Rabbits hitch a ride to escape New Zealand floodwater

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard a flock of sheep and surfing to safety on their woolly backs.

Sailor home with solo record

SYDNEY, Australia - An Australian sailor returned to her home in Queensland on Tuesday evening after becoming the first woman in history to circumnavigate Antarctica solo.

US House backs Russia sanctions

WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to slap new sanctions on Russia and force President Donald Trump to obtain lawmakers' permission before easing any sanctions on Moscow, in a rare rebuke of the Republican president.

Fires force 10,000 to flee in France

MARSEILLE, France - At least 10,000 people, including thousands of holidaymakers, were evacuated overnight after a new wildfire broke out in southern France, which was already battling massive blazes, authorities said on Wednesday.

'Decisive week' for Venezuelan elections

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that his country is in a "decisive week" for peace, ahead of elections for a National Constituent Assembly, or ANC, on Sunday.

Britain to ban sale of petrol and diesel-powered cars by 2040

LONDON - The United Kingdom will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered cars from 2040 as part of a plan to get them off the roads altogether 10 years later, environment minister Michael Gove said on Wednesday.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Israel dismantles metal detectors from key shrine

JERUSALEM, Middle East - Israel on Tuesday dismantled metal detectors it installed a week earlier at a contested Jerusalem shrine, hoping to defuse a crisis with the Muslim world, including security ally Jordan, the Muslim custodian of the holy site.

Opposition grills Abe over scandal

TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has again denied intervening to help Kake Gakuen, an educational institution whose director Kotaro Kake is a longtime friend, win approval for a veterinary school in a special economic zone in Imabari City in western Japan.

At least eight dead after boat capsizes

JAKARTA, Indonesia - At least eight people including a toddler died and two German tourists were among those rescued after a speedboat capsized off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday.

Mattis bristles at waste of $28m on uniforms

WASHINGTON - US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis scolded the Pentagon bureaucracy for "cavalier" use of taxpayer dollars, citing an episode of wasteful spending on private-label uniforms for the Afghan military that has caught the attention of Congress.

People 'cried for water' in trailer

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Adan Lara Vega said he was told the $5,500 he was being charged to be smuggled into the United States would include an air-conditioned truck ride.