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

Student leaders rallied Bangladeshis on Saturday for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government weathered a worsening backlash over a deadly police crackdown on protesters.

Vietnamese President To Lam was formally named the country's top leader Saturday, pledging to "speed up" a sweeping graft campaign that has snared thousands in recent years.

Sports fans at a Taipei bar burst into applause when Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting was declared winner in her opening Olympic bout -- a victory that comes as controversy around her gender stirs heated debate.

A $4 billion settlement has been reached to end thousands of lawsuits filed in the wake of devastating wildfires on Maui nearly one year ago, the governor of Hawaii announced Friday.

Aryna Sabalenka withstood a shaky second set to defeat Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-4 in a Friday showdown of two-time Australian Open champions to reach the Washington Open semi-finals.

Venezuela braced for fresh protests Saturday, after President Nicolas Maduro's disputed election victory was ratified -- and a growing number of nations recognized his opposition rival as the true winner.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused South Korean media outlets of spreading rumours about flood damage and casualties in his country, state media said Saturday, days after Seoul reached out to offer humanitarian aid.

Dewi Weber, denied a Paris Olympic berth by Dutch sports officials, fired a 10-under par 62 to seize the lead after Friday's second round of the LPGA Portland Classic.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday scrapped a plea agreement with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, just two days after the announcement of a deal that reportedly would have taken the death penalty off the table.

In the lush jungle of northern Guatemala -- in the largest protected area in Central America -- 30 leaders from Colombia's Amazon basin region are swapping strategies with local ethnic Maya farmers on how to live off this dense forest without destroying it.

Opponents of deep sea mining suffered a serious setback Friday when they failed to take a first step toward an international moratorium on the controversial practice.

Czech duo Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac won the Olympic Games tennis mixed doubles gold on Friday but opted to keep their private life under wraps.

World number one Iga Swiatek of Poland withdrew from next week's WTA event in Toronto on Friday, citing fatigue from her run to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

France's grudge match with Argentina ended in ugly scenes after Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal to put the hosts into the Olympic semi-finals on Friday with a 1-0 win, joining Spain, Morocco and Egypt.

Google confirmed Friday that it had pulled an ad for its Gemini artificial intelligence after it landed flat with some Olympics viewers.

Global stocks closed the week on a downcast note Friday after poor US jobs data stoked recession fears while Japan's Nikkei tumbled on a resurgent yen.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal as France won 1-0 in their grudge match with Argentina on Friday to reach the Olympic men's football semi-finals, joining Spain, Morocco and Egypt in the last four.

A fired-up Novak Djokovic on Friday reached his first Olympic final, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz in a dream showdown for gold, describing his achievement as "a big deal".

Leon Marchand called it a "perfect week" after winning his fourth gold of the Paris Olympics with an emphatic victory in the 200m individual medley on Friday in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

French hero Leon Marchand cemented his Paris Olympics legacy with a fourth swimming gold of the Games on Friday and Australia's Kaylee McKeown made a slice of history, but it was a disastrous day for American superstar Caeleb Dressel.

Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei won the 10,000 metres, the first track title of the Paris Olympics, on Friday whilst the United States smashed the 4x400m mixed relay world record in a sparkling opening to the athletics.

Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei withstood Ethiopian team tactics to claim gold in the men's Olympic 10,000m at the Stade de France on Friday.

Lionel Messi will not play for defending champion Inter Miami against Tigres in a Leagues Cup home match on Saturday despite injury improvements, Miami coach Gerardo Martino said.

French breakout swimming star Leon Marchand won his fourth gold of the Paris Olympics on Friday as a row over gender eligibility in boxing engulfed the Games.

French hero Leon Marchand cemented his Paris Olympics legacy with a fourth swimming gold of the Games on Friday and Australia's Kaylee McKeown made a slice of history, but it was a disastrous day for American superstar Caeleb Dressel.

Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei withstood surging Ethiopian team tactics to claim gold in the men's Olympic 10,000m at the Stade de France on Friday.

Pop singer Justin Timberlake pleaded not guilty on Friday to driving while intoxicated in a virtual appearance before a judge who ordered that his driver's license be suspended in New York state, US media reported.

Opponents of deep sea mining hope to take a potentially significant step toward an international moratorium on Friday, as the sector's top international authority considers what could snowball into a key regulatory text.

As Hezbollah's leader threatened Israel with crushing retaliation for killing their top commander, thousands in Beirut flocked to a dance extravaganza in a stark illustration of Lebanon's deep divisions.

Fear has cast a pall over the vast shantytown of Petare, a tangle of houses clinging to a hillside in eastern Caracas, where residents dread violent repression if they take part in opposition protests against Nicolas Maduro's disputed election win.

Russian opposition activists freed in an landmark prisoner exchange expressed misgivings about the terms of the deal, as the Kremlin said that at least three of its agents were among those released.

The United States sued TikTok on Friday, saying it had placed the safety of millions of children in jeopardy by collecting their personal data without parental permission.