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

Harry Kane scored his ninth goal in eight league matches as Bayern Munich won 3-1 at Mainz on Saturday, after Bayer Leverkusen returned to the top of the table by winning at Wolfsburg.

World-renowned Turkish composer and pianist Fazil Say has said his concerts planned next week in Switzerland were cancelled by organisers over his social media posts criticising Israeli policies in Gaza.

Arsenal staged a stunning fightback from two goals down as Leandro Trossard's late equaliser rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday.

Heinrich Klaasen said he had "worked my whole life" for a superb hundred that powered South Africa to a crushing 229-run World Cup win over champions England.

Lautaro Martinez continued his red-hot scoring form in Inter Milan's 3-0 win at Torino on Saturday which moved his team top of Serie A while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's brace at Verona put Napoli's title defence back on track.

Police in London said nearly 100,000 people marched in the capital Saturday in an event organised by pro-Palestinian groups calling for "an end to the war on Gaza".

England captain Jos Buttler accepted the champions "have no room for error from here on in" at the World Cup after a record 229-run defeat by South Africa.

Kylian Mbappe scored one goal and made another as a much-changed Paris Saint-Germain eased to a 3-0 win over Patrick Vieira's Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Manchester City beat Brighton 2-1 on Saturday to return to the Premier League summit on a day when the action on the pitch was overshadowed by the death of England World Cup winner Bobby Charlton.

South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen said "pure emotion" had got the better of him when he appeared to roar in the face of England fast bowler Mark Wood after completing a spectacular World Cup hundred on Saturday.

An inquiry into a suspected cult leader accused of inciting at least 428 of his followers to starve themselves to death, has pointed to "failures" in Kenya's security and criminal justice systems, according to a report seen by AFP on Saturday.

Sri Lanka batsman Sadeera Samarawickrama on Saturday said the team doesn't "have time to make mistakes" in their remaining World Cup matches after just one win in four games.

Manchester City beat Brighton 2-1 on Saturday to return to the Premier League summit and end Liverpool's brief stay at the top after their victory in the Merseyside derby.

Frankie Dettori brought the curtain down on his dazzling three-decade career in Europe on Saturday in fairytale fashion with two big race winners on British Champions Day.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia helped put Napoli's Serie A title defence back on track with a brace in Saturday's 3-1 win at Verona which moved the champions four points behind leaders AC Milan.

Former Manchester United and England star Bobby Charlton, whose death at the age of 86 was announced on Saturday, will go down in history as the gentlemanly embodiment of English football's golden era.

Another day, another evacuation at the Palace of Versailles.

India's head coach Rahul Dravid on Saturday warned of the World Cup becoming such a batting paradise that teams might as well "play two T20 matches" instead.

A second-half goal from Alex Grimaldo sent Bayer Leverkusen back to the top of the Bundesliga table with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Heinrich Klaasen made a brilliant World Cup century as South Africa thrashed England by a mammoth 229 runs in Mumbai on Saturday to leave the champions' title defence hanging by a thread as they suffered a record defeat in a one-day international.

Deadly Storm Babet unleashed extensive flooding and damaged towns in Denmark and Norway late Friday and early Saturday, while continuing to sweep across the UK.

Sybrand Engelbrecht has taken a long, winding road to the World Cup, from a "catch of the century" contender as a junior to walking away from cricket altogether.

England World Cup winner and Manchester United great Bobby Charlton has died at the age of 86, the family announced in a statement on Saturday.

Two weeks after Kibbutz Beeri lost 10 percent of its population in the bloody Hamas attack, Israeli soldiers are stationed within sight, primed for a looming ground invasion of Gaza.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia helped put Napoli's Serie A title defence back on track with a brace in Saturday's 3-1 win at Verona which moved the champions four points behind leaders AC Milan.

Liverpool continued their stranglehold over local rivals Everton on Saturday, but had fortune on their side as Mohamed Salah's double secured a 2-0 win at Anfield.

The first aid trucks arrived in war-torn Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, bringing urgent humanitarian relief to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave suffering what the UN chief labelled a "godawful nightmare".

Shocked by images of dead children in Gaza, Mustafa al-Sayyid quickly whisked his family to the closest shelter when Israeli strikes began near his village in southern Lebanon this week.

Ben Stokes fell for just five on his return to England duty as the champions collapsed to 38-4 in a crunch World Cup match against South Africa in Mumbai.

Liverpool continued their stranglehold over local rivals Everton to go top of the Premier League on Saturday, but had fortune on their side as Mohamed Salah's double secured a 2-0 win at Anfield.

Heinrich Klaasen batted through the pain barrier in Mumbai to make a brilliant century as South Africa posted a colossal 399-7 in a crunch World Cup match against struggling champions England on Saturday.

Sadeera Samarawickrama hit an undefeated 91 as Sri Lanka brought the Netherlands crashing back down to World Cup reality on Saturday with a five-wicket victory which gave the 1996 champions their first win of the tournament.