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For villages on the northern edge of Sri Lanka's capital, floods are a familiar ordeal -- but even the hardiest residents were stunned when the Kelani river surged this week.

Asian and European equities were mixed Monday with investors awaiting the release of key US data that could play a role in Federal Reserve deliberations ahead of an expected interest rate cut next week.

Pope Leo XIV will urge peace and unity on his second day in Lebanon on Monday, offering a message of hope to young people whose faith in their crisis-hit country has dwindled.

South Korean prosecutors indicted the mayor of Seoul on Monday for allegedly violating political funding laws.

The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,000 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors.

A Hong Kong student who was reportedly detained by police after handing out flyers calling for an independent probe into a deadly fire that killed 146, was seen leaving a police station on Monday.

The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder avenged their only defeat of the season on Sunday, using a fourth-quarter surge to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 123-115 and improve to 20-1.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday, seeking to shore up European support as US President Donald Trump expressed optimism of a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

A conservative candidate backed by US President Donald Trump and nicknamed "grandad" led Sunday's presidential election in Honduras, according to snap results from the electoral commission.

Australia's under-16 social media ban will make the nation a real-life laboratory on how best to tackle the technology's impact on young people, experts say.

New Zealand batting talisman Kane Williamson returns to the Test arena for the first time in a year to bolster the hosts' line-up in the first Test against the West Indies in Christchurch, which begins Tuesday.

The leader of one of South Korea's largest cult-like churches stood trial on Monday accused of bribing the country's former first lady with gifts including a designer handbag and a diamond necklace.

The three-way F1 title fight will go down to the last race of the season after Max Verstappen took full advantage of a McLaren blunder to win the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.

The usually sleepy Laotian capital Vientiane has an uncharacteristic buzz, bedecked with flags and T-shirt vendors ahead of commemorations of 50 years of communist rule Tuesday, but for many young people history carries little weight.

New Zealand batting talisman Kane Williamson returns to the Test arena for the first time in a year to bolster the hosts' line-up in the first Test against the West Indies in Christchurch, which begins Tuesday.

Australia will soon ban under-16s from the likes of Facebook and TikTok, a world-first move of huge interest to all those worried about the harms of social media.

Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel on Monday to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed nearly 1,000 people across four countries in Asia in recent days.

Mia Bannister's skin is inked with a eulogy to her teenage son Ollie, whose suicide after a battle with anorexia and online bullying pushed her to fight for world-first laws in Australia to get children off social media.

The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder avenged their only defeat of the season on Sunday, using a fourth-quarter surge to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 123-115 and improve to 20-1.

Asian equities were mixed Monday with investors awaiting the release of key US data that could play a role in Federal Reserve deliberations ahead of an expected interest rate cut next week.

Sobs could be heard across Hong Kong's Victoria Park at the weekend as hundreds of migrant workers mourned victims of Hong Kong's worst fire in more than a century and prayed for missing friends.

Some 600 experts gather outside Paris on Monday to start work on the next major UN climate report, as the international consensus on global warming is challenged by climate change-sceptic US President Donald Trump.

World champions Spain were barely recognisable in the first leg of the women's Nations League final as they escaped from Germany with a goalless draw.

Pope Leo XIV is set to urge peace and unity on his second day in Lebanon on Monday, bringing a message of hope to young people whose faith in their crisis-hit country has dwindled.

Several thousand people rallied in Croatia's capital on Sunday in an anti-fascist march protesting against the rise of World War II revisionism and far-right views in the country.

US President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday he had recently spoken with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro amid soaring tensions between the two countries, while Caracas slammed what it called US preparations for an attack.

Bryce Young threw three touchdowns as the Carolina Panthers upset the in-form Los Angeles Rams 31-28 on Sunday as the NFL playoff race tightened.

Sales by the world's top 100 arms makers reached a record $679 billion last year, as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza boosted demand, researchers said Monday, but production issues hampered deliveries.

Polls closed Sunday in Honduras' knife-edge presidential election, after a campaign dominated by US President Donald Trump's threat to cut aid if a conservative candidate loses.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday there was a "good chance" of a deal to end the war in Ukraine after the latest US negotiations with Kyiv, as his envoy prepares to travel to Russia for follow-up talks.

Real Madrid were held to a third consecutive La Liga draw in a 1-1 tie at Girona on Sunday, allowing Barcelona to retain pole position.

Pau moved back up to second in the Top 14 with a 53-33 win over La Rochelle on Sunday after the visitors lost fly-half Antoine Hastoy to the fastest ever red card in the competition.

Real Madrid were held to a third consecutive La Liga draw in a 1-1 tie at Girona on Sunday, allowing Barcelona to retain pole position.

Napoli joined AC Milan at the top of Serie A on Sunday after winning 1-0 at title rivals Roma, as Inter Milan kept pace with the leading pair by beating Pisa 2-0.

American star Mikaela Shiffrin maintained her unbeaten start to the slalom season on Sunday with a dominant victory at the alpine skiing World Cup meeting in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

Disney's feel-good animated sequel "Zootopia 2" ruled the Thanksgiving box office in North America, taking in $156 million over the five-day holiday weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

Mikel Arteta insisted Arsenal deserved respect after the Premier League leaders battled to a bruising 1-1 draw with title rivals Chelsea at the end of a gruelling week.

Swedish pole vault star Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis and US track sensation Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone were named athletes of the year by World Athletics in Monaco on Sunday.

The United States and Ukraine on Sunday hailed "productive" talks on Washington's plan to halt Russia's war with its neighbor, but both sides also cautioned that the high-stakes negotiations were far from over.