World stock markets were mixed Wednesday, with European indexes down on worsening economic prospects and labor union strikes, while U.S. shares followed Asia's lead higher.

On Wall Street, stocks opened higher as Cisco's earnings came in ahead of expectations, September retail sales data were revised higher, and renewed efforts got under way in Washington to resolve the impending "fiscal cliff."

Austrian experts say melting glaciers have been the single greatest cause of rising sea level over the past century.

Scientists at the respected University of Innsbruck say that between 1902 and 2007, glaciers contributed 11 centimeters (4.33 inches) to a total sea level rise of about 20 centimeters (nearly 8 inches).

Try as we might, there's no escaping death. Art collector Richard Harris has decided to embrace that fact and wants the rest of us to do the same.

The retired Chicago print dealer has spent years acquiring works imbued with mortality, from 18th-century anatomical drawings to Tibetan skull masks and papier-mache skeletons from Mexico.

The United Nations says access to contraception is a universal human right that could dramatically improve the lives of women and children in poor countries.

It is the first time the U.N. Population Fund's annual report explicitly describes family planning as a human right.

Madonna has gone 'Gangnam Style'.

Korean pop star PSY joined the pop icon Tuesday night during her second show this week at Madison Square Garden. They danced to his pop culture anthem "Gangnam Style" and to her jam "Music" in front of nearly 20,000 people.

Chelsea went public for the first time Tuesday with detailed racial abuse allegations against a referee, insisting there was no misunderstanding and that its players heard Mark Clattenburg use the word "monkey" during a Premier League match.

Chairman Bruce Buck opted to end Chelsea's public silence on the claims despite an ongoing investigation by the English Football Association into the events during last month's match against Manchester United.

A Brazilian hospital says Pele is in good condition after undergoing surgery.

The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo did not release details, but local media said Tuesday that the football great had an operation on his hip.

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri and teammate Giuseppe Sculli will be questioned next Tuesday about their alleged role in the Italian match-fixing scandal.

The pair, along with former player Omar Milanetto and Lazio physiotherapist Romano Massimo Papola, will be asked about Lazio's matches against Genoa and Lecce in May 2011.

From boats bobbing on the Great Barrier Reef, to hot air balloons hovering over the rainforest, and the hilltops and beaches in between, tens of thousands of scientists, tourists and amateur astronomers watched as the sun, moon and Earth aligned and plunged northern Australia into darkness during a total solar eclipse Wednesday.

Stubborn clouds that many feared would ruin the view parted — somewhat — in north Queensland, defying forecasts of a total eclipse-viewing bust and relieving spectators who had fanned out to glimpse the celestial phenomenon.

Research In Motion Ltd. will release its much-delayed BlackBerry 10 smartphones "not too long" after a launch event on Jan. 30, a senior executive said Tuesday.

Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear said the company is still fine-tuning the new phones.