- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
- UN warns against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
Australia's new PM heads to Tokyo with climate message
Australia's new prime minister Anthony Albanese took office Monday, hours before flying to a Tokyo summit with a "message to the world" that his country is ready to engage on climate change.
The 59-year-old Labor Party leader told reporters he wants to "bring people with us on the journey of change" before he took the oath of office in a brief, publicly televised ceremony at Government House in Canberra.
In a hurried post-election schedule, he was flying out a few hours later to join a summit Tuesday with the US, Japanese and Indian leaders, known as the Quad.
Albanese said at the weekend that the Tokyo summit was "an absolute priority" for Australia and an opportunity "to send a message to the world".
He said partners overseas can expect wholesale changes "particularly with regard to climate change and our engagement with the world on those issues".
- 'Optimism and hope' -
Albanese has frequently reflected on his journey towards the nation's highest office since being brought up by his struggling single mother in Sydney public housing.
The new leader says he wants to transform his country, too.
Shortly before being sworn in, "Albo" said he wanted to lead a government of "optimism and hope, that I think defines the Australian people".
New members of Albanese's team taking office included Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who will join the prime minister in Tokyo, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.
Albanese has vowed to adopt more ambitious emissions reduction targets and make the sun-kissed continent-nation a renewable energy superpower.
- Coal and gas -
In recent years, images of smouldering eucalypt forests, smog-enveloped cities and blanched-out coral reefs have made Australia a poster child for climate-fuelled destruction.
Under conservative leadership, the country -- already one of the world's largest gas and coal exporters -- has also become synonymous with playing the spoiler at international climate talks.
That record allowed a score of climate-aware independent candidates to plunder once-safe conservative urban seats -- helping to deliver power to Labor.
It is still unclear whether Albanese's Labor Party will win enough parliamentary seats to form an outright majority, or whether he will have to turn to independents or smaller parties for support.
- 'Down to business' -
After the summit and bilateral meetings with Quad leaders on Tuesday, Albanese said he would return to Australia the following day.
"Then we'll get down to business," he said.
Notable among the foreign leaders who have welcomed Albanese's election are the ones from Australia's Pacific Island neighbours, whose very existence is threatened by rising sea levels.
"Of your many promises to support the Pacific, none is more welcome than your plan to put the climate first –– our people's shared future depends on it," said Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.
US President Joe Biden also called Albanese to congratulate him.
"President Biden expressed deep appreciation for... (Albanese's) early commitment to the alliance, reflected in his decision to travel almost immediately to Tokyo to attend the Quad Summit," the White House said in a statement.
- Political earthquake -
Others will be watching closely to see if Albanese's premiership brings a less hawkish tone on China, and whether ministerial meetings with Beijing resume after a more than two-year hiatus.
Official results showed Labor expected to win in 75 seats -- almost within reach of the 76 required for a majority in the 151-seat lower house. A handful of other races are still too close to call.
But it is already clear that the vote was a political earthquake in Australia.
For many Australians, the election was a referendum on polarising former prime minister Scott Morrison.
Voters responded at the ballot box with a sharp rebuke of his Liberal-National coalition -- ousting top ministers from parliament and virtually expelling the party from major cities.
For Morrison's conservative allies, the defeat is already spurring a battle for the soul of the party.
A leadership contest is informally underway, with moderates blaming the loss on a drift to the right.
P.Martin--AMWN