Opera moves to broaden appeal

NEW YORK - Opera has been popping up recently at the most unlikely New York places: a revamped garage, a dive bar, a basketball court and even an old aircraft carrier.

Qatar's neighbors issue list of punitive demands

DUBAI - Four Arab states boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism have sent Doha a list of 13 demands, including closing Al-Jazeera television and reducing ties to Iran, an official of one of the four countries said.

Trump admits there are no Comey tapes

WASHINGTON - Ending a lengthy guessing game that he started with a cryptic tweet and that ensnared his administration in yet more controversy, US President Donald Trump on Thursday declared he never made and doesn't have recordings of his private conversations with ousted former FBI director James Comey.

Two EU agencies to leave London

BRUSSELS - European Union leaders will decide this fall where to move EU banking and medical agencies that they are pulling out of London due to Brexit, using a voting system some liken to the Eurovision song contest.

'Female Rasputin' jailed for three years

SEOUL - The friend of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye, who was at the center of an influence-peddling scandal that rocked the country's business and political elite, has been sentenced to three years in jail, Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday.

IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Grape haul of China on the rise

BORDEAUX, France - With a middle-class increasingly thirsty for reds, whites and Italian bubbly, China is the hot ticket for wine traders looking for opportunities at this year's Vinexpo industry extravaganza.

'Superhero' 3D printed hands help kids dream

BUENOS AIRES - Being born without fingers can be tough for any child. Getting new ones - especially red and blue superhero themed digits - has made 8-year-old Kaori Misue a vibrant playground star.

NY man marches into record book with lawnmower on chin

NEW YORK - Pushing a running electric lawnmower for 71 meters is not a difficult thing to do, but try doing that distance not pushing it, but balancing it on your chin.

Drunken drivers' details replace stories on front page of weekly

WELLINGTON - A newspaper in a busy New Zealand resort town has decided to take a stand against drunken driving by filling its front page with the names, ages and alcohol readings for about 100 people convicted of the offense this year.

Abused children find little shelter as Japan lags behind

TOKYO - Every year, more than 20,000 abused, delinquent, developmentally challenged or otherwise troubled Japanese children needing emergency housing pass through a system of shelters.

Berlin Zoo says Chinese pandas will 'feel at home'

BERLIN - Berlin Zoo is building a "paradise" for two pandas due to arrive on Saturday from China to make them "feel at home," the zoo's director said on Wednesday.