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

Three India players had their contracts upgraded Wednesday by the national cricket board after stellar performances, as it expanded its players' list from 26 to 30.

Germany on Wednesday hailed the "courageous steps" taken by Armenia and Azerbaijan as the Caucasus neighbours began peace talks in Berlin, in a new push to resolve a decades-long conflict.

Fighting raged Wednesday in the besieged Gaza Strip, where the reported death toll neared 30,000 as mediators insisted a truce in the Israel-Hamas war could be just days away.

Last year was the safest ever for commercial air travel, despite a massive rebound in passenger flights, an airline industry group said Wednesday.

Mossi Traore is the only French designer in the official Paris fashion week line-up to operate outside the chi-chi boulevards of the capital, staying faithful to the mixed suburb where he grew up.

Pro-Russian rebel officials in Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria appealed to Russia for "protection" on Wednesday, amid fears the territory could become a new flashpoint in Moscow's conflict with neighbouring Ukraine.

Former Manchester United defender John O'Shea will take charge of the Republic of Ireland's March friendlies after being named interim head coach by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) on Wednesday.

The world generated 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal waste last year and the pile of trash is set to grow another two-thirds by 2050, the UN said Wednesday, warning of devastating costs for health, economies and the environment.

The United Nations on Wednesday kicked off the withdrawal of MONUSCO peacekeeping forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo by handing over a first UN base to national police, an AFP team saw.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday appealed to Balkan leaders for greater backing to help fend off Russian forces, noting an ammo shortage was impacting frontline troops.

More than 50 UK-based broadcast journalists have sent an open letter to the Israeli and Egyptian embassies calling for "free and unfettered access" to Gaza for foreign media, British media reported Wednesday.

Pro-Russian rebel officials in Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria gathered for a rare meeting Wednesday, amid fears the territory could open a new flashpoint in Moscow's conflict with neighbouring Ukraine.

Prince Harry lost a court challenge against the UK government on Wednesday over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the country.

Burkina's celebrity stuntman, 72 years young, sped down the dusty road lying back on his moped seat, feet draped over the handlebars -- and no protective gear.

Major stock markets dropped Wednesday as investors digested corporate news and awaited key inflation numbers, while cryptocurrency bitcoin closed in on $60,000 thanks to feverish demand.

A French government plan to enshrine the "freedom" to have an abortion in the constitution is to be tested Wednesday in a crucial vote in the right-dominated Senate.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's funeral is planned for Friday in a Moscow church, his allies said two weeks after his shock death in an Arctic prison.

Church bells tolled, transport came to a halt and marchers gathered across Greece on Wednesday as the country marked a year since the "national trauma" of its deadliest train crash, which killed 57 people and injured dozens more.

In a new comedy film that challenges Ukraine's lingering homophobia, an activist reassures a bewildered family hosting him, saying: "I'm gay, not a Martian."

Ukraine has been locked in an existential fight for its freedom ever since Russia sent armed soldiers with no insignia -- dubbed the "little green men" -- to take over the Crimea peninsula on February 28, 2014, following a pro-EU revolution in Kyiv.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Tuesday slammed "completely unacceptable" errors by its Gemini AI app, after gaffes such as images of ethnically diverse World War II Nazi troops forced it to stop users from creating pictures of people.

Southern Vietnam, including business hub Ho Chi Minh City and its "rice bowl" Mekong Delta region, suffered an unusually long heatwave in February, weather officials said Wednesday.

The Gaza war's reported Palestinian death toll neared 30,000 Wednesday as fighting raged in the Hamas-run territory despite mediators insisting a truce with Israel could be just days away.

British telecoms giant Vodafone is in advanced talks to sell its Italian unit to Switzerland's Swisscom, agreeing on a preliminary price of eight billion euros ($8.7 billion), the companies said Wednesday.

A nuclear weapons plant in the US state of Texas said it would be open as usual on Wednesday after pausing operations due to wildfires in the area.

Lilia Vu said Wednesday she was not setting herself many goals this year after storming to world number one in 2023, but qualifying for the Paris Olympics was her first priority.

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday after the release of lacklustre consumer confidence data, with comments from US Federal Reserve officials and fresh economic figures due later in the day.

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg met Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to Japan, discussing the risks of generative AI, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

One considers itself to be "the mother" of democratic parliaments, the other is an Islamic theocracy. While Britain's and Iran's legislatures are vastly different, they do share something in common: clerics.

Top seed Alexander Zverev tumbled out of the Mexico Open at the first hurdle on Tuesday, eliminated by German compatriot Daniel Altmaier in three sets.

Apple has abandoned its ambitions to produce an electric car, US media reported Tuesday, ending a struggling decade-long project.

Australia's Jordan Thompson was brought back down to earth on Tuesday, crashing out of the Mexico Open in the first round just two days after winning the first ATP title of his career.