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Image copyright SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Image caption The vast majority of new cases in China were transmitted through sexual activity. China has announced a 14% jump in the number of its citizens who are living with HIV and Aids. More than 820,000 people are affected in the country, health officials say. About 40,000 new cases were reported in the second quarter of 2018 alone. The vast majority of new cases were transmitted through sex, marking a change from the past. Traditionally, HIV spread rapidly through some parts of China as a result of infected blood transfusions. But the number of people contracting HIV in this way had been reduced to almost zero, Chinese health officials said at a conference in Yunnan province. Year-on-year, however, the number of those living with HIV and Aids in China has risen by 100,000 people. HIV transmission through sex is an acute issue in China's LGBT community. Homosexuality was decriminalised in China in 1997, but discrimination

Image copyright ALLSPORT/GETTY IMAGES Image caption The Portuguese superstar now plays for Italy's Juventus Cristiano Ronaldo has dismissed as "fake news" accusations by a US woman who alleges she was raped by the Portuguese footballer in 2009. In an Instagram video, Ronaldo said: "They want to promote [themselves] by [using] my name. It's normal." Ronaldo's lawyers say they will sue Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, which originally reported the allegations. The magazine wrote that Kathryn Mayorga had claimed Ronaldo, 33, raped her in a hotel room in Las Vegas. Ms Mayorga, 34, is reported to have filed a rape report with Las Vegas police shortly after the alleged incident. In 2010, she reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo involving a $375,000 (£288,000) payment for agreeing never to go public with the allegations. Her lawyers are now seeking to declare the non-disclosure agreement void. In a statement, Ronaldo&#

Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience at St. Peter's square in the Vatican, on September 26, 2018. PHOTO | TIZIANA FABI | AFP  Pope Francis is facing strong opposition from anti-reformers who are not happy with the way he is leading the church amid a surge in sex scandals. Five years into his papacy, Jorge Mario Bergoglio has studiously remained true to his long-standing reputation as a charming, liberal-leaning and unorthodox Pontiff – the kind of which has not been seen at the Vatican. When he was elected the 266th Pope in March 2013, he soon found out that despite kicking off a series of firsts, which pointed to a tectonic shift at the Holy See, he would be reduced to wrestling with the same old challenges that have burdened his predecessors in the last millennia. The liberals in the 1.2 billion-strong church welcomed his papacy, hoping for a breath of fresh air right from the curia to the churches and Catholic institutions throughout the world

It is feared many people remain trapped in collapsed buildings At least 832 people were killed in the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the national disaster agency says. It added that the affected area was bigger than initially thought. Many people were reported trapped in the rubble of buildings that collapsed in Friday's 7.5-magnitude earthquake, agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a news conference. The quake triggered tsunami waves as high as 6m (20ft), he added. Rescuers have been digging by hand in the frantic search for survivors in the city of Palu. "What we now desperately need is heavy machinery to clear the rubble. I have my staff on the ground, but it's impossible just to rely on their strength alone to clear this," Muhammad Syaugi, head of the national search-and-rescue agency, told AFP news agency. There have also been concerns about the town of Donggala, where the impact is still uncl

Elon Musk Elon Musk must step down as Tesla chair and pay a fine after reaching a deal with US regulators over tweets he posted about taking the firm private. It follows Thursday’s decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sue Mr Musk for alleged securities fraud. Under the deal, Mr Musk will remain as Tesla CEO but has to step down as chairman for three years. Both he and Tesla will also have to pay a $20m (£15m) fine. What did he say in the tweets? The fraud allegation relates to his August tweet in which Mr Musk said he was considering taking electronic car maker Tesla off the stock market and into private ownership. He wrote he had “funding secured” for the proposal, which would value Tesla at $420 per share. Shares in the company briefly rose after his announcement, but later fell again. The SEC said those claims were “false and misleading”. “In truth and in fact, Musk had not even discussed, much less confirmed, key deal terms, including pric

Locals check bodybags in the streets of Palu as they search for lost relatives More than 380 people have been confirmed dead after a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit an Indonesian city on Friday. Waves up to 3m (10ft) high swept through Palu on Sulawesi island. Video on social media shows people screaming and fleeing in panic and a mosque among the buildings damaged. Strong aftershocks rocked the city on Saturday. Thousands of homes have collapsed, along with hospitals, hotels and a shopping centre. Rescue efforts are under way, though hampered by a major power cut. The main road to Palu has been blocked due to a landslide, and a key bridge is out of action. 'Many bodies along the shoreline' Indonesia's disaster agency said at least 384 people had been killed, but the number is expected to rise. At least 540 have been injured, and 29 are listed as missing. Image copyright REUTERS Image caption Locals check bodybags in the streets of P

Image copyright THE NEW DAKOTAS Image caption Malia Obama lip-syncs in the video America's former first daughter has stepped back into the limelight - with a cameo in a music video. A beanie-clad Malia Obama has been spotted lip-syncing and apparently playing the harmonica in the latest offering by Boston's The New Dakotas. Never heard of them? You're not alone. Their songs have yet to make much of a splash on music app Spotify, where the most popular got just more than 2,000 listens. Their last video, meanwhile, got 1,500 views on video site YouTube. The one featuring Barack Obama's oldest daughter -  entitled Walking on Air  - has racked more than four times as many in a week. According to US website The Hill, the band attend Harvard University, which is where Miss Obama is currently in her second year. The music video appearance is unusual - as a general rule, Miss Obama and her younger sister Sasha have kept a low profile, despite their father being on