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

Residents of Hanoi waded through waist-deep water Wednesday as river levels hit a 20-year high and the toll from the strongest typhoon in decades passed 150, with neighbouring nations also enduring deadly flooding and landslides.

Fashion designer Michael Kors brought an Italian air to New York Fashion Week, presenting his Spring/Summer 2025 collection Tuesday as the brand remains embroiled in a legal battle with competition authorities.

Equity markets were mixed Wednesday as worries about the world's top two economies offset US rate cut optimism, while the yen hit a nine-month high after a Bank of Japan official hinted at more monetary tightening.

UK online property website Rightmove said Wednesday it had rejected a multi-billion-pound takeover offer from Australian peer REA Group, majority owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire.

South Korea World Cup player Son Jun-ho broke down in tears Wednesday as he denied match-fixing and accused China of blackmail after they banned him for life.

Equities slipped Wednesday as worries about the world's top two economies offset US rate cut optimism, while the yen hit a nine-month high after a Bank of Japan official hinted at more monetary tightening.

Pope Francis touched down in Singapore Wednesday, the last stop of a four-nation Asia-Pacific trip aimed at boosting the Catholic Church's standing in the world's most populous region.

Kamala Harris put Donald Trump on the defensive in a fiery televised debate Tuesday, getting under her rival's skin as they battled for a breakthrough in an agonizingly close US presidential election.

Mexico became the world's first country to allow voters to elect judges at all levels on Wednesday, after protesters invaded the upper house and suspended debate on the issue.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday rallied residents to support the island's troops after a fighter jet crashed during a night training flight.

Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, arrived in neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday as he moves to deepen already close ties on his first foreign visit since taking office.

Kamala Harris went on the offensive against Donald Trump in a fiery televised debate Tuesday, getting under her rival's skin as they battled for a breakthrough in an agonizingly close election.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday the European Union should "reconsider" a plan to impose tariffs of up to 36 percent on Chinese electric cars, calling for a "compromise" between the economic powerhouses.

A landslide in the wake of the deadly Typhoon Yagi devastated a Vietnamese village, state media reported Wednesday, as severe flooding in the aftermath of the area's strongest storm in decades claimed victims across multiple countries.

A production line in a warehouse in western Afghanistan churns out 24 energy drinks every second, feeding a thirst for the tonic used to mask life's hardships and lift wilting spirits.

US presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump clashed on China and economic issues Tuesday, with the Democratic candidate saying he "sold us out" on China while the former president declared "they've destroyed the economy."

A carbon credit scheme in Cambodia that was put on hold after allegations of rights abuses has been reinstated after more than a year of review, a verification body said.

China coach Branko Ivankovic was under pressure Wednesday to quit after less than seven months in the job with their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup in danger.

The third day of the only Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was called off because of rain on Wednesday, with the match in danger of being washed out without a ball being bowled.

Pope Francis left East Timor for Singapore on Wednesday for the last leg of a gruelling 12-day Asia-Pacific tour, flying from one of the world's poorest regions to one of its richest.

Australian hockey player Tom Craig has been banned for 12 months following his arrest during the Paris Olympics last month on suspicion of buying cocaine, Hockey Australia said Wednesday.

Taylor Swift, a self-declared "childless cat lady," has endorsed Kamala Harris for president of the United States.

Protesters invaded Mexico's Senate on Tuesday and forced lawmakers to suspend a debate on controversial proposals by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to allow voters to elect judges.

Kamala Harris savaged Donald Trump as "extreme" and the friend of dictators, while the Republican branded her a "Marxist" in a bitter televised debate Tuesday that poured fuel on an already explosive US presidential election.

Equities slipped Wednesday following a mixed day on Wall Street, as worries about the world's top two economies offset optimism that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates next week.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump clashed Tuesday in the pair's first and so far only scheduled debate of the 2024 election campaign.

Fewer climbers tackled Mount Fuji during this year's hiking season, preliminary figures show, after Japanese authorities introduced an entry fee and a daily cap on numbers to fight overtourism.

Time stands still at Serbia's Vinca nuclear facility, where the decommissioned Yugoslav-era reactor is a testament to the fears generated by the controversial energy source.

The night before June 6, 1944, fleets of warships moved in darkness towards the beaches of Normandy, France, for a massive strike, with Chinese naval officer Lam Ping-yu on one of the vessels.

Denzel Washington and his family celebrated the screening in Toronto of Oscar hopeful "The Piano Lesson," the latest Hollywood adaptation of an August Wilson play in which the entire clan was involved.

Colombia avenged their Copa America final defeat with a 2-1 victory over Argentina while Brazil crashed to a 1-0 defeat against Paraguay in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday.

In his apartment in Ethiopia's capital, Ermias Woldeamlak stares at the photos of his three older brothers, all of them killed during a period of military terror a generation ago.