Thousands wait in line to pay respects to queen
Thousands of mourners took their places in a queue snaking around the centre of London on Wednesday, recognising without complaint that they might have to wait for hours to see the late Queen Elizabeth lying in state.
Some even braved the rain and slept on the pavement overnight to secure their position in the queue, which could stretch for 16km to gain access to Westminster Hall, the oldest building on the estate that houses parliament where the late queen will lie in state until her funeral on Monday.
As people began filing past the queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall from 5pm (2am on Thursday, Singapore time), many stopped for a moment to bow their head and some wiped away tears.
Government officials said they could not put a precise figure on how many would want to file past the queen’s coffin, but around 750,000 people were expected. At 1645 GMT, the government said the queue was around 4km long.
R. Kelly convicted of child pornography charges'
Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly, who is already serving a 30-year sentence for sex offenses, was found guilty of child pornography charges on Wednesday after a month-long trial in his hometown of Chicago.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted of three counts of producing child pornography and three counts of enticement of a minor, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Kelly, a three-time Grammy Award winner, was acquitted by a federal jury of seven other counts, including charges that he obstructed justice in a previous trial. He and two ex-associates were accused of rigging his 2008 child pornography trial in which a jury delivered a verdict of not guilty.
Fear lingers in the ruins of Ukraine's liberated Izyum
Across a damaged footbridge over the river Siverskyi Donets, shrapnel-sprayed walls and charred Soviet-era housing stand in a panorama of provincial devastation in Ukraine's liberated town of Izyum.
Exhausted residents said they were elated by the end of six months of Russian occupation delivered by Ukraine's counter-attack last week, but voiced grave fears at a winter of looming energy shortages - and the lingering threat from Russia.
"We lived through this (for) six months. We sat it out in cellars. We went through everything it is possible to go through. We absolutely cannot say we feel safe," said Liubov Sinna, 74.
Belarus strongman chops wood for Europeans 'freezing to death'
The strongman leader of Belarus and staunch Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko appeared on state television on Wednesday chopping wood and reassuring viewers he wouldn't let Europe "freeze to death" this winter.
The tongue-in-cheek broadcast comes as European leaders are struggling to source alternative energy sources, with supplies from Russia curtailed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The jovial-sounding authoritarian appears in the video wearing a tracksuit and body-warmer, bearing down a large axe on blocks from a large pile of previously chopped wood.
Football: Haaland hurts Dortmund with brilliant late strike
Erling Haaland grabbed an outrageous 84th-minute winner against his former club Borussia Dortmund as Manchester City came from behind with two late goals to seal a 2-1 win in Champions League Group G on Wednesday.
The Norwegian has now scored 13 goals in eight games since making his move from the Bundesliga club and his latest was a brilliant finish as he leapt to guide home a wonderful cross with the outside of his boot by Joao Cancelo.
The ball was almost beyond Haaland as he leapt off the ground to reach a cross that most players would have tried to hit with their right foot.
