Million-plus pilgrims to begin hajj under blazing sun
More than a million worshippers were set to join Islam's most important rite under a beating sun as the hajj pilgrimage kicked off Wednesday, with authorities scrambling to avoid last year's 1,000-plus deaths in sweltering heat.
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Vietnam scraps two-child limit as birth rate declines
Vietnam's communist government has scrapped its long-standing policy of limiting families to two children, state media said Wednesday, as the country battles to reverse a declining birth rate.
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Three Salvadoran ex-military convicted of wartime killings of Dutch reporters
A former defense minister in El Salvador and two retired colonels were found guilty Tuesday of the 1982 killings of four Dutch journalists during the country's civil war, a lawyer for families of the deceased said.
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Coral frozen in time throws lifeline for Great Barrier Reef
Rows of tanks filled with liquid nitrogen sit in temperature-controlled chambers at Sydney's Taronga zoo, cradling parts of the Great Barrier Reef's diverse and magnificent corals frozen in time.
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Spain target 'enormously important' Nations League defence
Spain are aiming to become the first side to defend the Nations League trophy, with Luis de la Fuente's side going from strength to strength on the international stage ahead of next year's World Cup.
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Djokovic and Sinner chase French Open semis as underdogs look for upsets
Big guns Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic both chase semi-final berths at the French Open on Wednesday, but the spotlight will be on home hope Lois Boisson in the women's tournament.
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Israel army says shelling Syria after projectiles launched
The Israeli military said it was shelling targets in Syria on Tuesday in response to a pair of projectile launches, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying he held Syria's leader "directly responsible".
Read moreSouth Korea's President Lee takes power after sweeping election win
South Korea's centre-left Lee Jae-myung was declared president Wednesday after winning a snap election, taking the helm of a nation deeply divided after his predecessor's disastrous attempt to declare martial law.
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'The sea rejuvenates you': Cuban seniors defy aging by diving in
It's never too late to make a splash, as Orestes Quintana, one of the doyens of the Juventud Acumulada (Forever Young) swimming club in Cuba's capital Havana discovered.
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'Impossible dream' of death row inmate and Catalan jazz artist collab
A US prisoner on death row and a Catalan jazz star who formed an unusual musical collaboration have released a second album together that rallies against capital punishment.
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