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

Iga Swiatek is in scintillating form as she seeks a maiden Australian Open crown, but she could face a stiff test from defending champion Aryna Sabalenka while two-time winner Naomi Osaka is making her comeback.

Rows of super-powerful computers fill a classroom in northeast England, their LED-lit keyboards, mice and headsets washing the space in a futuristic blue glow.

Already under the yoke of inflation and product scarcity, many Cubans don't know how they will cope with a new 500-percent surge in the fuel price.

With big, expressive eyes, elfin ears and adorable cooing, Miroka and Miroki could be an apparition from your favorite cartoon.

Ecuador's president gave orders Tuesday to "neutralize" criminal gangs after gunmen opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions on a second day of terror in the violence-riddled country.

Australian allrounder Cameron Green will start the first Test against the West Indies, selectors said Wednesday, but who replaces David Warner as opener remains to be seen.

US and European stocks markets mostly retreated Tuesday as a rebound at the start of the week lost steam amid investor worries about the growth outlook.

A private US lunar lander mission is doomed to fail, and NASA pushes back plans to return astronauts to the Moon.

Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun took responsibility for a near-catastrophic Alaska Airlines incident Tuesday, vowing "complete transparency" as the aviation giant tries to pivot from its latest crisis.

A key US lawmaker has called on Washington to mull trade curbs on Emirati artificial intelligence firm Group 42 Holdings (G42) over its ties with China, according to a letter released Tuesday.

Chelsea have work to do to avoid slumping to a shock League Cup semi-final exit to Middlesbrough after losing the first leg 1-0 at the Riverside on Tuesday.

A major storm system was battering parts of the United States on Tuesday, spinning off tornadoes in the south as forecasters warned of high winds and blizzards in the north, with hundreds of thousands of people losing power.

Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa ordered military operations on Tuesday against the country's powerful criminal groups after hooded gunmen stormed a television studio and gangsters threatened to execute security forces and civilians.

President Joe Biden was kept in the dark over his defense secretary's cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations for about a month, the White House admitted Tuesday, as details of Lloyd Austin's deeply unusual disappearance raised questions about leadership of the world's top military.

Technology, in particular artificial intelligence, is making it possible to fulfill beauty wishes like never before, Guive Balooch, global vice president of L'Oreal's Tech Incubator, told AFP.

Timo Werner returned to the Premier League on Tuesday after the German international joined Tottenham on loan for the rest of the season from RB Leipzig.

Coming to the big screen, he is.

Gunshots rang out Tuesday on live TV in violence-torn Ecuador as armed men burst into a studio shortly after gangsters vowed a "war" against the president's plans to reclaim control from "narcoterrorists."

DR Congo's Constitutional Court on Tuesday confirmed President Felix Tshisekedi's landslide victory in a December election for a second term in the poor but mineral-rich massive central African country.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was admitted to intensive care last week for complications from prostate cancer surgery, doctors said Tuesday, after he faced criticism for waiting days to inform the White House about his extended hospital stay.

Donald Trump warned on Tuesday of "bedlam" in the United States if he is put on trial, following an appeals court hearing that appeared to lean towards rejecting his claim of presidential immunity.

Honda unveiled Tuesday a new electric vehicle series to launch commercially in 2026, revealing a futuristic concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken told Israel Tuesday the toll on Gazan civilians caused by its war against Hamas was "far too high", urging his ally to alleviate their suffering.

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said on Tuesday that he wants Kylian Mbappe to stay in the French capital, claiming PSG is "the best club for him".

Salon-worthy manicures at home and expert skin care advice from artificial intelligence: the beauty industry is counting on tech to get consumers pampered like the rich and famous.

The United States is pushing back its planned return of astronauts to the surface of the Moon from 2025 to 2026, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday amid technical challenges and delays.

Ecuador's new president grappled with a security nightmare Tuesday as gangsters kidnapped police and set off explosives in response to a state of emergency he declared to reclaim control from "narcoterrorists."

An historic commercial US mission to the Moon will fail after suffering a critical loss of fuel, organizers admitted Tuesday, ending for the time being America's hopes of placing its first spacecraft on the lunar surface since the Apollo era.

Bosnian Serbs marked on Tuesday their self-proclaimed "national day", disregarding condemnations and warnings that the holiday violated Bosnia's constitution and put peace at risk.

Fiji rugby international Api Ratuniyarawa was jailed for nearly three years on Tuesday for sexually assaulting three teenagers in a bar days before he was due to play for the Barbarians in Cardiff last year.

A tearful Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in 2011, on Tuesday accused Norway of trying to "push (him) to suicide" with strict prison conditions, while authorities insisted he remained extremely violent.

Dozens of volunteers used strainers to sift sand at beaches in northwestern Spain on Tuesday to collect millions of tiny plastic pellets that have washed up in recent days, endangering wildlife.