Morning Chronicle - News around the clock from London, Great Britain and the world

Yankees and pope-backed White Sox start MLB playoffs with wins

India's fat dog vote goes viral

Malaysia's ex-PM Mahathir in hospital for observation

Asian Games crowds in spotlight as 998 see hosts in 50,000 stadium

'No limits': Marathon world record holder Sawe chasing history

The eight stadiums for the 2027 Rugby World Cup

Countdown begins to biggest-ever Rugby World Cup

Thieves swipe drugs under nose of Fiji police, swap with flour

Bangladesh women lose ground after quota reform

South Korea demands North apologise for DMZ mine blasts

Vietnam admits 'differing opinions' on Hanoi development

In Nepal's flood zone, teachers mourn students who never returned

Stocks temper gains as oil pares heavy losses, US data in focus

US Supreme Court lifts limits on third-country deportations

WikiLeaks founder Assange returns home a free man

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned home to Australia to start life as a free man Wednesday after admitting he revealed US defence secrets in a deal that unlocked the door to his London prison cell.

'You can't kill all of us': Kenya protesters vow to march again

Kenyan protest organisers called Wednesday for fresh peaceful marches against controversial tax hikes, as the death toll from nationwide demonstrations climbed to 13, an official from the leading doctors' association told AFP.

NATO names Dutch PM Rutte as next boss

NATO's 32 nations on Wednesday appointed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the alliance's next head, handing him the job at a crucial moment with Russia on the march in Ukraine and US elections looming.

Malaysians angry over Olympic kit told to do it themselves next time

Malaysian Olympic chiefs have hit back at flak over their athletes' kit for next month's Paris Games, telling critics: Do it yourself next time.

Undisputed heavyweight world champion Usyk vacates IBF belt

Oleksandr Usyk has confirmed he will vacate his IBF title just weeks after he became undisputed world heavyweight champion.

Battles in Gaza's Rafah as US warns Israel over Lebanon

Fighting raged Wednesday between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, witnesses said, as fears grow of a wider regional war drawing in Lebanese Hamas ally Hezbollah.

Pogacar 'fairytale' inspiring new generation of Slovenian riders

At the Pogi Cup in international cycling star Tadej Pogacar's hometown in Slovenia, 14-year-old Urban Hvastija says he wants to become as good as his idol, "the best rider in the world".

Hong Kong LGBTQ couples seek love, recognition in mass wedding

When 10 Hong Kong LGBTQ couples exchanged vows at a hotel ballroom, the scene could have been mistaken for any other mass wedding -- except the officiant was 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles) away.

French tech giant Atos's top shareholder drops rescue offer

A consortium led by the top shareholder of troubled French tech giant Atos, an IT partner for the Paris Olympics and French military, has withdrawn a rescue offer for the group, the companies said on Wednesday.