A previously fringe Marxist politician is on course to become Sri Lanka's next leader after a presidential vote coloured by discontent over the island nation's response to an unprecedented financial crisis. The ongoing count in yesterday's poll showed Anura Kumara

Leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States are taking new security steps in the Indian Ocean as outgoing US President Joe Biden hosts counterparts from the Quad grouping established due to shared concerns about China. Biden welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony

An overnight curfew has been imposed across Sri Lanka after voting ended in the presidential election as the island nation seeks to recover from an unprecedented economic crisis that triggered mass protests and forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee. Police announced the

Former US President Donald Trump has said he will not take part in a second TV debate ahead of November's presidential election. While Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's candidate, accepted an invitation to the CNN debate on 23 October, Republican nominee

French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his new government almost three months after a snap general election delivered a hung parliament. The long-awaited new line up, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, marks a decisive shift to the right, even though a left-wing alliance won

An Israeli air strike on a school in Gaza City has killed at least 22 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The school, closed during the war, was housing displaced people, the health ministry said. The Israel Defense Forces

Tens of thousands of people in four cities in central Japan have been ordered to evacuate after weather forecasters warned of major flooding caused by heavy rain. About 18,000 people in the city of Wajima and another 12,000 in Suzu have been told to seek shelter in Ishikawa prefecture,

Sri Lankans are voting for a new president in the first election since mass protests sparked by the country's worst-ever economic crisis unseated the leader in 2022. Saturday's vote is widely regarded as a referendum on economic reforms meant to put the country on the road to

A top Hezbollah military commander was killed in an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, in a major escalation that has added to fears of an all-out war. Hezbollah confirmed Ibrahim Aqil's death after Israel said he was one of several senior Hezbollah

World leaders will descend on the United Nation’s New York HQ from Sunday for the organization’s annual signature gathering against an explosive backdrop of raging wars, growing populism and diplomatic deadlock. The war in Gaza, soaring Middle East tensions, famine

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday said that Saudi Arabia would not recognize Israel without a Palestinian state and strongly condemned the “crimes of the Israeli occupation” against the Palestinian people. “The Kingdom will not stop its tireless work

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 450 wounded by a second wave of explosions from wireless communication devices in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry says. Walkie-talkies used by the armed group Hezbollah blew up in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut,

With the interim government in Bangladesh banning the export of Hilsa to India, fish sellers in India are being forced to either import it illegally or sell the limited frozen stock at skyrocketing prices to cater to the ongoing festive demand. In the capital Delhi, Bangladeshi Hilsa

Portugal was shaken Tuesday when a 12-year-old boy stabbed and injured six other children in a rare episode of violence inside a school. Portuguese national police said that the victims were from 11 to 14 years old in the attack at the school in Azambuja near Lisbon. One boy was

Aam Aadmi Party boss Arvind Kejriwal quit as Delhi Chief Minister - in favour of colleague Atishi - Tuesday evening, capping a dramatic four days following his release on bail in the liquor policy case. Kejriwal spent five months in jail in connection with a now-scrapped alcohol sales

Donald Trump has praised an “amazing” woman motorist who he said tailed an alleged gunman as he made his getaway after an apparent assassination attempt on the former president on Sunday, leading to a speedy arrest. In his first public appearance since the incident, the

Nine people, including a child, have been killed after handheld pagers used by members of the armed group Hezbollah to communicate exploded across Lebanon, the country’s health minister says. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among 2,800 other people who were wounded by the

The normally bustling financial hub of Shanghai was brought to a standstill on Monday as residents sheltered at home to wait out the worst of the most powerful tropical cyclone to directly hit the city since 1949. Typhoon Bebinca, which made landfall in the Chinese megacity on Monday

Nothing justifies Israel’s collective punishment of the people of Gaza as they endure “unimaginable” suffering, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP on Monday. Guterres lashed out at Israel’s handling of its war in the devastated Palestinian territory,

A shy yellow-eyed penguin has come out on top of one of New Zealand's most contested competitions to win Bird of the Year. More than 50,000 people voted in the competition - which has in the past seen its fair share of scandal - including claims of foreign interference and