AlphaGo upgrade proving 'even smarter'

PARIS - The computer that stunned humanity by beating the best mortal players at a strategy board game requiring "intuition" has become even smarter, its makers said on Wednesday.

Arab tradition glitters in Colombia

SANTA CRUZ DE MOMPOX, Colombia - With strong yet delicate hands, Daniel Alfonso Garrido masterfully manipulates fragile threads of gold to craft fine jewelry, perpetuating an ancient Arabic art handed down by generations of Colombian goldsmiths.

'Co-living' project takes on London crisis

LONDON - The 10-story building may look like a hotel, but it is thought to be the world's biggest large-scale house-share, offering modest rooms and upscale services for hundreds of young adults caught in London's housing crisis.

Crowdfunding bid to save endangered parrot

CANBERRA - As part of a new effort to help save the critically-endangered swift parrot from extinction on the island state of Tasmania, Australian researchers have turned to crowdfunding to help bankroll a new and potentially lifesaving piece of technology.

Scholar impressed by China's progress

KUALA LUMPUR - A three-episode documentary by the Discovery Channel on the changes China has undergone under President Xi Jinping and aired ahead of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has impressed viewers abroad with the technological progress it depicts.

'Few chances' for New Delhi to avoid another 'airpocalypse'

SONIPAT, India - As Hindus across India celebrate Diwali this week, scientists fear a ban on firecrackers and other emergency antipollution measures deployed by authorities may not be enough to prevent a repeat of last year's "airpocalypse" in New Delhi.

43 Afghan soldiers killed in Taliban assault

KABUL - The Afghan Taliban stormed a military base in the south of the country on Thursday, killing at least 43 soldiers, the Defense Ministry said, with the militants saying they had killed 60.

World's deepest lake in peril, scientists warn

MOSCOW - Lake Baikal is undergoing its gravest crisis in recent history, experts said, as the government bans the catching of a signature fish that has lived in the world's deepest lake for centuries but is now under threat.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Doctor dreams of acupuncture link

Amid the flurry of changes anticipated in 2018 in the wake of this week's 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a doctor in India is hoping that a decades-old collaboration between the countries will not be forgotten.

Louis XIV, Napoleon diamond on sale

GENEVA - A large, pink diamond once set in the crowns of numerous French kings and emperors will go under the hammer in Geneva next month, the Christie's auction house said on Wednesday.

Weinstein resigns from board as accounts of assault snowball

LOS ANGELES - Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul accused of decades of sexual abuse and harassment, resigned from the board of his production company as Reese Witherspoon became the latest star to open up about her sexual assault experience.