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

A six-year-old Chinese girl has set a new women's world record for solving a 3x3 Rubik's Cube in just over four seconds, state media reported.

Typhoon Dujuan left at least four people dead and 22 injured in Japan, while thousands of houses near Tokyo were without power after the storm swept through the region, authorities said Tuesday.

The 13-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi has taken the Asian Games by storm, but when it comes to the intense interest in her, she said: "Interviews are way harder than the race."

A Venezuelan national shot and wounded by a US immigration agent in Texas was jailed with the bullet still inside his body, his lawyer said Monday.

G7 nations called on Yemen's Houthis Tuesday to halt strikes on Saudi Arabia, offering a show of solidarity with Riyadh as the Tehran-backed fighters have added a new threat to the Middle East war.

The 2026/27 Nations League kicks off on Thursday but all eyes will be on the touchlines as a starry cast of new coaches, including Zinedine Zidane and Jurgen Klopp, prepare to make their debuts in international football.

In the Austrian town of Kronstorf, a planned Google data centre promises investment, jobs and a place on the digital map -- but residents are not convinced.

The Los Angeles Rams bounced back from their season-opening flop in Australia to score a stylish 28-6 victory over the New York Giants on Monday.

Japan has been starved of swimming success in recent times but with the Olympics two years away junk food-loving teenager Shin Ohashi has emerged as their next big hope.

Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah died nearly eight decades ago, but his photograph has become the centrepiece of a fresh battle over history at Bangladesh's top university.

Stock markets climbed on Tuesday as the success of Meta's new AI agent and US-China talks on artificial intelligence fanned a tech-led rally.

Two New Zealand naval vessels passed through the Taiwan Strait last week, the New Zealand Defence Force said Tuesday.

Chinese street dancer Wu Yufei has spent most of his 13-year career performing solo, but this year, he found some new partners -- a crew of robots with sleek moves.

Zinedine Zidane spent years patiently waiting in the wings for his chance to manage France and on Friday the successor to Didier Deschamps as coach of Les Bleus will lead the side out for the first time in a UEFA Nations League tie in Turkey.

Saudi Arabia has deep pockets and cutting-edge weapons yet for more than a decade it has been unable to quash Yemen's battle-hardened Houthis.

Former political prisoners of Venezuela's Rodeo I are unable to shake the memories of punishments dealt out by hooded jailers in the country's most notorious prison.

US President Donald Trump is expected to claim he is winning both on the battlefield and as a peacemaker Tuesday in a speech to the United Nations overshadowed by growing spillover from his stalled war against Iran.

Charles Spencer's book about his late sister, Princess Diana, packed with explosive revelations is published Tuesday, after searing extracts prompted a rare and sharp rebuttal from King Charles III.

A Venezuelan national shot and wounded by a US immigration agent in Texas was jailed with the bullet still inside his body, his lawyer said Monday.

Sri Lanka is set to conclude on Tuesday the trial of 24 men accused of plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, the deadliest attack against civilians in the island's history.

ACCELERATES CUSTOMER COLLABORATION, INNOVATION & RESPONSIVENESS

Built on Akkodis' Synergeticon AI Conversational Service Hub, hvv mia demonstrates how conversational and agentic AI can connect information, services and transactions to deliver more seamless, accessible and connected mobility experiences

EU countries failed Monday to finalise a deal that involved lifting sanctions on Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, with negotiations to continue in Brussels, diplomats said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he had positive talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the conflicts in Ukraine and in the Red Sea.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has agreed to give military support to Saudi Arabia to help it tackle attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, media reports said on Monday.

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy isn't just vital for the planet's future -- it's also good politics, according to Britain's climate minister, who argues the country's record-hot summer has galvanized public opinion like never before.

EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged the bloc's member states Monday to maintain sanctions targeting Russia over the war on Ukraine, as countries work to push through an extension.

An auction of French screen legend Brigitte Bardot's personal items fetched nearly one million euros in Paris on Monday, almost 20 times the estimate, the Millon auction house told AFP.

More than one million people were under evacuation advisories in Japan early Tuesday and hundreds of flights have been cancelled as Typhoon Dujuan brushed past Tokyo, bringing torrential rains, flooding and landslides to the region.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will not play this weekend and there is no current timeline on his return after re-injuring his left elbow, head coach Dan Quinn said Monday.

Brazilian Joao Fonseca announced on Monday that he would "skip the Asian swing" in order to recover physically and mentally after a season of injury lows and on-court highs.

British Columbia filed a lawsuit Monday against OpenAI in California over the company's failure to report violent activity on its ChatGPT service by the person who committed a mass school shooting in the western Canadian province.