascension to the most powerful job in the world.

Actor Vince Vaughn faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test, officials said Friday.

Weeks after Aretha Franklin's death, an auction house on Friday announced the sale of more than 30 dresses worn by the Queen of Soul.

The National Football League's season-opening clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons saw a sharp dip in ratings, figures showed Friday, as President Donald Trump renewed criticism of the league.

A Spanish parishioner has painted three 15th century sculptures in garish colours, giving Jesus a bright green robe in the latest botched amateur art restoration to make headlines in the country.

A hilarious black comedy about a botched coup in Turkey won a major prize at the Venice film festival Friday.

Eminem overtook ABBA and Led Zeppelin on Friday to claim the record for the most consecutive chart-topping albums in Britain, with the release of "Kamikaze".

Cult Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto said Friday that his new film about a pacifist samurai who refuses to kill is "a scream" at the current state of the world.

Italy's far-right anti-immigration Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has managed to dominate almost the entire first 100 days of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government, which are marked on Saturday.

Shuffling down the street sporting shorts, jacket and straw hat, 82-year-old Iwao Hakamada could be mistaken for any Japanese octogenarian going about his daily chores.

The Venice film festival -- which ends Saturday -- is overflowing with movies with female storylines and meaty parts for women.

An American-Colombian billionaire may soon be one of the world's most popular dinner hosts.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk sipped whiskey and puffed a little weed while musing at length about artificial intelligence, colonizing space, and the need to give love a chance.

Britain's former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who is tipped as a future prime minister, revealed Friday that he has separated from his wife and the couple are getting a divorce.

The Toronto International Film Festival launched on Thursday with a Netflix production -- the first time any major movie showcase has opened on a release not intended for theaters.

Two of France's biggest rap stars were both responsible for a brawl between their entourages that forced a partial shutdown of a Paris airport, each driven both by a fear of losing face, a French court heard on Thursday.

Burt Reynolds, the mustachioed heart-throb of 1970s cinema who won acclaim in "Deliverance" and a host of awards later in his career for "Boogie Nights," died on Thursday, his family announced.

Twitter on Thursday announced it had banned far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from its platform as well as the account of Infowars, the website he operates.

Pop punk heroine Avril Lavigne on Thursday announced her first song in five years as she revealed that was so ill with Lyme disease that she feared death.

Rapper Drake pulled out of the Toronto film festival at the last minute on Thursday, citing a scheduling conflict on his current music tour.

Burt Reynolds, the mustachioed heart-throb of 1970s cinema who won acclaim in "Deliverance" and a host of awards later in his career for "Boogie Nights," died on Thursday, his publicist announced.

Hozier on Thursday released his first new music in four years, a stirring tribute to the activism of Nina Simone and other singing greats.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Thursday it was shelving plans for a "popular film" Oscar award that had been ridiculed by critics as a desperate bid to boost viewership and honor moneymaking movies.

Thai fishermen and labourers whose livelihoods are threatened by rising sea levels kicked off an international day of protests in Bangkok Saturday, where key UN talks are attempting to breathe life into the Paris Agreement on climate change.

An appeals court in The Hague has cancelled $9.5 billion in damages handed down by an Ecuadoran court against American energy giant Chevron for causing oil pollution in the Amazon jungle, Quito said Friday.

A new wildfire was raging in northern California on Friday, having already devastated almost 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) in just two days and continuing to spread.

An appeals court in The Hague cancelled $9.5 billion in damages handed down by an Ecuadoran court against American energy giant Chevron for causing oil pollution in the Amazon jungle, Ecuador's public prosecutor said Friday.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk sipped whiskey and puffed a little weed while musing at length about artificial intelligence, colonizing space, and the need to give love a chance.

Island nations like Fiji and the Maldives are almost at the "point of no return" because of rising sea levels, a leading climate negotiator warned Friday.

Record typhoons, biblical floods, heatwaves, landslides and earthquakes: this summer, Japan really has seen it all and images of the destruction caused have been beamed around the world.

Three years after the "dieselgate" scandal shook it to its foundations, Volkswagen next week faces a first major court case in Germany over cheating emissions tests on millions of vehicles worldwide.

Music throbs from a bar set up on a patch of scrubland and artists toil in what was once a tyre factory. This is the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, but not as the locals know it.

Installing massive wind and solar farms in the Saharan desert could slow global warming, and also give a small but beneficial boost to rain in the dry African region, researchers said Thursday.

A major 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Fiji coast early Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, but no tsunami threat was issued.

Danish brewer Carlsberg said Thursday it was ditching the plastic rings that hold together its six-packs, launching a glued "Snap Pack" aimed at cutting waste and emissions.

Unpredictable weather patterns and the spread of crop-destroying fall armyworm caterpillars could lead to "no food at all" for communities across Africa, experts have warned.

With a wave runup of nearly 200 metres, the tsunami that ripped through an Alaskan fjord in 2015 was one of the largest ever documented. But with no-one killed, it almost went unnoticed.

One year after devastating Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean, the holiday islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barts are still counting the costs of one of the most powerful storms in history.

On a blazing hot Tokyo summer day, children squeal with delight as they splash about on a sandy beach, with the skyline of the world's biggest city shimmering behind them.

British luxury fashion group Burberry has stopped burning unsold products and will no longer use real fur and angora in its clothes, chief executive Marco Gobbetti said Thursday.

Norwegian metals group Norsk Hydro said Thursday it has reached agreement with the Brazilian authorities following a dispute over the discharge of untreated water from its aluminium factory Alunorte, the largest in the world.

A powerful 6.6 magnitude quake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido early Thursday, triggering landslides, bringing down several houses, and killing one person.

British and French fishermen reached an agreement on Wednesday in the so-called Scallop Wars over fishing in the Channel, following clashes at sea between rival boats.

In a world first, researchers have transformed tissue cells into skin cells to help heal serious wounds, a technique that could revolutionise care for victims of burns and other severe injuries.

Investors offered a tepid response to German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer as it reported higher revenues but lower profits for the second quarter Wednesday, in its first financial statement since its mammoth takeover of US-based Monsanto.

The bonnethead shark, a small member of the hammerhead family, was long thought to be a strict carnivore that would occasionally ingest greens purely by accident.

Companies should be doing more to protect the world's oceans, including combatting plastic waste pollution, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest, said on Wednesday.

They may be small and striking, but shrikes are songbirds known for viciously impaling their victims with a razor-sharp bill although experts have long wondered about their ability to subdue much larger prey.

A deal to end clashes between British and French fishermen over access to scallops off the Normandy coast would be "the right outcome" when negotiators meet Wednesday, British Fisheries Minister George Eustice said before the talks.

Ambitious action on climate change could contribute an extra $26 trillion to the world economy by 2030, international experts said on Wednesday, urging nations and businesses to step up their engagement.