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

India's aggressive infrastructure push into the ecologically fragile Himalayan mountains has been given a "wake-up call" by the collapse of a road tunnel that trapped 41 men, environmental experts say.

Mikel Arteta has backed his former club Everton to "fight against anything" after a 10-point deduction for financial breaches left them in the Premier League relegation zone.

South Africa's two-time Rugby World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi is set to make his Top 14 debut for Racing 92, head coach Stuart Lancaster said on Friday.

With children and pets in their arms and their belongings loaded onto donkey carts or car roofs thousands of displaced Gazans headed home Friday as a four-day Israel-Hamas truce began.

After 48 days of gunfire and bombardment that claimed thousands of lives, a four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war began on Friday with hostages set to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

A night of torched vehicles and shop looting sparked in Dublin after a knife attack outside a school was of an "extraordinary" level unseen in decades, police said on Friday.

South Africa's ex-Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius on Friday sought early release from prison, a decade after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, despite her mother telling his parole hearing that he had "not been rehabilitated".

Cameron Smith choked back tears after missing the cut by nine shots at the Australian PGA Championship on Friday, describing it as his worst day as a professional golfer.

Union Verdi called on workers at online retail giant Amazon in Germany to go on strike on the annual "Black Friday" shopping extravaganza, in their battle for better working conditions.

After his shock election win, far-right Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders on Friday kicked off the formal process of building a government coalition, battling to convince reluctant rivals to serve under him as premier.

Japanese auto giant Nissan announced Friday it would invest up to £2 billion in UK electric car manufacturing, which the government touted as a sign of confidence in the sector.

Defending champion Cameron Smith was close to tears and called it "unacceptable" after missing the cut by nine shots at the Australian PGA Championship on Friday, as Min Woo Lee vaulted into the halfway lead.

Markets drifted Friday following a broadly healthy week, with traders hoping for fresh Chinese moves to help the country's troubled property sector after officials called on banks to provide support.

Tiktoker Murja Kunya once ran afoul of sharia police in Nigeria's northwest city of Kano, where "hisbah" units enforce Islamic law that runs alongside common law.

"Thirty years I've been in cocoa -- and this is the worst season yet," said Siaka Sylla as he contemplated an almost empty warehouse at his cooperative in Ivory Coast, the world's top producer of the bean.

Most Asian markets fell Friday following a broadly healthy week, with traders hoping for fresh Chinese moves to help the country's troubled property sector after officials called on banks to provide support.

On an icy morning in southern Ukraine, football coach Vyacheslav Rol shouts to his team over the sound of distant explosions: "Everybody on the bus!"

Pepe's meal is so good he licks the plate clean. In any other Rome establishment, slobbering on one's chicken and mashed potato would be frowned upon -- but this is "Fiuto", Italy's first dogs' restaurant.

While humanity's efforts to curb planet-warming emissions are nowhere near enough to avoid heating the world to catastrophic levels, tentative improvements show that progress is possible.

A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war began on Friday, with hostages set to be released in exchange for prisoners in the first major reprieve in seven weeks of war that have claimed thousands of lives.

Thousands of miles from the Middle East, in a stadium in Santiago, Chile, the nation of Palestine exists, if only for the 90 minutes of a soccer match.

A four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect on Friday, with hostages set to be released in exchange for prisoners in the first major reprieve in seven weeks of war that have claimed thousands of lives.

South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius could be granted early release from prison on Friday, a decade after he killed his girlfriend in a crime that gripped the world.

Rights groups are preparing for the COP28 climate talks in the United Arab Emirates with trepidation, fearing surveillance and detention under the oil-rich monarchy's strict criminal justice system.

Jordan Love led the Green Bay Packers to a Thanksgiving Day surprise as they beat the in-form Detroit Lions 29-22 in the NFL Thursday while the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers continued their march towards the post-season.

Just a few metres of rock and earth separate Indian rescue teams from 41 workers who have been trapped inside a collapsed road tunnel for nearly two weeks, officials said Friday, saying they were optimistic of success within hours.

Israel and Hamas were set to begin a four-day truce with hostages to be released in exchange for prisoners on Friday, the first major reprieve in seven weeks of war that have claimed thousands of lives.

British music retailer HMV returns to the iconic site of its former flagship store in central London on Friday, in a much-needed boost to the flagging fortunes of the capital's premier shopping street.

Liverpool head to Manchester City on Saturday for a clash between the Premier League's top two teams, hoping to prove they are once again genuine title contenders.

Inter Milan and Juventus face off on Sunday in a clash between Serie A's two title favourites and historic rivals, as Walter Mazzarri begins his second reign at troubled Napoli.

Chinese basketball great Yao Ming says that criticism of the men's national team has gone too far after some players were abused online following a series of disappointing results.

US Department of Defense officials will visit Guyana next week, the South American country's vice president said Thursday, as he pledged that "all options" are on the table in its row with neighboring Venezuela.