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Six men prod and poke at dense undergrowth in eastern Myanmar with rakes and hoes -- not farmers, but a rebel unit clearing deadly landmines from the war raging between the junta and pro-democracy fighters.

The race for the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion was set to move into higher gear Thursday with a hotly tipped biopic about sports car supremo Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz.

Banking giant UBS said Thursday it would fully absorb the Swiss unit of its recently-swallowed rival Credit Suisse into its operations, without spelling out the implications for job cuts.

Hanover's cannabis club started as a fringe outfit of nine members campaigning for the right to legally light up joints. Now the group, and others like it, are flourishing and mainstream as Germany gears up to legalise marijuana.

Tech giant Baidu launched China's first public artificial intelligence chatbot on Thursday, with ERNIE trained to censor highly sensitive topics for the ruling Communist Party such as the Tiananmen crackdown.

Florida began assessing the damage Wednesday from Idalia's flooding after the powerful storm inundated coastal communities and knocked out power to thousands, as the system advanced up the southeastern US coast bringing additional rain deluges and dangerous storm surge.

New Zealand Rugby's governing body was branded "not fit for purpose" in a scathing independent report published Thursday into the country's governing body.

The shutters were down on one of Japan's best-known department stores on Thursday in the sector's first strike for six decades, sparked by fears that its mooted new US owner will slash jobs.

Chinese basketball fans were in despair on Thursday after the national team crashed out of the World Cup without winning a game, dubbing the dismal performance as "our deepest humiliation."

Scientists are sounding the alarm on human-caused climate change's impact on hurricanes such as Idalia, which rapidly intensified over a warm Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

The biggest crowd ever to watch a women's sporting event jammed the University of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium on Wednesday as 92,003 people turned out for the Huskers' victory over Omaha.

Caroline Wozniacki's fairytale return to Grand Slam tennis carried her into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as the former world number one upset 11th seed Petra Kvitova in straight sets.

President Joe Biden's administration has for the first time approved direct US military aid to Taiwan under an assistance program aimed at foreign governments, officials said Wednesday, as worries grow over China.

Japan should have been riding a wave of momentum after hosting a successful 2019 Rugby World Cup but the Covid-19 pandemic has hampered efforts to build on their success.

Italy have a huge task facing them as Kieran Crowley's talented young team try to reach the knockout stage of the Rugby World Cup for the first time.

China's biggest developer Country Garden on Thursday faces a crunch vote on extending debt repayment terms that could determine whether it defaults, plunging the country's property market deeper into turmoil.

China's factory activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August, official data showed on Thursday, as pressure mounts on Beijing to offer more policy support to bolster its sluggish economy.

China's Baidu rolled out its ChatGPT rival ERNIE Bot to the public on Thursday, in a major leap for the country's tech sector as it aims to cash in on the global artificial intelligence gold rush.

The hot Florida sunshine is broken by a gentle breeze, carrying with it salty sea air.

This week Japan marks 100 years since the Great Kanto Earthquake that killed 105,000 people. Less well known is the subsequent massacre of thousands of ethnic Koreans that haunts the community to this day.

Markets were mixed Thursday as investors struggled to maintain momentum from Wall Street's rally, even after fresh data reinforced optimism the Federal Reserve will be able to hold off any more interest rate hikes this year.

South Sudan has lurched from one crisis to another since winning independence in 2011, but the country's basketball team are determined to "change the narrative" on the world stage.

FC Cincinnati led the way into the Major League Soccer playoffs on Wednesday as the slim post-season hopes of Lionel Messi's Inter Miami took a hit with a goalless draw against Nashville.

Mexico's opposition coalition on Wednesday named Xochitl Galvez, an outspoken senator with Indigenous roots who hopes to be the country's first woman president, as its candidate for next year's election.

More than four months into Sudan's devastating war, arms dealers are struggling to keep up with demand for a trade that is booming, at a deadly cost.

Zhang Zhizhen sent fifth seed Casper Ruud crashing out of the US Open on Wednesday, creating tennis history by becoming the first man from China to beat a top-five player.

Holders Manchester City and the cream of European football will learn their Champions League fate for this season when the draw for the group stage takes place in Monaco on Thursday from 1600 GMT.

Russia on Wednesday vetoed an attempt to keep inside military-run Mali a team of UN experts who had charged that foreign forces -- a veiled reference to Moscow-linked Wagner mercenaries -- were involved in widespread abuses.

Leaders of the coup in Gabon on Wednesday named a general transitional president after seizing power on Wednesday following disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled for 55 years, had been declared winner.

Eddie Jones has ripped up the script to try and reinvigorate Australia at the Rugby World Cup, gambling on a raw and untested squad after a series of crushing defeats saw them all but written off as contenders.

Max Verstappen is on the cusp of another new record as he prepares for the Italian Grand Prix and another step towards a near-inevitable third consecutive Formula One world title.

Romelu Lukaku was treated to the sort of fanfare more commonly reserved for rock stars when he touched down in Rome this week, hailed as Roma's saviour ahead of their clash with rejuvenated AC Milan on Friday.