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

Defender Pepe and midfielder Matheus Nunes return to the Portugal squad, named on Friday for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Iceland next week.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold their first meeting in nearly a year next week on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco, officials from the rival superpowers said Friday.

England batsman Dawid Malan said Friday young teammate Harry Brook has been placed "under so much pressure" at the World Cup but backed him to play "100 games across all formats".

Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Tottenham are expected to be without James Maddison and Micky van de Ven until 2024.

British bank NatWest on Friday said it had axed almost £7.6 million ($9.3 million) worth of potential payouts for Alison Rose, its former chief executive who resigned over the lender's treatment of arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage.

Palestinians said a deadly strike on Friday hit Gaza's largest hospital compound as medical facilities sheltering tens of thousands were caught in intense combat between Israel and Hamas.

Bayer Leverkusen full-back Alejandro Grimaldo has been rewarded for his outstanding start to the season with a call-up to the Spain squad for their final Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Cyprus and Georgia this month.

Kaja Juvan helped Slovenia seal its berth in the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals on Friday with a straight sets demolition of Kazakhstan's Anna Danilina.

Afghanistan's outside hopes of making the World Cup semi-finals ended Friday after being bowled out for 244 against South Africa.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on November 15 in the San Francisco area to try to "stabilize" relations after recent tensions between the two superpowers, US officials said.

Afghanistan's outside hopes of making the World Cup semi-finals all but ended Friday after being bowled out for 244 against South Africa.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe could finalise a deal to become a minority shareholder at Manchester United during this month's international break, according to reports on Friday.

West Ham boss David Moyes believes managers do not want to speak out about VAR controversies because they are either ignored, fined or both.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused Turkey's highest court of making repeated mistakes and defended an unprecedented criminal investigation against its judges.

The family of imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi says she has ended a hunger strike after she received medical treatment without wearing the obligatory head covering.

The publishers of two UK newspapers on Friday lost a bid to have a case for unlawful information gathering brought against them by Prince Harry and others thrown out of court, opening the way for a possible trial.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a marathon diplomatic push Friday in India after a whirlwind Middle East trip and G7 talks, saying Israel's pauses in its Gaza offensive would "save lives" but more was needed.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam blasted his critics on Friday, telling them "it's easy to give advice on TV" as he refused to surrender his World Cup dreams.

Stock markets slid Friday after Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell warned the central bank "will not hesitate" to hike US interest rates further in its quest to bring down inflation.

Palestinians said Friday a deadly strike hit Gaza's largest hospital compound as heavy fighting between Hamas and Israel has sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing their homes.

Glenn Maxwell is still feeling the effects of his stunning World Cup double century and could now miss Australia's final group match against Bangladesh in Pune on Saturday.

Allan Donald will leave his post as Bangladesh's fast-bowling coach following the World Cup, officials and media said Friday, days after his public criticism following the "timed-out" row involving skipper Shakib Al Hasan.

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha called for a change to cricket's timed-out law, saying it should be a matter for the umpires only, as debate rumbled on about Shakib Al Hasan's role in a controversial dismissal of Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews.

Cameron Smith said he was "still a bit asleep" after an early start to his second round but roused himself for a share of second place at the Hong Kong Open on Friday.

Britain's economy stagnated in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, weighed down by elevated inflation and interest-rate hikes.

Title-chasing Jorge Martin was second in Malaysian grand prix practice on Friday at Sepang behind Alex Marquez, with MotoGP championship leader Francesco Bagnaia eighth.

The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard Friday of "dangerous harassment" of Filipino boats in the disputed South China Sea, including firing a water cannon and blocking vessels on a resupply mission.

Samsung Electronics will roll out a real-time call translation service using AI technology next year, the firm told AFP Friday, claiming it would make conversing across languages as easy as "turning on closed captions".

An elusive echidna feared extinct after disappearing for six decades has been rediscovered in a remote part of Indonesia, on an expedition that also found a new kind of tree-dwelling shrimp.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has rejected any further pay hikes for protesting garment workers demanding a nearly tripled wage increase, after violent clashes with police and factories were ransacked.

Allan Donald will leave his post as Bangladesh's fast-bowling coach following the World Cup, officials and media said Friday, days after his public criticism in the wake of the "timed-out" row.

Building and funding coal power plants is "irresponsible," US climate envoy John Kerry said Friday, calling "greed" the biggest impediment to climate action.