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

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente hailed his team's "inexhaustible" supply of talent on Saturday, ahead of the Nations League quarter-final second leg clash against the Netherlands.

Pope Francis is to leave hospital on Sunday and return to his residence in the Vatican, where he is to spend "at least two months" recovering, one of his doctors announced.

Virat Kohli opened the Indian Premier League season with an unbeaten 59 as he led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a crushing seven-wicket win over champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the curtain-raiser on Saturday.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff has praised Vladimir Putin in glowing terms as trustworthy and said the Russian leader told him he had prayed for his "friend" US President Donald Trump when he was shot.

Turkey was headed for a fourth straight night of protests late Saturday, as the biggest street unrest the country has seen in over a decade raged on over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Hundreds of Russians placed flowers at Crocus City Hall in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk Saturday, paying homage a year on to the 145 victims of the gun attack there.

Elfyn Evans overcame the full spectrum of weather conditions that the Safari Rally Kenya can offer on Saturday as he grew his lead to 1min 57.4sec ahead of the chasing pack.

Mathieu van der Poel won Milan-San Remo on Saturday to claim the cycling season's opening "Monument" race for the second time, denying Tadej Pogacar in a gripping finale on the Italian Riviera.

Mathieu van der Poel won Milan-San Remo on Saturday to claim the cycling season's opening "Monument" race for the second time.

France staved off an Ireland fightback to win 27-15 in the opening match of the 2025 Women's Six Nations in Belfast on Saturday.

Turkey was headed for a fourth straight night of protests late Saturday, as the biggest street unrest the country has seen over a decade raged on over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Germany want to continue riding the "surge in spirit" unleashed at Euro 2024 when they take on Italy in their Nations League quarter-final second leg clash in Dortmund, goalkeeper Oliver Baumann said Saturday.

Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis headlined three modern-day greats of track and field to glory in an electrifying night of action at the world indoor championships in Nanjing on Saturday.

Gus Atkinson wants to play as much as he can for England in 2025 but the fast bowler is well aware of the need to stay fit for marquee Test series against India and Australia.

US Senator Steve Daines on Saturday met China's Vice Premier He Lifeng, who "firmly" criticised Washington's economic policy while appealing for dialogue in talks with the staunch supporter of Republican President Donald Trump.

When fighting first gripped the Sudanese capital in April 2023, quickly overwhelming Khartoum's hospitals, Dr. Safaa Ali faced an impossible choice: her family or her patients.

China on Saturday announced measures to simplify the marriage registration process and lessen the financial burden on couples, the latest initiative by Beijing to boost births.

American Grant Holloway made history by storming to an unprecedented third consecutive world indoor 60m hurdles title in Nanjing on Saturday.

The appeal of a Vietnamese property tycoon convicted of money laundering will begin next week, state media said on Saturday, three months after losing her appeal against the death penalty in a separate case.

Sweden's Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis won a third world indoor pole vault title in Nanjing on Saturday after a gripping, high-class battle with Greece's Emmanouil Karalis.

Israel conducted deadly strikes on Lebanon Saturday in response to a rocket attack from across the border, as militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility for the launch.

In-demand Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness extended his deal with the club by one season to 2028 on Saturday.

The England Cricket Board (ECB) on Saturday announced Heather Knight will leave her role as captain of the women's team a day after head coach Jon Lewis was dismissed following a 16-0 Ashes humiliation in Australia earlier this year.

Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 3,000m at the world indoor championships in Nanjing on Saturday to keep his quest for double gold on track.

Moscow is hoping to achieve "some progress" at talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday, a Russian negotiator told state media some 48 hours before the United States meets delegations from both Ukraine and Russia in a bid to halt the three-year conflict.

Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets Saturday as rallies for and against the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol intensified over the upcoming Constitutional Court's decision on whether to dismiss him.

Sudan's military said Saturday it seized several key buildings in central Khartoum from paramilitary control after army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan promised "full liberation" following the recapture of the presidential palace.

Pope Francis will make his first public appearance on Sunday with a blessing and a wave from Rome's Gemelli hospital where he was admitted on February 14 with breathing problems.

Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Saturday after intercepting cross-border rocket fire, with Lebanese state media reporting a woman was killed.

More than 340 people were arrested following Turkey's biggest street protests in over a decade sparked by the detention of Istanbul's powerful opposition mayor, a minister said Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton roared to his maiden win in Ferrari red in the Chinese GP sprint on Saturday but the man he beat -- McLaren's Oscar Piastri -- later scored his first-ever pole position in main race qualifying.

A new exhibition opened Saturday in Paris charting the emergence of Snoopy as a fashion icon, with the famed black-and-white beagle embraced by designers from streetwear brands to couture houses.