China stocks began 2016's final week on a bearish note, as lower commodity prices hurt raw material and energy shares. Hong Kong markets were closed on Monday for a holiday. The CSI300 index was down 0.6 percent, to 3,286.47 points, at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai...

British singer George Michael, who became one of the pop idols of the 1980s with Wham! and then forged a career as a successful solo artist with sometimes sexually provocative lyrics, died at his home in England on Sunday. He was 53. In the mid-1980s, “Wham! was one of the most successful pop...

A Frenchwoman who runs an organisation for malnourished children has been kidnapped in Mali's restive north, France's foreign ministry confirmed on Sunday, as French troops joined in the search for the aid worker. Sophie Petronin was abducted in the city of Gao on Saturday, the ministry...

 A Russian military plane heading to Syria crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday, with no sign of survivors among the 92 on board, including Red Army Choir members on their way to celebrate the New Year with troops. The Tu-154 plane went down shortly after taking off from the southern...