Japan is seeking international support for its plans to hunt minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean next year by scaling down the whaling research program the U.N. top court rejected earlier this year, fisheries officials said Wednesday.

Whaling for research purposes is exempt from the 1986 international ban on commercial whaling, and Japan has conducted hunts in the Antarctic and Pacific on that basis. But in March, the International Court of Justice ruled the Antarctic program wasn't scientific as Japan had claimed and must stop.

Malaysia Airlines has renamed a promotional competition asking people what activities and destinations are on their "bucket list" after acknowledging it was inappropriate given the two deadly disasters it has suffered this year.

A bucket list is a term used by some English-speakers to describe a list of adventures they want to have before they die.

Financial markets are eagerly awaiting more word Thursday from the European Central Bank about possible stimulus measures to save the economic recovery.

Expectations for action have grown since ECB President Mario Draghi warned last month that the economy was at risk and said the bank was open to new, extraordinary measures such as large-scale bond purchases.

An Arkansas woman whose mug shot shows her in heavy aqua and maroon eye shadow is accused of shoplifting $144 in makeup.

Police in Fayetteville, Arkansas, arrested 31-year-old Brandy Allen, accusing her of stuffing handfuls of eye shadow into her purse Monday.

Egypt's top religious body demanded Wednesday that a new belly-dancing TV show be suspended for "corrupting morals" and serving "extremists" who could use it as a pretext to depict Egyptian society as anti-Islamic.

The call by Dar al-Ifta, the top body that advises Muslims on religious and life issues, follows others criticizing the show called "Dancer." But the debate over it isn't all about it being too racy for television — it's part of a concerted effort by Egypt's government to show its both challenging Islamists as a political forces while still respecting the country's more-conservative values.

An attorney who habitually appears in court without socks faces sanctions including possible fines if he shows up without them again in one Indiana courtroom.

Blackford Circuit Judge Dean Young issued an Aug. 25 order directing attorney Todd Glickfield of Marion to wear appropriate business attire, including socks and a tie, in future proceedings in Young's Hartford City courtroom.

One team faces two years without a competitive match, and the other needs to learn how to become competitive again.

For France coach Didier Deschamps, Thursday's match against Spain is the first in a long series of friendly matches in the build up to the 2016 European Championship, which France will host.

"Summer of the Dead" (Minotaur Books), by Julia Keller

Small towns — where everyone knows your name and keeping secrets seems unfathomable — can be hotbeds of concealment. No one really knows what goes on behind closed doors or within a family's dynamics.

On the day that the outlook for the European economy may have just become a little bit brighter following a cease-fire agreement in eastern Ukraine, a closely watched survey shows the extent to which the crisis in the country has weighed on business confidence across the continent.

Financial information company Markit highlighted tensions in Ukraine for a sharp fall in its monthly gauge of business activity for the 18-country eurozone.

Gael Monfils follows his own rules.

The guy does things on a tennis court no one else has — or can. Just search his name on YouTube and watch any of many video clips showcasing his speed and agility; start with the parallel-to-the-ground, a-few-feet-in-the-air dive at this year's French Open.