EU leaders offer short delay for Brexit

European Union leaders gathered again on Friday after deciding that the political crisis in the United Kingdom over Brexit poses too great a threat to the world's biggest trading bloc, The Associated Press reported.

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Khamenei calls for economic initiatives

Iran needs to deepen its reforms to improve its economy and overcome the difficulties caused by the US sanctions, according to an expert, as the country's top leader delivered a speech marking the end of a year of economic crisis fueled by the renewed sanctions.

Rare fish washed ashore in Australia

SYDNEY - A boulder-sized fish of a kind known to "sink yachts" has washed up on an Australian beach.

Convenience stores pressed to end 24/7 model

TOKYO - Japan's 24-hour convenience stores are struggling to stay open around the clock as an industry that has continually expanded now finds itself at the sharp end of a labor shortage.

Swiss Alps postcards urge move for climate

JUNGFRAUJOCH, Switzerland - Nearly 900 postcards from youths all over the world were stamped and mailed on Wednesday from Europe's highest mailbox on the Jungfraujoch peak, Switzerland, to global leaders, calling for action against climate change.

Motorcycle sidecars thriving in Cuba

HAVANA - Cuba's love affair with 1950s-era cars from the United States is still intact, but the island nation also has a lingering attachment to a workhorse of Soviet leftovers, the motorcycle sidecar.

Xi offers condolences over disasters

President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent messages of condolence respectively to Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Malawian President Peter Mutharika over the recent tropical cyclone disasters.

Chinese Kiwis mourn mosque victims

New Zealand's Chinese community may be small, about 4 percent of the total population of around 4.7 million, but it punches well above its weight when it comes to generosity.

New Zealand bans 'military-style' guns after attacks

New Zealand imposed an immediate ban on assault weapons on Thursday, taking swift action in response to the Christchurch massacres and prompting renewed calls from leading politicians for curbs in the United States, the Agence France-Presse reported.

Flood costs will top $1B as US Midwest still at risk

The US heartland, already coping with record floodwaters, may have to wait until next week for some relief.

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