An Israeli firm says it has sold US customers hundreds of its bullet-proof schoolbags, introduced in the wake of the Parkland school massacre. "We designed a bullet-proof backpack at the request of our distributors in the United States after the huge trauma caused by the...

The families of victims of Belgian paedophile murderer Marc Dutroux on Thursday bitterly dismissed a letter from his lawyer saying Belgium's most notorious convict was "ready to answer" their questions 22 years after his conviction. Dutroux was sentenced to life in prison in 2004 for...

Japan's 4x100 metres relay team added gold to their Rio silver on the last night of Asian Games athletics Thursday, as they dared to dream of a shock victory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Three of the four sprinters who earned Japan a stunning second behind Usain Bolt's Jamaica at the 2016...

The Greek-French filmmaker Costa Gavras was forced to deny rumours of his own demise on Thursday after some media were fooled by a fake ministerial Twitter account announcing he had died. Oscar-winning Gavras, who is known for his gritty political dramas, told Greek state television ERT the...

 The governor of Germany's eastern state of Saxony visited Thursday the city where anger over the suspected killing of a man by migrants sparked violent protests. Police were preparing for further demonstrations during the trip to Chemnitz by Governor Michael Kretschmer, an ally of...

The Vatican's secretary of state says Pope Francis is "serene" despite the "bitterness and concern" in the Vatican over accusations that he covered up for an American ex-cardinal accused of sexual misconduct. Cardinal Pietro Parolin says accusations from Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano created...

Emboldened by a new peace deal, civil war-torn South Sudan says it will resume oil production in a key region next month to make up for more than $4 billion of revenue lost during years of fighting. South Sudan, with Africa's third-largest oil reserves, will renew drilling in northern Unity...

A Swedish government study says there's been a recent surge in the number of automated Twitter accounts ahead of the Sept. 9 election, noting that 40 percent of them are more likely to support the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, expected to make gains. The study by Sweden's defense...

South Korean police raided German carmaker BMW's Seoul headquarters Thursday in connection with dozens of engine fires. An official at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's white collar crime unit said officers were investigating whether the company covered up vehicle defects and had...

A joint Korean women's basketball team slammed Taiwan 89-66 to reach the Asian Games final on Thursday, helped by Las Vegas razzmatazz and some good, old, northern grit. Roared on by around 100 fans waving Korean unification flags, North Korean Ro Suk Yong joint top-scored with 17...

Singapore's bid to get UN recognition for its street food has sparked a cross-border culinary clash, with angry chefs in neighbouring Malaysia pouring cold water on the idea. The city-state is home to many open-air food courts where vendors, known as "hawkers", serve dishes such as...

A Mexican television reporter was shot dead Wednesday in the resort city of Cancun, becoming the eighth journalist to be killed this year in a country notoriously dangerous for the media. Javier Enrique Rodriguez Valladares worked as a cameraman and reporter for Canal 10. The...

A deal on an overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement appears to be within reach, as Canada and the United States were set to continue negotiations Thursday aimed at getting the pact done by the end of the week. The two sides will resume their talks with a face-to-face...

Images of far-right protestors delivering Nazi salutes in Germany this week were "really shocking", the UN rights chief said Wednesday, warning against growing "amnesia" for the horrors of past European wars. A knife killing Sunday in Germany's ex-communist eastern region of Saxony,...

South Korea's Son Heung-min moved just 90 minutes away from the gold medal that would spare him military service on Wednesday as Bahrain's Edidiong Odiong completed a rare sprint double at the Asian Games. Tottenham Hotspur forward Son played a captain's role as Korea beat Vietnam 3-1...

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran for more than two years on sedition charges, was taken to the prison clinic after blacking out on Wednesday, her husband said. Richard Ratcliffe said she had suffered a series of panic attacks and Iranian authorities...

Leftwing firebrand actress Vanessa Redgrave revealed Wednesday that she is something of a royalist as she picked up a lifetime's achievement award at the Venice film festival. The British actress, who turned down a damehood in 1999 from Tony Blair's Labour government, told reporters...

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said Wednesday reaching a deal with the EU ahead of an October summit "is within our sights" but there is "leeway" to miss the deadline. Raab, who only took up his role in July, insisted 80 percent of an agreement on Britain's future relationship with the...

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that his government should be ready to "set aside" the 2015 nuclear deal if it is no longer in the country's national interests. "The JCPOA (nuclear deal) is not the objective, it is only a means," he said in a meeting with the...

The Turkish lira showed no sign of recovery as it slid further against the US dollar on Wednesday, hours after Moody's downgraded its credit ratings on 20 Turkish financial institutions. The currency has been hit by concerns over monetary policy under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but...