Chess is a game for the masses

Ana Paula is four years old, is learning her numbers and still doesn't know how to read.

An 'extra-super' moon is to rise on Monday

An unusually large and bright moon will adorn the night sky on Monday - the closest "supermoon" to Earth in 68 years and a chance for dramatic photos and spectacular surf.

One year after Paris attacks, how has the country changed?

Outside the Carillon bar, where flowers piled up over bloodstains almost one year ago, the pavement tables are packed again with regulars from the hipster Parisian neighborhood.

The show goes on for Bataclan venue

The directors of the Bataclan concert hall thought long and hard about ever opening its doors again after jihadist gunmen massacred 90 people there during last year's Paris attacks.

Banks reopen to long lines for new notes

Long lines formed outside banks in India on Thursday as they reopened for the first time since the government's shock decision to withdraw the two largest denomination notes from circulation.

Fears for fruit harvest over 'backpacker tax'

The Australian government and national farmers' body have called on opposition groups to support the new, reduced 'backpacker tax', saying farmers desperately needed help in picking their summer fruit harvest.

Torn lab suit used in Ebola experiment faces examination

The Canadian government will review the use of a suit designed to shield laboratory workers from dangers such as the Ebola virus after an employee found a tear following an experiment, the lab's director said on Wednesday.

Coalition strike 'kills 20 civilians' near Raqa

US-backed forces pressed offensives on the Islamic State group's strongholds in Syria and Iraq, as an airstrike by the US-led coalition reportedly killed 20 civilians near the Syrian city of Raqa.

UN: Mosul marks beginning of caliphate's end

The operation to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul marks the beginning of the end of the Islamic State group's so-called caliphate in Iraq, the UN envoy to the country told the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.

Seven killed as London tram comes off the rails

At least seven people were killed and more than 50 injured on Wednesday when a London tram came off the tracks and tipped over.

First Chinese imperial firearm sells for $2.5m

The first Chinese firearm with an imperial reign mark ever to be offered at auction sold for $2.5 million, the auction house Sotheby's London said on Wednesday.

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