The National Times - News around the clock from Sydney, Australia and around the world

The Indian Premier League has finally reached the playoff stage, later than planned, leaving four teams to battle for the title beginning on Thursday.

Virat Kohli can fulfil his dream of finally winning the Indian Premier League when the playoffs begin this week, desperate to banish the "heartbreak" of losing the final as captain nine years ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to visit Germany on Wednesday for talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged muscular backing for Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

At least 10 people were killed and 43 injured as strong winds and thunderstorms triggered flash floods and destroyed homes in central and northern parts of Pakistan, officials said Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a three-way summit with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as he seeks to force Moscow to halt its three-year-long invasion.

France and Indonesia called Wednesday for progress on "mutual recognition" between Israel and the Palestinians at a key meeting next month as Emmanuel Macron visited Jakarta, bringing the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation into his diplomatic efforts.

The US State Department on Tuesday ordered the suspension of student visa processing, as President Donald Trump's administration seeks unprecedented control of the nation's universities by slashing funding and curbing international enrollment.

Asian equities wobbled Wednesday as investors struggled to track a Wall Street rally fuelled by forecast-beating US consumer confidence data, with a weak Japanese debt sale adding to worries about rising bond yields.

Auto giant Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat, on Wednesday named company veteran Antonio Filosa as its new chief executive officer as the US-European group navigates US tariffs and slumping North American sales.

With its sun-drenched beaches and vibrant nightlife, Spain has long been a top destination -- not just for tourists, but also for criminals looking to vanish.

The European Union is on track to reach its 2030 climate targets, Brussels said on Wednesday, but uncertainty remains over the bloc's ambitions to cut greenhouse gas emissions much further by 2040.

French President Emmanuel Macron met his Indonesian counterpart on Wednesday, seeking to deepen trade and defence ties with Southeast Asia's largest economy on the second leg of a three-country tour promoting France as a balancing power between the US and China.

Australia on Wednesday approved a 40-year extension to a major liquified gas plant, brushing off protests from Pacific island neighbours fearful it will inflame climate damage.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered a suspension of student visa processing in the latest swipe at foreign students in the country.

Sitting deep in east Indonesia's lush jungle, Bokum, one of the country's last isolated hunter-gatherers, has a simple message for the nickel miners threatening his home: "This is our land."

A court will rule Wednesday on whether a Peruvian farmer's fight against a German energy giant can proceed, a judgement his lawyers hope will have far-reaching consequences for climate justice.

Sumo crowned a new grand champion in record time on Wednesday as Onosato became the fastest to attain the exalted rank of yokozuna in the Japanese sport's modern era.

Simone Inzaghi is on the verge of becoming a true Inter Milan great as he leads his team to the Champions League final with another chance for an era-defining triumph to make up for the pain of conceding the Serie A title to Napoli.

Francesco Acerbi could crown his long, turbulent career with the biggest prize in club football after bouncing back from cancer, depression and alcoholism to play a key part in Inter Milan's charge to the Champions League final.

Tyrese Haliburton delivered his second career playoff triple double to power Indiana over New York 130-121 on Tuesday, lifting the Pacers one win from the NBA Finals.

"When you see tweed on the runway, you don't expect it to come from here," joked 38-year-old former banker Alexander MacLeod as he set up his loom in a converted barn on the shores of a Scottish loch.

The Panamanian government on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in one province after US banana giant Chiquita Brands laid off about 5,000 workers following a strike that had ground its production to a halt.

Alix Popham, one of hundreds of former rugby players to bring a lawsuit against the sport's authorities for head injuries, told AFP he wants his day in court so he can look in the face some of the officials "who are part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in."

Emmanuel Macron will seek to deepen trade and defence ties on a visit to Indonesia Wednesday, the second leg of a three-country Southeast Asia tour promoting France as a balancing power between the US and China.

An Iranian director is breathing new life into William Shakespeare's "King Lear" with a bold staging in Tehran infused with rock music and a dazzling light show to attract younger audiences.

SpaceX's prototype Starship exploded over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, capping another bumpy test flight for the rocket central to billionaire Elon Musk's dream of colonizing Mars.

US President Donald Trump's move to sidestep global regulations and begin pushing for seabed mining in international waters could pose a wider threat of competing countries claiming sovereignty over the ocean, experts say.

Harvard students protested Tuesday after the US government said it intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with the university, President Donald Trump's latest attempt to force the prestigious institution to submit to unprecedented oversight.

Police in Peru have captured a group of extortionists that used Nazi insignia to intimidate their victims, authorities said Tuesday.

Starting strokes will be eliminated from the season-ending Tour Championship, the PGA Tour announced on Tuesday, with the 30-man playoff finale being played as a 72-hole stroke-play tournament.

In the early Bronze Age, a piece of bread was buried beneath the threshold of a newly built house in what is today central Turkey.

China is not seeking to "replace" the United States as the top trading partner of Colombia, Beijing's ambassador to Bogota, whose president has announced a pivot to China, told AFP on Tuesday.