Australia’s newly elected prime minister has said Pacific leaders have been “very positive” about his government’s renewed engagement, even as Beijing continues its diplomatic blitz across the increasingly contested region.

Japan yesterday for the first time joined fellow members of the Group of Seven industrialised nations in pledging to end public financing for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of the year to help combat global warming.

Two lawmakers from Britain’s governing Conservative Party yesterday pulled their support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson over a damning report that detailed a series of alcohol-fuelled lockdown-breaking parties at his 10 Downing Street office.

A new website that published leaked emails from several leading proponents of Britain's exit from the European Union is tied to Russian hackers, according to a Google cybersecurity official and the former head of UK foreign intelligence.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed the number of forcibly displaced people around the world above 100 million for the first time ever, the United Nations said yesterday.

Incoming prime minister Anthony Albanese yesterday vowed to end Australia’s reputation as a climate laggard and reset relations with the rest of the world, as he raced to form a government in time for a key Tokyo summit.

Thousands gathered for a rally in Istanbul on Saturday to protest the conviction of leading Turkish opposition politician Canan Kaftancioglu for insulting the president and the state.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday congratulated Anthony Albanese on his election as Australia’s new leader, vowing to work together on trade, military ties and climate change.

The UN rights chief came under fire for announcing a visit next week to China’s Xinjiang, with the United States saying she was failing to stand up for the region’s Uyghur community.

The World Health Organization was holding an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the recent outbreak of monkeypox, a viral infection more common to west and central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe.

A 1955 Mercedes-Benz, one of only two of its kind, was auctioned off earlier this month for a whopping 135 million euros ($143 million), making it the most expensive car ever sold, RM Sotheby’s announced Thursday.

Ukraine’s bid to join the EU cannot be sped up despite the country’s invasion by Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said yesterday, adding that the bloc must find a “fast and pragmatic” way to help Kyiv.

Russia’s economy will contract by no more than 5 per cent in 2022, presidential adviser Maxim Oreshkin said on Thursday, giving a much more optimistic forecast than the economy ministry.

Rights group Amnesty International yesterday urged football’s governing body FIFA pay compensation equal to the total 2022

Finland and Sweden yesterday submitted a joint application to join Nato as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forces a dramatic reappraisal of security in Europe.

France's interior minister said Tuesday that he would seek to overturn a rule change in the city of Grenoble that would allow women to wear burkinis in state-run swimming pools.

The UK government yesterday announced its intention to drastically overhaul post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland, arguing the plan was needed to end political paralysis in the territory but risking a trade war with the EU.

Finland yesterday confirmed its bid for Nato membership as a bulwark against Russia, redrawing the balance of power in Europe after decades of military non-alignment.

Russia has lost around a third of the ground forces it deployed to Ukraine and its offensive in the Donbas region “has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule”, British military intelligence said yesterday.

A senior NATO official said Sunday that Russia’s military advance in Ukraine appears to be faltering and he expressed hope that Kyiv can win the war, as Russia’s neighbor Finland announced it wants to join the Western military alliance.