SYDNEY, May 13 — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was sworn in for a second term today, alongside his ministers, after a landslide win at a national election he said had returned the largest centre-left Labor government since federation in 1901.

CAIRO/JERUSALEM, May 13 — An Israeli-American hostage was released from 19 months of captivity in Gaza during a brief pause in fighting yesterday and reunited with his family, but Israeli strikes on the battered enclave soon resumed.

GENEVA, May 13 — Countries met at the United Nations yesterday to revive efforts to regulate the kinds of artificial intelligence-controlled autonomous weapons increasingly used in modern warfare, as experts warn time is running out to put guardrails on new lethal technology.

TOKYO, May 13 — Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co plans to cut around 20,000 jobs worldwide — more than double the number announced last November — as part of deeper restructuring efforts to revive its struggling business.

NEW DELHI, May 13 — Indian authorities yesterday announced the reopening of 32 airports it closed down for civilian flight operations due to airspace restrictions in the wake of heightened tensions with Pakistan, Xinhua reported.

JAMMU, May 12 — The military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan are today set to discuss the next steps for the nuclear-armed neighbours, India said, as a ceasefire returned calm to the border, and their equity markets edged higher.

ANKARA, May 11 — Turkiye is ready to host talks on a ceasefire and permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine, President Tayyip Erdogan told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a phone call on Sunday, Erdogan’s office said.

HONG KONG, May 11 — An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 jolted Northern Sumatra, Indonesia at 0857 GMT on Sunday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said, Xinhua reported.

PHNOM PENH, May 11— Millions of Buddhists throughout Asean are celebrating Wesak Day, a significant occasion that commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Lord Buddha.

TOKYO, May 11 — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated on Sunday that he will aim for the elimination of all tariffs in trade negotiations with the United States.

MOSCOW, May 11 — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in the Turkish city of Istanbul that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace and eliminating the root causes of the war.

DUBAI, May 11 — Top Iranian and US negotiators will resume talks on Sunday to address disputes over Tehran’s nuclear programme, in a push for progress as Washington hardens its stance ahead of US President Donald Trump’s Middle East visit.

SHENZHEN, China, May 11 — China’s car sales in April rose for a third month, up 14.8 per cent from a year earlier, as government-subsidised auto trade-ins mitigated the impact of US tariffs on consumer sentiment.

SEOUL, May 11 — South Korea’s former prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo ended a short, ill-fated attempt to win the conservative party’s presidential nomination on Sunday after days of internecine disputes just days out from the election.

LONDON, May 11 — The British government outlined plans on Sunday to end what it called the “failed free market experiment” in mass immigration by restricting skilled worker visas to graduate-level jobs and forcing businesses to increase training for local workers.

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, May 11 — Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after US pressure and four days of fighting, but within hours, explosions rang out in border cities and towns and India accused Pakistan of violating the pact.

GENEVA/WASHINGTON, May 11 — US President Donald Trump hailed talks with China in Switzerland on Saturday, saying the two sides had negotiated “a total reset ...

GENEVA, May 10 — Chinese Vice Premier He Lipeng began talks with United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent early on Saturday in Geneva in a tentative first step towards defusing a trade war disrupting the global economy.

ISLAMABAD/JAMMU — Pakistan and India launched strikes and counter-strikes against each other's military installations today, prompting United States (US) calls for the nuclear-armed neighbours to begin talks and defuse their escalating conflict, the most intense since 1999.

SEOUL, May 10 — South Korea's conservatives dropped their presidential candidate today and reopened the nomination process, as the former prime minister joined the party to challenge the liberal frontrunner in an election just four weeks away.