
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London on Wednesday ahead of the opening rounds of trade talks that will begin once Britain formally leaves the bloc on Jan 31.

A celebrated Japanese sushi businessman, nicknamed Tuna King, paid US$1.8 million for a giant tuna at New Year's auction at Tokyo's main fish market on Sunday. Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a successful sushi restaurant chain, paid 193 million yen (US$1.8 million) to purchase a 276kg bluefin tuna, caught off the Aomori region in northern Japan.

Bulgarian veterinary authorities said on Friday they would cull 24,000 pigs after detecting an outbreak of African swine fever at a pig farm in the northeast of the country.

Britain's navy will accompany UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz to provide protection after the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani by US forces.

About 1,000 people rushed to a New Zealand beach over the weekend to try to save a pod of whales that stranded overnight, overwhelming conservation workers who were appealing for specialist assistance.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday called for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to be released from prison in London, urging an end to what he described as his “torture” in detention.

China moved to pump more cash into its financial system, suggesting that Beijing remained concerned about faltering growth despite signs that the world's second-largest economy was stabilizing.

A portrait of the Queen with the next three heirs to the throne has been released to mark the start of the new decade. It shows the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George standing with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Qantas Airways was named the safest airline in the world on a Top 20 list published by AirlineRatings.com, followed by Air New Zealand and Taiwan's Eva Airways. Singapore Airlines was sixth, Cathay Pacific Airways ninth and Virgin Australia Holdings 10th.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose Conservative Party trounced Labour in last month's elections, has vowed to strike new trade deals with countries outside Europe after Britain's departure from the European Union.