Laurent Blanchard becomes Montreal's third mayor in eight months, after two prior leaders of the Canadian city resigned amid corruption allegations.

Congressman Edward Markey wins election to Secretary of State John Kerry's former Senate seat, defeating Republican political newcomer Gabriel Gomez.

Astronauts from China's fifth manned space mission land safely after a 15-day trip to the Tiangong-1 space laboratory.

Twenty-seven people are killed in riots in China's restive far western region of Xinjiang, Chinese state media report.

An experiment in rats suggests it may one day be possible to restore bladder function in paralysed patients, research suggests.

A vote on a new law which could close most of abortion clinics in the US state of Texas comes too late to pass, leading Republicans say.

A leading South African cleric prays for ex-President Nelson Mandela's "peaceful, perfect end" as he remains in hospital in a critical condition.

South Sudan moves closer to its target of a pipeline to the south to export its oil, reducing the need to send it through Sudan.