- Bayern hit nine, Real Madrid and Liverpool win as new Champions League kicks off
- Author John Grisham joins bid to save Texas death row inmate
- Venezuela arrests fourth American over alleged 'plot' against Maduro
- 'Happy' Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- Man Utd hit Barnsley for seven in League Cup rout
- Dolphins quarterback Tagovailoa facing concussion layoff
- Stylish Liverpool strut past Milan in confident Champions league opener
- Kane scores four as Bayern put nine past Zagreb in the Champions League
- Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
- More than 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Harris calls Trump as assassination scare sparks tensions
- Dow edges down from record as some eye a smaller Fed rate cut
- Sommer vows Inter will 'defend with all we have' to stop Haaland
- Report links meatpacking companies to 'war on nature' in Brazil
- Bolivian ex-leader Morales, backers set out on weeklong protest march
- Smith grateful to McCullum for launching his England career
- Arizona to ask court to rule on voting rights
- Villa make perfect start on Champions League return after 41-year absence
- Israeli supply chain infiltration likely behind Hezbollah pager blasts: analysts
- Rodgers backs Celtic to be 'really competitive' in Champions League
- Spacewalk an 'emotional experience' for private astronauts
- Storm Boris toll rises to 22 in central Europe
- Nine dead, 2,800 wounded as Lebanon's Hezbollah hit by pager blasts
- Boeing, union resume talks as strike empties Seattle plants
- Over 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Australia's Zampa accepts Ashes chances remote as 100th ODI looms
- UN General Assembly debates call for end to Israeli occupation
- Marseille complete signing of French international Rabiot
- Easterby to fill in as Ireland coach while Farrell is with the Lions
- Hezbollah in Lebanon hit by wave of deadly pager blasts
- Postecoglou taken aback by criticism of his second season success claim
- US, European stocks rise on retail sales, rate cut expectations
- Fendi sees Roaring 20s at Milan Fashion Week in challenging times
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr part ways with coach Castro
- Scottish government backs Glasgow to stage troubled 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Storm Boris toll rises to 21 in central Europe
- Instagram, under pressure, tightens protection for teens
- Inflation slows again in Canada to 2%
- US, European stocks rise on eve of Fed rate decision
- EU bans Algerian spread toasted on social media
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with racketeering, sex trafficking
- Trump returns to campaign trail after assassination scare
- Activist urges repatriation of Native Americans dead in Paris 'human zoo'
- US retail sales see slight rise, beating expectations
- US Fed begins two-day meeting set to end with rate cut
- Exploding Hezbollah pagers wound hundreds across Lebanon
- Runners-up Yokohama thrashed 7-3 in AFC Champions League goal fest
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs to plead not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
- Jihadist group claims rare attack on Mali capital
- 'I am a rapist,' Frenchman tells trial over mass rape of wife
Chinese astronauts set up new lab on space station
Astronauts entered the new lab module of China's space station for the first time Monday, in a major step towards completing the orbital outpost by the end of the year.
The station is one of the crown jewels of Beijing's ambitious space programme, which has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and made China only the third nation to put humans in orbit.
Once completed, Tiangong -- or "heavenly palace" -- will be constantly crewed by rotating teams of three astronauts, who will conduct scientific experiments and help test new technologies.
Wentian, the second of Tiangong's three main sections, docked with the station's core module Tianhe on Monday after successfully launching from southern China a day earlier, state media reported.
A few hours after docking, the three astronauts -- who have been living in the core module since June -- opened the hatch and entered Wentian, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.
The crew, dressed in blue jumpsuits, were seen floating around the brightly lit module before facing the camera and saluting.
Wentian will focus on life sciences and biotechnology research, according to official news agency Xinhua, including cell research and growth experiments on plants, fruit flies and zebrafish.
The module will have living space for three additional astronauts, housing up to six people during crew transitions, state media said.
The third and final module, another lab named Mengtian, is scheduled for launch in October.
Tiangong, once completed, is expected to remain in low orbit 400-450 kilometres (250-280 miles) above Earth for at least 10 years.
Next year, China is also planning to launch a space telescope with a field of view 350 times that of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
The telescope will be positioned in the same orbit as Tiangong, allowing the station to dock with it for refuelling and servicing when needed.
China has poured billions of dollars into space flight and exploration as it seeks to build a programme that reflects its stature as a rising global power.
The programme has rapidly yielded successes in the last two decades, including launching the first Chinese astronauts, a historic first controlled landing on the far side of the Moon, and delivering a rover to the surface of Mars.
And after several missions to test the technologies needed for a constantly crewed outpost, it is set to finish Tiangong this year.
The station when completed is expected to have a mass of 90 tonnes, around a quarter of the International Space Station -- from which China has been excluded by the United States.
The ISS -- a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan -- is due to be retired after 2024, although NASA has said it could potentially remain functional beyond 2028.
L.Harper--AMWN