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

German international Franz Wagner drained a three-pointer with three seconds remaining as the Orlando Magic ended the Los Angeles Lakers' unbeaten home record with a dramatic 119-118 victory on Thursday.

In heavily forested Gabon, elephants are increasingly wandering into villages and destroying crops, angering the local population who demand the power to stop the critically endangered animals in their tracks.

Russia on Thursday fired an experimental missile at Ukraine in a clear warning of its capabilities, officials from Western governments said, even as they pushed back against Ukrainian claims of a more provocative action by Moscow.

Indian prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju broke new ground to reach the World Chess Championship and the 18-year-old "Friends" fan is now hot favourite to win the title and make more history.

Sam Prendergast has never been lacking in self-confidence, with his talent evident to many, and on Saturday he will get to pull the strings for Ireland at fly-half in the Test against Fiji.

Rarely can two national coaches head into a Test match on the back of such varying form as Wales' under-fire Warren Gatland and South Africa's Rassie Erasmus.

Ruben Amorim takes charge of Manchester United for the first time in Sunday's trip to Ipswich, while Manchester City are aiming to snap a historic losing streak for Pep Guardiola against Tottenham.

At the outskirts of a South Korean industrial city, workers at a sprawling weapons factory were conducting final-stage testing for a newly built surface-to-air defence system that could, eventually, head to Ukraine.

Plastic pollution litters our seas, our air and even our bodies, but negotiators face an uphill battle next week to agree on the world's first treaty aimed at ending the problem.

Leaders Barcelona have lost two matches this season in La Liga, both without teenage starlet Lamine Yamal starting, and the winger will also be missing for Saturday's match at Celta Vigo.

New Zealand are looking to end their year on a high against Italy on Saturday after last weekend's painful defeat to France left the All Blacks ruing missed chances.

Claudio Ranieri's baptism of fire as Roma boss begins on Sunday when he leads his boyhood club at Serie A leaders Napoli, one of a trio of tough tests awaiting the veteran coach as the Italian top flight gets back underway.

Uruguayans go to the polls Sunday with the leftist alliance of celebrated ex-president Jose Mujica hoping to reclaim the country's top job five years after a right-wing victory based on concerns over crime and taxes.

Animated films tackling parent separation and divorce are few and far between.

Pep Guardiola has extended his contract as manager of Premier League champions Manchester City for a further two seasons, saying Thursday "I could not leave now" with the club facing arguably the toughest period of his time at the Etihad Stadium.

US President-elect Donald Trump tapped Pam Bondi, a staunch ally who helped defend the ex-leader against impeachment, as US attorney general on Thursday following firebrand Matt Gaetz's withdrawal from the running.

If Red Bull's Max Verstappen sees off Lando Norris to seal the Formula One world championship in Las Vegas on Saturday, he will become just the sixth driver to win four titles.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge were named unanimous choices for Major League Baseball's 2024 Most Valuable Player awards on Thursday.

Shohei Ohtani was named Major League Baseball's National League Most Valuable Player on Thursday after a historic 2024 season that ended with his first World Series title.

The number of US-bound migrants passing through the Darien jungle has fallen by 39 percent so far this year, with a total of 294,000 attempting the dangerous journey since January, Panama's president said Thursday.

Arsenal booked theirs and Bayern Munich's places in the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League on Thursday thanks to a late winner against Juventus, while Manchester City also progressed.

Long-suffering fans of the Dallas Cowboys could be forgiven for thinking that their season from hell couldn't possibly get any worse.

French President Emmanuel Macron accused Haiti's transitional council of being "total morons" for dismissing the country's prime minister, according to a video shot at the G20 summit in Brazil this week and shared on social media Thursday.

World number one Jannik Sinner triumphed in singles and doubles to help Davis Cup holders Italy beat Argentina 2-1 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals.

The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors passed a resolution chiding Iran's poor cooperation with the agency after hours of heated exchanges, diplomats told AFP late on Thursday, a move Tehran called "politically motivated".

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a "global" war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries.

Global stocks mostly rose Thursday following strong earnings from artificial intelligence leader Nvidia as bitcoin prices zoomed near $100,000 and oil prices rose.

Lebanon said Israeli strikes Thursday on the country's east and south killed 52 people, as raids also hit south Beirut and Hezbollah claimed its deepest attack on Israel in over a year.

South Korea's An Na-rin fired a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to seize a one-stroke lead after Thursday's opening round of the LPGA's season-ending Tour Championship.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the International Criminal Court as "anti-Semitic" on Thursday afer it issued arrest warrants for him and his former defence minister, vowing it would not deter him from defending Israel.

Before being elected as the first transgender woman to the US Congress, 34-year-old Sarah McBride said she expected hostility. A harsh national spotlight has fallen swiftly upon her.

The top US securities regulator, a skeptic towards cryptocurrency who was appointed by President Joe Biden, announced Thursday he will step down in January when Donald Trump takes office.