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

The sultry songs of Lolita Cercel, an AI-generated singer, are a sensation in Romania, racking up millions of views online -- but angering real-life musicians and drawing criticism from the Roma minority as a racist cliche.

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves staged a double-digit fightback for a series-leveling 119-114 upset of the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs on Monday.

The United States and Iran both warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked down on a ceasefire on Tuesday, with uncertainty over whether talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.

A gunman killed a Canadian tourist and wounded six other people on Monday at Mexico's famed Teotihuacan archaeological site, authorities said.

The appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as head coach of Union Berlin's men's Bundesliga side may have captured global headlines, but few inside the ambitious club were surprised.

Virginia votes Tuesday in a referendum that could hand Democrats four extra seats in the US House of Representatives, turning President Donald Trump's redistricting push into a potential liability for Republicans in upcoming midterm elections.

Hoteliers are switching on the lights to welcome a trickle of visitors back to the once-booming resort towns of India-controlled Kashmir, a year after militants opened fire on holidaymakers in an attack that killed 26 people.

Competing for attention with Jennifer Lopez is no easy task. But at a recent wedding in India where the American star performed in a barely-there sparkly leotard, it was arguably the cake that stole the show.

Shares in a Chinese tech firm that supplies US chip titan Nvidia soared almost 60 percent on its Hong Kong debut Tuesday, having raised more than US$2 billion in the city's largest listing this year.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday while most stocks rose on lingering hopes for a deal to end the US-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even as Tehran said it had not decided whether to attend peace talks.

A Canadian woman was shot dead and 13 others were hurt in a shooting Monday at Mexico's famed Teotihuacan archaeological site, authorities said.

An Alabama-born engineer seen as a supply-chain savant, Tim Cook took on the daunting challenge of succeeding Apple's iconic boss Steve Jobs 15 years ago.

Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined for 58 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-105 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Monday.

Entering the San Salvador district of Mejicanos no longer means taking your life in your hands, like it did a decade ago when Kathya Quintanilla left home to meet a friend at a local park.

Kevin Warsh, US President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Federal Reserve, will vow to protect central bank independence on interest rates at a crucial confirmation hearing Tuesday, according to remarks seen by AFP.

The PGA Tour is planning to abandon the traditional season-opening swing in Hawaii from 2027, it said Monday.

Amazon on Monday said it pumped another $5 billion into Anthropic as it ramps up its collaboration with the startup behind Claude artificial intelligence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "harsh action" on Monday against a soldier caught on camera vandalising a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was named the NBA's defensive player of the year on Monday, becoming the first unanimous winner in the award's 43-year history.

Two decades after "The Devil Wears Prada" became a modern US classic, its stars reunited in New York on Monday for the long-awaited sequel's world premiere.

Around 490 alleged members of the powerful Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), including several alleged leaders, went on trial collectively in El Salvador on Monday, accused of thousands of murders.

The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with uncertainty on talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.

Apple on Monday announced that Tim Cook will step down as the tech giant's chief executive officer in September, handing the top job to company veteran John Ternus.

West Ham's 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on Monday condemned Wolves to relegation from the Premier League and boosted their own survival bid to leave struggling Tottenham deeper in trouble.

A Canadian woman was shot dead and five other people injured by a gunman on Monday at Mexico's famed Teotihuacan archaeological site, authorities said.

Wolves were relegated from the Premier League on Monday after West Ham's goalless draw at Crystal Palace sealed their fate.

US and European stocks reversed Monday as oil prices surged over fears hostilities could resume in the weeks-long Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz following its brief reopening.

Afro-Colombian woman Yuvelis Morales, a 25-year-old who has spent most of her adult life working to block the world's biggest oil companies from exploiting fragile ecosystems, won the environmental equivalent of a Nobel prize on Monday.

More than 200 tourists were trapped Monday atop an iconic hill overlooking Rio de Janeiro after a gunfight broke out between police and drug gangs in a nearby favela, authorities and a tour operator said.

Iran said Monday it had not decided whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, while President Donald Trump vowed no let-up in a blockade and threatened to start bombing again.

French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz insisted Monday he would rather miss defending the Roland Garros title in May rather than rush treatment on a "serious" wrist injury.

The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a challenge by Catholic preschools to a state requirement that they enroll children of gay or transgender parents in order to receive public funds.

Kevin Warsh, US President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Federal Reserve, will stress his dedication to central bank independence on interest rates at a crucial confirmation hearing Tuesday, according to prepared remarks seen by AFP.

Taliban officials are expected in Brussels in the coming weeks for talks on deporting Afghans from the EU to their home country, sources told AFP.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is requiring Blue Origin to conduct a "mishap investigation" after the space company's New Glenn rocket failed to deliver a communications satellite into the correct orbit.

Pope Leo XIV condemned exploitation and corruption by the rich and powerful during a visit Monday to Angola's diamond-rich but impoverished northeast, returning to a theme of his 11-day tour of Africa.

German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki said Victor Wembanyama, who won on his play-off debut on Sunday, was "changing the game as we speak".

Singer D4vd was charged Monday with the murder and dismemberment of his young teenage girlfriend, whose decomposing corpse was found in a Tesla that had been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills.

Swiss football club FC Basel on Monday confirmed to AFP they had turned down an approach about staging a Kanye West concert at their St. Jakob-Park ground.