- Australia's most decorated Olympian McKeon retires from swimming
- Far-right candidate surprises in Romania elections, setting up run-off with PM
- Left-wing candidate Orsi projected to win Uruguay election
- UAE arrests three after Israeli rabbi killed
- Five days after Bruins firing, Montgomery named NHL Blues coach
- Orlando beat Atlanta in MLS playoffs to set up Red Bulls clash
- American McNealy takes first PGA title with closing birdie
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as angry fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns Washington
- Uruguayans vote in tight race for president
- Thailand's Jeeno wins LPGA Tour Championship
- 'Crucial week': make-or-break plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Israel, Hezbollah in heavy exchanges of fire despite EU ceasefire call
- Amorim predicts Man Utd pain as he faces up to huge task
- Basel backs splashing the cash to host Eurovision
- Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift
- Italy Davis Cup winner Sinner 'heartbroken' over doping accusations
- Romania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first round
- Japan coach Jones abused by 'some clown' on Twickenham return
- Springbok Du Toit named World Player of the Year for second time
- Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday
- Mbappe on target as Real Madrid cruise to Leganes win
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Israel records 250 launches from Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south
- Australia coach Schmidt still positive about Lions after Scotland loss
- Man Utd 'confused' and 'afraid' as Ipswich hold Amorim to debut draw
- Sinner completes year to remember as Italy retain Davis Cup
- Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
- Lukaku keeps Napoli top of Serie A with Roma winner
- Man Utd held by Ipswich in Amorim's first match in charge
- 'Gladiator II', 'Wicked' battle for N. American box office honors
- England thrash Japan 59-14 to snap five-match losing streak
- S.Africa's Breyten Breytenbach, writer and anti-apartheid activist
- Concern as climate talks stalls on fossil fuels pledge
- Breyten Breytenbach, writer who challenged apartheid, dies at 85
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for Grand Slam
- Truce called after 82 killed in Pakistan sectarian clashes
- Salah wants Liverpool to pile on misery for Man City after sinking Saints
- Berrettini takes Italy to brink of Davis Cup defence
- Lille condemn Sampaoli to defeat on Rennes debut
- Basel backs splashing the bucks to host Eurovision
- Leicester sack manager Steve Cooper
- IPL auction records tumble as Pant, Iyer break $3 mn mark
- Salah sends Liverpool eight points clear after Southampton scare
- Key Trump pick calls for end to escalation in Ukraine
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for a Grand Slam
- Davis Cup organisers hit back at critics of Nadal retirement ceremony
- Noel in a 'league of his own' as he wins Gurgl slalom
- A dip or deeper decline? Guardiola seeks response to Man City slump
- Germany goes nuts for viral pistachio chocolate
Heat-struck Thai village hoists cartoon cat in desperate bid for rain
As millions across Southeast Asia suffer a blistering heatwave that is melting railway tracks, a Thai village resorted to an unusual method to seek rain: parading a Japanese cartoon cat.
Thailand has sweltered in recent weeks as the temperature climbs across the region, with experts saying climate change is making heatwaves more frequent, longer and more intense.
In the kingdom's central Nakhon Sawan province -- which has been without rain for months -- villagers in Phayuha Khiri District hoisted Japanese manga cat Doraemon to break the drought.
Sparkly dressed paraders bore a tinsel-decked cage containing the stuffed toy through the village while onlookers sprinkled it with water.
Theirs was a new take on an old dry season ritual known as "Hae Nang Meaw", literally, the parading of a female cat.
The well-known feline aversion to water means some link the animals to rainfall, with their furious meows after being drenched thought to summon precipitation.
Most villagers no longer use real cats, lifting Doraemon or HelloKitty dolls instead.
As Doraemon was paraded in Thailand's heartland on Tuesday, in the south, the searing heat buckled railway tracks in Nakhon Si Thammarat province.
Railway workers doused the rails with water to try to bend them back into shape after the mercury hit 41 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit).
The State Railway of Thailand said the "extreme heat" was to blame for the tracks warping between Ron Phibun and Khao Chum Thong on April 30.
"Officials brought water and ice to cool down the rails," the statement said, with the tracks usable again after an hour-long dousing.
Deputy state railway governor Jaray Rungthani said engineers would be keeping a close eye in the coming days as temperatures remained high.
"All railway station managers will help passengers, and be ready to handle the heatwave situation based on the forecast," he said.
The heat gripping much of the region -- from Bangladesh to the Philippines -- has strained energy grids and forced millions of children to stay home as schools close.
While the El Nino phenomenon is helping drive this year's exceptionally warm weather, Asia is also warming faster than the global average, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organization.
C.Kovalenko--BTB