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

Australia had Sri Lanka three down after opener Usman Khawaja's first double century and a ton on debut by Josh Inglis helped the tourists to 654-6 declared in the first match on Thursday.

Sam Prendergast will start at fly-half for reigning champions Ireland when they begin their Six Nations title defence against England in Dublin on Saturday.

DR Congo's president has vowed a "vigorous" military response against Rwandan-backed fighters who have advanced further in the mineral-rich east of the country after seizing most of the region's main city.

Russian figure skaters including world champion couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the 1994 pairs title, were on board a US passenger jet that crashed in Washington on Wednesday, Russian state news agencies reported.

Palestinian militants on Thursday freed three Israeli hostages and five foreigners captured in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel as the third hostage-prisoner exchange of the Gaza ceasefire got under way.

Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, is to be released Thursday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Opener Usman Khawaja's first double century and a ton on debut by Josh Inglis helped Australia to 654-6 declared on day two of the first match against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, was released Thursday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

A man who repeatedly burnt the Koran in 2023 in Sweden, sparking outrage in Muslim countries, has been shot dead south of Stockholm, investigators said Thursday, adding that five people had been arrested.

A Scottish court on Thursday ruled against the development of two oil and gas fields in the North Sea in a "historic win" for two environmental groups.

Hopes faded for a 74-year-old man in Japan whose truck was swallowed by a sinkhole as a difficult rescue operation entered its third night Thursday, with the chasm widening and locals urged to limit water use to aid efforts.

The EU promised Thursday an "action plan" to help the bloc's beleaguered auto sector as it held talks with industry leaders who have sounded the alarm over emissions fines and Chinese competition.

English rugby giants Leicester said Thursday head coach Michael Cheika will leave at the end of the season after he opted not to extend his contract with the Premiership club.

European stock markets rose and the euro dipped Thursday, with the European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates as inflation eases and the eurozone economy stalls.

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane says Marcus Rashford "must be ashamed" at his exile under Ruben Amorim.

A passenger jet carrying 64 people crashed into Washington's Potomac River Wednesday after colliding midair with a military helicopter, with US media reporting multiple bodies pulled from the dark, near-freezing water.

Europe's top rights court on Thursday ruled that Italy had failed to protect nearly three million people living in a region blighted by toxic waste dumped by the mafia and gave the government two years to fix the situation.

Josh Inglis struck a century on debut and Usman Khawaja made 232 as Australia piled the agony on Sri Lanka on Thursday, day two of the first Test.

President Ferdinand Marcos said Thursday his government will remove a US missile system from the Philippines if Beijing ends its "aggressive and coercive behaviour" in the contested South China Sea and ceases claiming Filipino territory.

A record 92.3 million passengers travelled through Dubai's international airport last year, its operator said on Thursday, underlining the Gulf city's economic boom.

Hindu pilgrim Parvati Gupta braved jostling crowds to be at the world's largest religious festival in India but will leave with injuries that will keep her bedridden for months.

A man who repeatedly burnt the Koran in 2023 in Sweden, sparking outrage in Muslim countries, has been shot dead, media reported Thursday as police confirmed a man died in a shooting the day before.

British energy giant Shell on Thursday announced a 17-percent drop in annual net profit owing to weaker oil and gas prices as well as asset write-offs.

Palestinian militant group Hamas on Thursday handed over Israeli woman hostage Agam Berger, a soldier, as a third hostage-prisoner exchange got under way, an AFP journalist reported.

Ayse Barim, a renowned manager of Turkish television stars, has always steered clear of politics, but that did not help her escape prison on charges of "attempting to overthrow the government".

Fed up with paying ever increasing prices at grocery stores and shopping outlets, Croatians have begun channeling their anger into a nascent boycott movement targeting retailers that shows signs of spreading across the Balkans.

The Red Cross museum in Geneva is warning that it risks closure after its funding was axed in a broad government cost-cutting plan, with some suggesting it could be moved to Abu Dhabi.

Britain's vehicle production slid below one million units last year as the sector transitions to electric cars, an industry body said Thursday as it warned over US President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

The French economy grew 1.1 percent in 2024 but shrank in the fourth quarter as a political crisis gripped the country after a boost from the Paris Olympic Games, official data showed Thursday.

A US passenger jet carrying 64 people crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding midair with a military helicopter on a nighttime training exercise Wednesday, prompting a desperate search for survivors in the dark, near-freezing water.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi insisted his troops were mounting a "vigorous" response to Rwanda-backed fighters advancing in the country's perennially troubled east and slammed the international community's "silence and inaction".

The Golden State Warriors withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109 on Wednesday.