Sun still shining bright

Sun Yang has always been different from China's other top swimmers, as much a maverick as a pioneer.

NHL gets tough on serial divers

Repeat offenders for diving - along with their coaches - will face increasingly steeper fines as part of a series of rule changes announced by the National Hockey League on Thursday.

Three banks warn they'll go south if Scotland quits UK

New survey gives unionists lead after earlier poll put 'yes' campaign ahead

Catalans demand independence vote

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans were expected to pack the streets of Barcelona on Thursday to demand the right to vote on a split from Spain. Their hopes have been fueled by events in Scotland, where support for independence has surged in recent weeks.

South Korea looks at 80% cigarette price hike

South Korea proposed a steep 80 percent hike in cigarette prices on Thursday to cut consumption in a nation with one of the world's highest male smoking rates.

Salamander battles threat of extinction

Dubbed the "water monster" by the Aztecs, the axolotl salamander is battling extinction in the remnants of Mexico City's ancient lake, alarming scientists, who are hoping mankind can learn from the creature's ability to regenerate organs.

Obama OKs Syria airstrikes

UK, Germany say they won't participate in military action

DPRK 'prepared' to release report on Japanese abductees

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is ready to provide Japan with the initial findings of a special investigating team that looked into the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang's agents decades ago, Kyodo news agency quoted a DPRK diplomat as saying.

Ozone layer recovering, UN science panel says

Earth's protective ozone layer is beginning to recover, largely because of the phase-out since the 1980s of certain chemicals used in refrigerants and aerosol cans, a UN scientific panel reported Wednesday in a rare piece of good news about the health of the planet.

Syrian rebels free 45 Fijian peacekeepers

Al-Qaida-linked Syrian rebels on Thursday released all 45 Fijian peacekeepers they had held captive for two weeks, the United Nations said, bringing an end to a crisis that had pulled the UN monitoring force into the chaos of Syria's civil war.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Report: US kids eat too much salt

US children are eating far too much salt, mostly from processed foods, putting them at risk of high blood pressure and heart disease later in life, federal health officials said on Tuesday.