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

The Pacific nation of Vanuatu votes in a snap general election on Thursday that some observers fear could be a distraction after last month's deadly earthquake.

Qatar and the United States announced Wednesday a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, adding they hoped it would pave the way for a permanent end to the war in Gaza.

MLS champions the Los Angeles Galaxy has signed Danish international defender Mathias Jorgensen from Anderlecht, the club said on Wednesday.

Police have launched an investigation into social media abuse aimed at Arsenal forward Kai Havertz's wife after his latest poor performance.

Rapper Drake on Wednesday filed suit against his own label, saying Universal Music Group's release and promotion of a Kendrick Lamar track dissing him amounted to defamation and harassment.

Qatar's prime minister announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed Wednesday to a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza, adding he hoped the deal would pave the way for a permanent end to the fighting.

US businesses across the country are concerned about the economic impact of President-elect Donald Trump's proposals to raise tariffs and sharply curtail immigration, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Wednesday that plans to extend President-elect Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts -- which remained in place under Joe Biden but are set to expire -- will add to unsustainable deficits.

US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday a "full and complete" ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the first part of their peace accord, and said he had acted as "one team" with incoming leader Donald Trump.

The US Supreme Court grappled with a challenge on Wednesday to a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify visitors' ages, part of a growing effort to limit access by minors to online sexual content.

A representative for Brad Pitt has warned fans to be wary of impersonation scams after a French woman lost her life savings to fraudsters posing as the Hollywood star.

Donald Trump's nominee for energy secretary, a fracking magnate who has previously expressed climate change skepticism, advocated for renewable energy and referred to the warming planet as a fact Wednesday, while still pushing for increased use of fossil fuels.

Cuba on Wednesday began releasing prisoners under a deal with departing US President Joe Biden to remove the communist island from a list of terror sponsors, the detainees' relatives told AFP.

Fire-wrecked Los Angeles waited nervously on Wednesday for dangerous winds to drop and give a much-needed break to weary firefighters still struggling to snuff out deadly blazes.

Prince William dropped into a pub to share a drink with a group of fellow Aston Villa fans ahead of their Premier League clash with Everton on Wednesday.

Mediators said Israel and Hamas agreed Wednesday to a ceasefire and a deal to release hostages held in Gaza, but Israel cautioned that some final sticking points still needed to be ironed out.

Virgil van Dijk has played down suggestions that Premier League leaders Liverpool are having a wobble after they drew 1-1 against Nottingham Forest to stay six points clear at the summit.

Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, said Wednesday that a "dangerous" China cheated its way to superpower status as he vowed to ramp up support to deter an invasion of Taiwan.

Phil Foden admitted Manchester City's bid to win a fifth successive Premier League title is over after the troubled champions drew 2-2 at Brentford.

Scientists analysing 2,000-year-old DNA have revealed that a Celtic society in the southern UK during the Iron Age was centred around women, backing up accounts from Roman historians, a study said Wednesday.

The UK government on Wednesday banned the flesh-rotting so-called zombie drug xylazine as it tries to tackle deaths from narcotics and crack down on criminal gangs.

Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held in Gaza following separate meetings with Qatar's prime minister, a source briefed on the talks told AFP.

Kosovo police on Wednesday raided 10 Belgrade-linked government offices in ethnic Serb areas, the interior ministry said, the latest move by Pristina to dismantle a Serbian system of social services and political offices in the country ahead of parliamentary elections.

Social media sensation Ilona Maher has said rugby union needs to undergo a culture shift if the sport is to attract new fans.

A push for increased defence spending among NATO members will be a key point at an upcoming summit to be held later this year, Baltic states defence ministers said Wednesday.

Inflation in Russia accelerated in 2024, official statistics published Wednesday showed, as the costs of Moscow's full-scale offensive on Ukraine weigh on the domestic economy.

Fast bowler Anrich Nortje was on Tuesday ruled out of the Champions Trophy because of a back injury.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced a ban on Red Dye No 3, a controversial food and drug coloring long known to cause cancer in animals.

Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, charged Wednesday that China cheated its way to superpower status and vowed to cast aside the "liberal world order" long promoted by the United States.

Large US banks reported soaring profits Wednesday propelled by strength in trading and financial advisory services as Wall Street eyes a potential merger boom under the incoming Trump administration.

A series of underwater explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 caused the largest known methane leak on record from a single incident, according to new research published on Wednesday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that humanity had unleashed a "Pandora's box of ills," including "out of control technology" that risks upending "our very existence."