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

When Ron Leshem, executive producer of the Emmy-winning television series "Euphoria," was deciding where to premiere his new project, gritty Israeli juvenile prison drama "Bad Boy," he set his sights on the Toronto film festival.

An air taxi flew over Jerusalem on Wednesday as part of an Israeli experiment to develop a network of drones to offer transport services and ease traffic congestion.

Human activity and appetites have weakened Earth's resilience, pushing it far beyond the "safe operating space" that keeps the world liveable for most species, including our own, a landmark study said Wednesday.

A woman in a black and white dress struggled, pulling fiercely on a long electrical cable as she tried to stop the police in anti-riot gear from carrying it away.

Holders South Africa will have four scrum-halves in their matchday squad for this weekend's Rugby World Cup match with Romania in Bordeaux, SA Rugby announced on Wednesday.

Rugby World Cup organisers apologised to supporters on Wednesday for the problems they experienced in reaching the stadiums in Marseille and Bordeaux on the opening weekend.

NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell called upon the league Wednesday to replace artificial turf with natural grass fields in the wake of a season-ending injury to Aaron Rodgers.

Italian international Marco Verratti has signed for Qatari club Al Arabi, his new club and his former team, Paris Saint-Germain, announced on Wednesday.

UK authorities were on Wednesday awaiting the return of three British-Pakistani relatives of a 10-year-old girl found dead last month, after Pakistan police said they were on a plane back to the country.

An air raid on Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region killed at least 40 civilians Wednesday, according to a medical source, as the head of the UN mission to the country resigned.

Populations of European bumblebees are projected to fall drastically in the coming decades due to climate change and habitat loss, researchers warned on Wednesday.

Brazil's high court opened the first trials Wednesday over the January 8 riots in Brasilia by supporters of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who were demanding the ouster of his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Former Austrian minister Karin Kneissl, known for dancing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has moved to Russia - along with her ponies flown in on board a Russian military plane.

Argentina are a strong unit who will bounce back from their disappointing performance in the 27-10 World Cup loss to 14-man England, veteran hooker Agustin Creevy said on Wednesday.

Shares in British energy major BP sank Wednesday after chief executive Bernard Looney resigned unexpectedly over his failure to disclose past relationships with colleagues.

For two weeks America held its breath as fugitive Brazilian murderer Danelo Cavalcante dodged drones, helicopters and law enforcement from the FBI to Border Patrol, only to be cornered Wednesday by a police dog which subdued him with just a "minor bite wound."

US stocks pushed higher Wednesday despite data showing rising oil prices pushed US inflation to its largest monthly gain in over a year in August as investors see the Federal Reserve likely to hold interest rates steady.

Panama is looking into new sources of water for the Panama Canal, which moves six percent of global maritime trade but recently had to restrict traffic due to drought, its operator said.

Ben Stokes struck the highest score by an England batsman in a one-day international on Wednesday, smashing a blistering 182 as the hosts piled up 368 against New Zealand at The Oval.

Big tech bigwigs including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to share their plans for artificial intelligence as the US prepares to draw up legislation to better control the technology.

The toppling of Ali Bongo Ondimba brought the curtain down on 55 years of rule by a family accused of extracting fabulous wealth from Gabon's major oil reserves.

Sepp Kuss emerged from mountain mists clinging stubbornly to the Vuelta a Espana lead by eight seconds as his teammate Primoz Roglic won the stage with a third Jumbo rider Jonas Vingegaard finishing second.

Rory McIlroy says he is at the front of the Ludvig Aberg "bandwagon" as the rising star prepares to make his Ryder Cup debut later this month.

When Anthony Jelonch was sitting on the touchline of the Stade de France having just ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament during the victory over Scotland in February, captaining his country at the Rugby World Cup seemed nigh-on impossible.

Wales coach Warren Gatland has made 13 changes to the starting XV to play Portugal in their second World Cup Pool C match in Nice on Sunday.

The precious Vincent Van Gogh painting stolen then sensationally returned to a Dutch art sleuth in an Ikea bag has been scratched but should be reparable, its museum director told AFP Wednesday.

North Korea's suspected plans to supply Russia with ammunition could allow Moscow to keep up its war effort in Ukraine but would fall short of a solid strategic alliance, experts say.

Brussels will investigate Chinese state subsidies for electric cars, the EU chief said Wednesday, vowing to defend Europe's industry from unfair competition.

The British-Pakistani father of a 10-year-old girl found dead at her home in England last month was on a plane back to the UK with his partner and brother, Pakistan police said Wednesday, after the trio went on the run for weeks.

Andorra's most-capped player and top goalscorer Ildefons Lima has retired to end the longest career in men's international football.

US stocks edged higher Wednesday despite data showing rising oil prices pushed US inflation to its largest monthly gain in over a year in August as investors see the Federal Reserve likely to hold interest rates steady.

The UN rights chief decried Wednesday an online "trolling campaign" against a leading anti-defamation group, urging online platforms like X, formerly Twitter, to do more to battle hate speech.