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

Belgian singer Jacques Brel famously crooned about clinging to love in iconic hits like "Ne me quitte pas" and now two brothers in his homeland are engaged in their own enduring passion project to restore his cherished sailboat.

Two teachers have been pressured out of their jobs in a small German town after denouncing the alleged right-wing extremism of their pupils, in a case that sparked a national outcry.

Washington will seek to bolster its shrinking weapons stockpiles by helping Australia develop a missile manufacturing and exporting industry, top officials said Saturday after high-level talks between the two countries.

Alen Stajcic warned his Philippines team to be wary of "wounded" Norway when they clash at the Women's World Cup on Sunday with qualification for the knockout stage on the line.

A Russian missile struck an apartment block in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, Kyiv officials said, injuring at least nine people including two children.

Women's World Cup holders the United States are hoping to rack up the goals when they play Portugal on Tuesday with the aim of reaching the last 16 as group winners.

Captain Sam Kerr declared herself available on Saturday for Australia's must-win clash with Olympic champions Canada in a major boost for the Women's World Cup co-hosts.

American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge returned from a near eight-week injury absence Friday for the New York Yankees in their 1-0 loss at the Baltimore Orioles.

Women's World Cup star Linda Caicedo was "tired" when she went down clutching her chest in training, Colombia coach Nelson Abadia said, and may not play against Germany on Sunday.

Australia captain Sam Kerr has declared herself available for the co-hosts' must-win Women's World Cup clash against Canada on Monday after a calf injury.

Germany must reshuffle their defence at the Women's World Cup after another injury set-back when left-back Felicitas Rauch hurt her knee ahead of their game with tough-tackling Colombia on Sunday.

Former US president Donald Trump -- who has pledged to pursue his White House bid if convicted and sentenced in one of the cases engulfing his comeback bid -- on Friday shared a stage with his Republican rivals for the first time in Iowa.

American performances at the swimming world championships have been eclipsed by an Australian gold rush but backstroker Justin Ress said Saturday there was no panic in the US camp.

A new law allowing as many as 900 alleged gang members to be tried at a time in El Salvador, where tens of thousands have been arrested in a crackdown, has alarmed justice experts and rights groups who fear it is a reelection ploy by President Nayib Bukele.

Super-heated seawater off the Florida Keys has grown so perilous to the world's third-largest barrier reef that scientists are now removing samples of coral from ocean nurseries to place in cooler land-based tanks.

Preparations were under way to salvage a cargo ship packed with electric vehicles that caught fire off the Dutch coast, officials said Friday, in an operation intended to avert an ecological disaster.

Australia paused a major military exercise with the United States on Saturday, after a defence helicopter taking part in the drills crashed into the Pacific leaving four aircrew missing.

Unbeaten Americans Errol Spence and Terence Crawford made weight Friday for their long awaited and highly anticipated welterweight world title unification showdown in Las Vegas.

Canadian rapper Drake revealed Friday that he is the buyer of a crown-shaped ring that belonged to slain hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur, which sold at auction this week for a record $1 million.

A powerful Niger general who staged a coup on Friday declared himself the new leader of the unstable jihadist-hit African nation and warned that any foreign military intervention would lead to chaos.

Leading Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko was arrested on Friday for allegedly stealing a gendarme's phone and posting a "subversive" message.

On the heels of a new record high in the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic reached its hottest-ever level this week, several weeks earlier than its usual annual peak, according to preliminary data released Friday by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge was poised to return from a near eight-week injury absence Friday after the New York Yankees took him off the injury list before a game against the Orioles in Baltimore.

England fast bowler James Anderson insists that turning 41 on Sunday will not push him into retirement, claiming he "has a lot more to give".

Top-seeded Taylor Fritz powered past former world number four Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Atlanta Open.

Bangladesh remains a major hub for the poaching of endangered tigers despite government claims of a successful crackdown on pirate groups involved in the trade, according to research published Friday.

Wall Street rebounded Friday and eurozone stocks edged higher on data showing easing inflation, while the yen yo-yoed after Japan's central bank tweaked its ultra-loose monetary policy.

Former Olympic skiing champion Bode Miller and his wife, Morgan, received a scare this month when three of their children were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning, Morgan Miller said on Instagram on Friday.

Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan was awarded a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics by the IOC on Friday after she was disqualified at the world championships for refusing to shake the hand of her Russian opponent.

Leading Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko was arrested on Friday, members of his party, a senior security official and a lawyer told AFP, although the precise reasons for the arrest were unconfirmed.

Juventus were kicked out of next season's Europa Conference League on Friday for breaching financial fair play rules, UEFA announced.

Stuart Broad joked he does not know the rules after the TV umpire ruled Australia's Steve Smith was not run out in the fifth and final Test at The Oval on Friday.