Japanese voters head to polling stations for parliamentary elections Sunday, described by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a referendum on his flagship economic policies.

The world seems to be going crazy for Pokémon GO.

'Ocean Spiral' proposed as giant underwater city

At Fusahiro Shimojima's workshop, in the industrial city of Saitama, fires rage in small pits and an earthen floor absorbs the din of hammering. The 44-year-old Japanese swordsmith pounds the nascent blade of his newest creation, sending molten sparks flying majestically into air.

A suicide bomber detonated explosives Thursday inside a French-funded school in Kabul during a play that condemns suicide attacks, leading to deaths and numerous injuries, the French foreign minister said.

A 29-year-old U.S. citizen denounces his home country at a press conference in Pyongyang after entering the country illegally. His mother says he's mentally unstable.

A group of armed insurgents has stormed the Kabul Bank in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, a spokesman for the provincial governor said Wednesday.

An Indonesian maid has told a Hong Kong court that she was tortured for six months by her former employer, who shoved a vacuum cleaner tube into her mouth, breaking teeth and tearing her mouth.

For the first time since she was attacked two years ago, the world can now see the uniform that teenager Malala Yousafzai wore when she was shot in the head by the Taliban.

Legislators in the capital of China's restive far-western Xinjiang province passed a law Wednesday to prohibit residents from wearing burqas in public, state media reported Thursday, highlighting the government's continued campaign against religious extremism.

A suicide bomber targeted a vehicle carrying Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers in Kabul on Thursday morning.

Australia has again appealed to Indonesia's new president to spare two of its citizens who face execution by firing squad.

More than two months of pro-democracy protests that transformed the heart of Hong Kong's financial district could be coming to an abrupt end this week.

After days of relentlessly questioning Merrill about his role in the Korean War, the North Korean "investigator" suddenly switched subjects.

Days after the world of athletics was hit by serious doping allegations, the sport has been accused of covering up how it dealt with scores of suspicious blood samples.

In the twinkle of an eye, Israel Folau has accomplished what most athletes would be happy to achieve in an entire career -- and in his case he has done it in three sports.

Officers surround a Sydney cafe as local media shows apparent hostages with their hands up. PM Tony Abbott called the incident "deeply concerning."

China's ambitious search for alien life comes with a human cost.

In Japan's super-speed train culture, Seven Stars slows down to enjoy volcanoes, onsen and shorelines around Kyushu island.

A city is China is giving tired travelers some peace of mind, launching a high-tech system that reveals when bed linen was last washed.

A Boeing 737 carrying 132 people crashed early Monday in China. Although Boeing's 737 has faced extraordinarily high-profile safety concerns over the past three years, the plane that crashed Monday was a different version of the aircraft than the embattled 737 Max that shook Boeing to its core.