The captain of the Iranian women’s football team which played in the Asian Cup in Australia has withdrawn her bid for asylum, state media said on Sunday, making her the fifth member of the delegation to change her mind. A former player and a Persian-language television channel based outside Iran said the players had been pressured to reverse their stance through threats against families back home. But Iranian authorities have in turn accused Australia of pressuring the players to stay. Captain...

China and the US ended the first day of trade talks in Paris on Sunday without any major developments. Talks will continue tomorrow when the US delegation is set to leave. The Chinese delegation will stay one more day before leaving on Tuesday. The first day of the sixth round of trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies – led by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – was rather uneventful for journalists waiting outside the venue, the headquarters...

The brother of the man who attacked a Michigan synagogue last week, who was killed earlier this month in an Israeli air strike, was a Hezbollah commander, Israel’s military claimed on Sunday. Ibrahim Ghazali was killed in Lebanon along with three other of the attacker’s relatives on March 5 - a week before authorities allege Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove his car into a major synagogue outside Detroit and killed himself after security fired at him. The FBI’s Detroit office, which is investigating...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said oil from a record stockpile release will be made available in Asia and Oceania immediately as buyers in the region clamour to replace barrels lost to war-related disruptions in the Middle East. The agency released a statement after it said it received implementation plans from member states. Barrels for Europe and the Americas will only be made available from the end of March. The IEA last week said that the oil market is seeing the biggest supply...

Energy Secretary Chris Wright signalled the war with Iran may last several more weeks, with oil and petrol prices elevated as the US and Israel seek to destroy Iranian military capabilities. In television interviews on Sunday, Wright defended the Trump administration’s argument that Americans are facing short-term pain at the pump in a midterm election year for the larger goal of eliminating Iran as a threat to the Middle East. “I think that this conflict will certainly come to the end in the...

Hong Kong authorities were searching on Sunday for a 68‑year‑old man who has been missing for two days after leaving his home in Tai Po. Lau Kin‑pong left his residence at Wan Tau Tong Estate at around 3pm on Friday. His family became unable to contact him and filed a missing‑person report on Saturday. He was last seen that afternoon on Shan Tong Road in Tai Po. Lau is described as about 1.7 metres tall (5 feet, 7 inches), weighing 60kg (132lbs), of thin build with short white hair. He was last...

Pope Leo XIV demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East on Sunday in his strongest comments to date, directly addressing the leaders who launched the war in Iran. “On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict,” Pope Leo said. “Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace that the people are waiting for.” Pope Leo did not cite the United States...