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

Australia's Usman Khawaja wore shoes marked with his daughters' names as he batted against Pakistan on Tuesday, after he had earlier been banned from sporting footwear with a statement about respecting human rights in Gaza.

The Turkish parliament was Tuesday set to resume debate on approving Sweden's bid to join NATO, a thorny issue that was further complicated after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan linked it to Ankara's request for F-16 fighter jets from its ally the United States.

Pele "would have been sad" at the state of the current Brazilian national team, his son Edinho has told AFP in an interview days before the first anniversary of his death on Friday.

The Las Vegas Raiders defense produced two touchdowns in a matter of seconds on Monday to key a 20-14 upset at Kansas City that put the Chiefs' bid to lock up the AFC West division title on hold.

Opener David Warner was out for 38 on the stroke of lunch as Australia battled to 90-1 on day one of the second Test against Pakistan in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Boston Celtics used a hot start and a strong finish to put away the Los Angeles Lakers 126-115 on Monday in a Christmas clash of storied NBA franchises.

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic put on a show in the Denver Nuggets' 120-114 victory over Golden State on Monday, as the New York Knicks launched the NBA's Christmas slate with an upset over the Milwaukee Bucks.

A plane that had been grounded in France for days over concerns its nearly 300 mostly Indian passengers were part of a human trafficking scheme has landed in Mumbai, flight tracking data showed early Tuesday.

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been moved to a penal colony in the Arctic, allies said on Monday after over two weeks during which his whereabouts were unknown.

Armed groups have killed at least 160 people in central Nigeria in a series of attacks on villages, local government officials said on Monday.

World Health Organization staff visited Monday a Gaza hospital receiving casualties from deadly strikes on a refugee camp, hearing distressing stories of entire families killed and seeing dying children.

On a countryside road in battle-ravaged Sudan, the hum of a passing vehicle turns villagers' blood cold, fearing the arrival of paramilitaries plundering their way south in their war against the army.

Thousands gathered in front of a Belgrade police station on Monday evening in support of those arrested the previous day during protests against what they say was electoral fraud in Serbia's recent parliamentary and local elections.

Jalen Brunson scored 38 points as the New York Knicks finally got the better of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, halting the Bucks seven-game NBA win streak with a 129-122 victory at Madison Square Garden.

An Israeli strike in Syria has killed a senior general with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the military force said, with Tehran vowing retribution.

Turkish air strikes killed eight civilians in Syria's Kurdish-held northeast Monday, a war monitor and local media said, as Ankara launched operations in Iraq and Syria following deadly attacks on its soldiers.

Japan's SLIM space probe entered the Moon's orbit on Monday in a major step towards the country's first successful lunar landing, expected next month.

Demonstrators set up roadblocks in the Serbian capital Belgrade Monday, to protest what they say was electoral fraud in Serbia's recent parliamentary and local elections.

Residents of Gaza's Al-Maghazi refugee camp returned to their neighbourhood on Monday only to find blocks of concrete strewn where their homes had stood just a day ago.

Israel on Monday said it was "intensifying the fighting" against Hamas in Gaza, where relentless strikes across the Palestinian territory exacerbated the dire conditions for civilians in the war's 12th week.

A plane with close to 300 Indian passengers detained near Paris over suspicions of human trafficking took off Monday for Mumbai after being cleared for departure by French police, an AFP reporter said.

King Charles III has evoked environmentalism and the need for peace around the world in the second Christmas Day message of his reign -- and his first since being formally crowned monarch in May.

Five people arrested in northern France last week as part of an investigation into a criminal terrorist conspiracy have been released without charge, a judicial source said Monday.

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been moved to a penal colony in the Arctic, allies said on Monday after over two weeks during which his whereabouts were unknown.

Allaho bids to give legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins a third win in an intriguing renewal of the prestigious King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Tuesday.

Protesters on Monday launched the first of several announced road blocks in Belgrade over alleged electoral fraud in Serbia's recent parliamentary and local elections, an AFP reporter saw.

People donned Santa caps on beaches, ski slopes and streets around the globe on Monday to celebrate Christmas, as Pope Francis called for an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine that this year have cast a shadow over one of the world's favourite holidays.

A plane with 303 Indian passengers detained near Paris over suspicions of human trafficking was due to leave Monday for Bombay, French judicial officials said.

Israel pounded Gaza on Monday, exacerbating the dire conditions for civilians with no end in sight to the war Hamas says has killed more than 20,000 people in the Palestinian territory.

People donned Santa caps on beaches, ski slopes and streets around the globe on Monday to celebrate Christmas, with Israel's war on Hamas and Russia's invasion of Ukraine casting a shadow over one of the world's favourite holidays.

Sadness over the war in Gaza subdued the holiday cheer in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, when the biblical town would usually be decked out in festive finery.

Palestinians said they felt "no joy" this Christmas as Israel bombed the besieged Palestinian territory on Monday, with no end in sight to the war that Hamas says has claimed more than 20,000 lives.