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

Bayern Munich suffered a jolt to their title defence, losing their first league game of the season 5-1 in Frankfurt and handing Bayer Leverkusen the chance to open a six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn scored two tries on his Toulouse debut as the record five-time winners hammered Cardiff 52-7 in the Champions Cup on Saturday.

Environmental activists from the group Extinction Rebellion poured dye into Venice's Grand Canal and several Italian rivers Saturday in protest against the "failure" of ongoing international climate talks to deliver results.

Leaders Real Madrid stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Real Betis on Saturday as Aitor Ruibal's brilliant strike cancelled out Jude Bellingham's league-best 12th goal of the season.

Manchester United's shambolic season took another turn for the worse in a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth as Liverpool went top of the Premier League on Saturday.

For Israeli comedians, the collective trauma of Hamas's deadly attacks on October 7 and the ensuing war has tested the limits of what it is possible to joke about.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged his counterpart Nicolas Maduro Saturday against escalating Venezuela's border row with neighboring Guyana, as South American leaders nervously monitored the deepening dispute.

Bayern Munich suffered a jolt to their title defence, losing their first league game of the season 5-1 in Frankfurt and handing Bayer Leverkusen the chance to open a six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Israel bombarded targets in Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary United Nations bid for a ceasefire in the war with Hamas.

Marco Odermatt made it a hat-trick of wins in the giant slalom at Val d'Isere on Saturday, while Joan Verdu, in third place, gave Andorra its first podium finish in the competition.

England centre Henry Slade landed a conversion with the last kick of the game to give Exeter a dramatic 19-18 win over Toulon at the Stade Mayol in the opening round of the Champions Cup on Saturday.

Mohamed Salah admitted his 200th Liverpool goal was a "great feeling" as the Egypt star urged his side to do "something special" in the Premier League title race.

The United States' Ilia Malinin said he was "amazed" to have smashed the competition in the men's event at the Grand Prix Final in Beijing Saturday, despite falling on his first trademark jump.

Mohamed Salah scored his 200th goal for Liverpool before Harvey Elliott's last-gasp winner sealed a dramatic 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace that sent the Reds to the top of the Premier League on Saturday.

Georgian non-governmental organisations staged a pro-European Union march in the capital Tbilisi on Saturday, a week ahead of the bloc's decision on granting the country membership candidacy status.

Zimbabwe held crucial by-elections on Saturday with the opposition in turmoil after being excluded from voting lists and President Emmerson Mnangagwa's party looking to tighten its grip on power.

China said on Saturday it saw progress in reaching a climate deal at a key United Nations summit in Dubai, despite a last-minute push by the OPEC oil cartel to resist a phase-out of fossil fuels.

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the hope of creating a better world after the horrors of World War II.

Reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto added another title to her winning streak as she crushed the competition in the women's event at the Grand Prix Final in Beijing on Saturday.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said Jadon Sancho "knows what he has to do" if the winger is to salvage his career under the Dutchman at Old Trafford.

Israel bombarded targets in Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid for a ceasefire in the war with Hamas that has triggered alerts of an "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation.

Archaeologists excavating the ancient Roman city of Pompeii have uncovered a "prison bakery" where slaves and blindfolded donkeys were kept locked up underground to grind grain for bread, officials said this week.

Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates said they felt "wonderful" after emerging victorious in the ice dance at the Grand Prix Final in Beijing on Saturday, winning the title on their seventh attempt.

Mikaela Shiffrin produced a sensational run in the downhill at St Moritz on Saturday to claim her 91st World Cup victory and extend her lead at the top of the overall standings.

In the seaside haven of Nahariya, the shock still lingers on Daniel Bussidan's face. A recent rocket attack killed his friend's father, and now this Israeli beach town, the closest to Lebanon, stands on edge.

The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard on Saturday of using water cannons to "obstruct" three government boats delivering provisions to Filipino fishermen near a reef off its coast.

Israel bombarded targets in Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid for a ceasefire in the war with Hamas that has triggered alerts of an "apocalyptic" humanitarian situation.

Zimbabwe started a series of by-elections on Saturday with the opposition in turmoil after being excluded from voting lists.

Negotiations over the future of fossil fuels heated up at UN climate talks on Saturday, with OPEC catching flak over the oil cartel's push to block any phase-out in the final deal.

Nigeria's huge oil refinery built by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote received its first crude deliveries, the company said on Saturday, in the latest step to starting up the delayed megaproject.

The landmark word has loomed over Tinseltown since before movies started talking, becoming a symbol of the entire film industry.

The Supreme Court of Texas late Friday temporarily blocked an emergency abortion for a woman whose fetus was determined to be not viable, in a closely watched case underlining the legal perils facing both doctors and patients when it comes to the procedure.