
Retired former pope Benedict XVI sought to calm a dispute within the Vatican on Tuesday, claiming his name was erroneously attributed as co-author to a new book with a conservative cardinal.

The vast clouds of smoke from Australia's historic bush fires are expected to circle the Earth and return to the country, Nasa says. The US agency said satellites have been monitoring the movement of the smoke high in the atmosphere as it swirled east towards South America and beyond.

The United States will maintain tariffs on Chinese goods until the completion of a second phase of a United States-China trade agreement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday, a day before the two sides are to sign an interim deal.

At least three Chinese automakers are preparing to produce vehicles in Mexico or expand existing operations, the Mexican ambassador to China earlier this week, in what would be a boost to one of the Latin American country’s top export industries.

Women approaching menopause who have frequent sex are less likely to cross that threshold than women of the same age who are not as active sexually, researchers said on Wednesday.

Last year was the warmest year on record for the world's oceans, part of a long-term warming trend, according to a study released on Monday. “If you look at the ocean heat content, 2019 is by far the hottest, 2018 is second, 2017 is third, 2015 is fourth, and then 2016 is fifth,” said Kevin E. Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, NCAR, and an author on the study.

Five MPs formally entered the race on Monday to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader of Britain's main opposition Labour party, and rebuild their movement after last month's disastrous election.

The Yen plumbed an eight-month low while the Yuan climbed to its highest level since July on Tuesday after the U.S. Treasury Department reversed its decision in August to designate China as a currency manipulator.

Protesters took to the streets of Iran to denounce the country’s clerical rulers and riot police deployed to face them in a third day of demonstrations on Monday after authorities acknowledged shooting down a passenger plane by mistake.

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday said Qassem Soleimani was killed as part of a broader strategy of deterring challenges by US foes that also applies to China and Russia, further diluting the assertion that the top Iranian general was struck because he was plotting imminent attacks on US targets.