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

Zak Crawley's super-charged 189 fuelled a dramatic England run spree on the second day of the must-win fourth Test at Old Trafford as Australia wilted in the face of an Ashes onslaught.

Customers shopping at Amazon's US-based Whole Foods grocery stores will be able to pay for items by hovering their palm over a scanner, much like shoppers already do with smartphones or credit cards.

Manchester United signed Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan on Thursday in a deal that could rise to £47 million ($57 million).

South African amateur Christo Lamprecht left his mentor Louis Oosthuizen in the shade as he stormed into a share of the British Open lead in his first round at a major on Thursday.

After sprinting to victory in Thursday's Tour de France stage, Dane Kasper Asgreen showed most delight as he talked of countryman Jonas Vingegaard "thriving under pressure" in defence of the overall title.

A mile-thick ice sheet in Greenland vanished around 416,000 years ago during a period of moderate natural warming, driving global sea rise to levels that would spell catastrophe for coastal regions today, a study said Thursday.

Zak Crawley's quickfire 189, his maiden Ashes hundred, fuelled a dramatic England run spree on Thursday's second day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

A scan revealed that Samantha Casiano's unborn child had serious health detects and would not survive outside the womb for more than a few hours.

Democrats tore into anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a congressional hearing Thursday, reprising the most incendiary claims made by the man challenging US President Joe Biden to be the party's 2024 nominee.

Home favourite Tommy Fleetwood joined South African amateur Christo Lamprecht at the top of the leaderboard after hitting a five-under-par 66 on the opening day of the British Open at Hoylake.

Lewis Hamilton expressed sympathy on Thursday for rookie Nyck de Vries, sacked by Alpha Tauri after only 10 races, and said it demonstrated the way in which Red Bull, not Formula One as a whole, operated.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives braced for defeat in three by-elections across England on Thursday, as the ruling party looked set to suffer an electoral backlash over the UK's ailing economy.

Under-pressure Red Bull driver Sergio Perez admitted on Thursday that his future is in his own hands following Alpha Tauri's abrupt sacking of Dutch rookie Nyck de Vries.

Dane Kasper Asgreen won stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday as a long range escape edged a fast-closing peloton to the line at Bourg-en-Bresse.

The world has been buffeted by fires, dire health warnings and broken temperature records in the past week.

Kyiv on Thursday put ships in the Black Sea headed for Russian-controlled ports on alert, as Moscow hit the Ukrainian ports of Mykolaiv and Odesa with drones and missiles in another night of "hellish" strikes.

Kasper Asgreen of the Soudal-Quick-Step team won stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday as a long range escape edged a fast-closing peloton to the line at Bourg-en-Bresse.

When a NASA spacecraft successfully knocked an asteroid off course last year it sent dozens of boulders skittering into space, images from the Hubble telescope showed on Thursday.

Wolves re-signed Matt Doherty on a free transfer on Thursday after the Republic of Ireland defender's exit from Atletico Madrid.

Russian prosecutors on Thursday requested a jail term of 20 years for the already imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who denounced Russia's "senseless war" in his last statement to the court.

The blot on Karsten Warholm's storied track landscape was a botched comeback at last year's world championships, but the Norwegian insists that is well behind him in what is proving to be an ultra-competitive 400m hurdles.

At least 16 people were killed Thursday after a landslide smashed into their village in India's Maharashtra state, officials said, with locals fearing the toll could rise significantly.

Smoke was rising from the blackened ruins of a residential building in Mykolaiv on Thursday after a Russian missile hit the centre of the southern Ukrainian city, killing at least two and injuring 19 including several children.

Zak Crawley's quickfire maiden century was the cornerstone of a dramatic England run-spree on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford on Thursday.

A male orca's best friend is his old mother.

Jordan Spieth said he had become "emotionally involved" in the fortunes of Leeds United despite their relegation from the Premier League after buying shares in the club's new owners, 49ers Enterprises.

With Spain's election on Sunday taking place at the height of summer, some 2.6 million voters have opted to vote by post, fuelling fears about possible fraud which have been amplified by the far right.

President Joe Biden on Thursday visits a shipyard symbolizing the industrial boom he hopes will put wind in his re-election campaign's sails, even if polls show most Americans cool on him continuing as their economic captain.

Nigeria's military has sent reinforcements to calm tensions in a troubled northern central state, where local officials say at least 300 people have been killed in three months of inter-communal violence.

The Russian high-explosive bombs started falling around the frontline Ukrainian chemical plant about three months ago.

Skull fragments, presumed to be from Ludwig van Beethoven, have returned to Vienna, where the legendary 19th century German composer was buried, experts said Thursday.

Kenyans largely ignored a call by the opposition to boost anti-government protests on Thursday, although isolated clashes flared in the capital between police and stone-throwing demonstrators.