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

A watched pot never boils and love happens when you least expect it -- turns out, the same logic applies to capturing a star as it collapses into a black hole.

The UN's climate chief on Thursday urged countries to unite against an "unprecedented threat" to international cooperation from pro-fossil fuel forces -- issuing the appeal as US President Donald Trump rattles the global order.

Gary Player, the nine-time major winner from South Africa, says he feels sadness that Augusta National has refused his request to play a four-ball round with three of his grandsons.

President Donald Trump on Thursday revoked a landmark scientific finding that underpins US regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming pollution, marking the administration's most far-reaching rollback of climate policy to date.

Former Arsenal footballer Thomas Partey has been charged with two further counts of rape.

Gregor Townsend insisted speculation about his own position will be no issue as he looks to get Scotland's Six Nations campaign back on track with a Calcutta Cup win at home to England on Saturday.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will soon visit a remote mining town that was in deep shock on Thursday as it mourned eight people killed in a school mass shooting.

A US lawmaker is drafting legislation to block a wave of state and local climate-damage lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, advancing a top priority of the oil and gas industry.

Ukraine blamed a Russian disinformation campaign Thursday after fake news posted online about its Winter Olympics team, including a story criticising an athlete disqualified for trying to highlight war deaths.

Thousands of Venezuelans demonstrated on Thursday to demand the release of all remaining political prisoners and full freedoms a month after the overthrow of autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen launched a scathing broadside at the new breed of Formula One cars, describing them as "anti-racing" at the end of the second day of testing in Bahrain on Thursday.

The broadcast by Iranian state-controlled television of interviews with several women not wearing the Muslim headscarf during a rally commemorating the Islamic revolution has angered critics of the clerical system who accused authorities of hypocrisy.

Dallas Mavericks teen forward Cooper Flagg, last year's top pick in the NBA Draft, and France's Alex Sarr will miss Friday's Rising Stars event, the league announced on Thursday.

Maria Sakkari rolled back the years as she clawed her way to a nervy 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over top seed Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open on Thursday.

India tuned up for their blockbuster showdown with Pakistan at the T20 World Cup with a 93-run hammering of Namibia at New Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.

Italian speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida won her second gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in the women's 5,000 metres on Thursday.

Federica Brignone crowned a sensational injury comeback to win the women's super-G and delight host nation Italy on Thursday while Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych said being banned from competing at the Winter Olympics was the "price of our dignity".

Stock markets diverged Thursday as traders digested a string of company earnings that mostly suggested economic resilience in line with a bumper US jobs report for January, even though the chances of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts receded.

Are there any good men in Afghanistan? The opening film at this year's Berlin Film Festival poses the question against the backdrop of the Taliban authorities returning to power.

Russia has blocked the popular messaging service WhatsApp over its failure to comply with local legislation, the Kremlin said Thursday, urging its 100 million Russian users to switch to a domestic alternative.

Strong performances from major franchises including an "Avatar" tie-in game and juggernaut "Assassin's Creed" buttressed struggling French games giant Ubisoft's third-quarter results, the company said Thursday.

Amid the remains of a sumptuous villa near Pompeii, the hard-hatted conservationist scraped away centuries-old ash to reveal a vibrant red fresco.

Did International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry really think she could keep politics out of sport?

US allies in NATO said Thursday they believed the crisis over Greenland had passed after the launch of a mission in the Arctic -- and looked to press on with bolstering Europe's role in the alliance.

Federica Brignone entered the Olympic history books on Thursday after coming back from a broken leg to win super-G gold at the Milan-Cortina Games, an achievement which is testament to the grit she has shown throughout her long career.

Wilson Odobert is the latest Tottenham player set for a lengthy spell out injured after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the club confirmed on Thursday.

Stability has rarely been the watchword at Marseille but it has been a particularly chaotic week for the former European champions who are looking for a new coach to revive their faltering season.

A UK child-care worker who filmed himself sexually abusing youngsters at a nursery where he worked and downloaded over 26,000 indecent images of children was on Thursday jailed for 18 years.

Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison warned Thursday of possible legal action against Danish firm Maersk and others over the annulment of its contract to operate two ports on the Panama Canal.

President Donald Trump's pointman on Thursday announced the end of aggressive immigration operations in Minnesota that triggered large protests and nationwide outrage following the killing of two US citizens.

The UN's climate chief on Thursday urged countries to unite against an "unprecedented threat" to international cooperation from pro-fossil fuel forces -- issuing the appeal as US President Donald Trump rattles the global order.

Veteran wing James Lowe returns to the Ireland starting line-up for their Six Nations match with Italy on Saturday as head coach Andy Farrell made sweeping changes following a desperately disappointing opening 36-14 defeat by France.

Two Mexican navy ships with more than 800 tons of humanitarian aid arrived in Cuba Thursday, as the island nation struggles under what amounts to a US blockade of oil deliveries.

Belgium's AfricaMuseum is the country's biggest dedicated to the Congo, displaying millions of colonial-era objects and zoological specimens.

A cyclone packing violent winds has killed at least 38 people and caused devastation in Madagascar's second-largest city, prompting the country's leader to call for "international solidarity", the national disaster authority said Thursday in an updated toll.

A federal judge in Florida on Thursday set a February 2027 trial date for US President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC.

Russia announced Thursday it had blocked WhatsApp over its alleged failure to comply with Russian legislation, days after restricting access to rival messaging service Telegram for similar reasons.

With his backflips, one-handed cartwheels and quadruple-jumps galore, US figure skater Ilia Malinin's rip-roaring routines have proved a star attraction at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Stock markets advanced Thursday as traders digested a string of company earnings that mostly suggested economic resilience in line with a bumper US jobs report for January, even though the chances of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts receded.