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

Taylor Swift fans sporting friendship bracelets and glittery cowboy boots packed into early screenings of the pop megastar's concert film at movie theaters across the United States on Thursday.

Top scientists have launched a yearly report series to plug knowledge gaps ahead of crunch climate talks, with their global warming "countdown clock" vying for the attention of world leaders and ordinary citizens alike.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday began a tour of Arab capitals as he seeks to build pressure on Hamas while Israel readies a likely massive offensive on the Gaza Strip following the militants' attacks.

Israel's Maccabi Ra'anana lost to the NBA's Brooklyn Nets 135-103 on Thursday to begin a US tour, but sent a defiant message with their determination to play.

Israel has called for the immediate relocation of 1.1 million people in Gaza amid its massive bombardment in retaliation for Hamas's attacks, with the United Nations warning of "devastating" consequences.

Mike Skinner of The Streets has returned "rejuvenated" with a new album and his own self-made movie, optimistic for the future of music as it sits on the cusp of an AI revolution.

Pyo Ye-rim, a hairstylist who became an advocate for the legal rights of school bullying survivors in South Korea, has died in an apparent suicide, local police said. She was 27.

The sharpest image of the 2019 World Cup is that of a triumphant Siya Kolisi, the first black player to captain South Africa in a Test, lifting the Webb Ellis trophy after the 32–12 win over England in Yokohama.

Luciano Spalletti is looking for a solution to Italy's long-standing striker problem as the Azzurri gear up for two crucial Euro 2024 qualifiers with Malta and England.

Israel has throughout its history been targeted by hostage-taking in standoffs resolved by both force and diplomacy, but the mass seizure of citizens by Palestinian militant group Hamas presents the authorities with an unprecedented quandary.

Patrick Mahomes threw a touchdown pass and Harrison Butker kicked four field goals to lead defending NFL champion Kansas City over Denver 19-8 on Thursday.

Nick Castellanos smashed two solo home runs for the second consecutive game and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Atlanta 3-1 on Thursday to advance in the Major League Baseball playoffs.

The United States has extended a waiver to Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC to supply US chip-making equipment to its factories in China, the island's economic affairs minister said Friday.

A stunning 85th-minute equalizer from Eduard Bello earned Venezuela a rare draw at Brazil while world champions Argentina made it three wins out of three in South American World Cup qualifying with a hard-earned 1-0 win over a determined Paraguay on Thursday.

New Zealand has a plan to tax farmers for their livestock's burps and farts -- and it's causing a stink ahead of Saturday's general elections.

Ireland will seek to at last break through their World Cup glass ceiling by beating New Zealand to reach the semi-finals for the first time on Saturday.

Bed-ridden as a teenager with rheumatoid arthritis, James Lowe has taken an unlikely route to lining up for Ireland against his native New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

After beginning the professional era as a team of nomads, Argentina had finally found a home for their players until the Covid pandemic scattered them to the four corners of the planet.

Buoyed by a record run chase, Babar Azam's Pakistan are on the hunt for their first ever World Cup win over India in Saturday's blockbuster match between cricket's biggest rivals in a 132,000-capacity arena patrolled by 11,000 police officers.

Equities went into reverse Friday, snapping a week-long rally, as a forecast-topping US inflation report revived fears the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates again before the end of the year.

Hearing firsthand from Israeli survivors of the massive Hamas assault, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken experienced a rare scene for a diplomat: a cheering crowd.

US women's golf star Lexi Thompson was one-over par through 16 holes in her PGA Tour debut when darkness fell in Thursday's opening round of the Shriners Children's Open.

The surge in US treasury yields has sparked much anxiety among investors, in part because there is no easy explanation for the rise.

Five things to know about Ecuador, which holds a runoff presidential election on Sunday.

Shell-shocked by the eruption of a bloody drug war that has spilled from the country's prisons into the streets, Ecuadorans will vote for a new president Sunday just weeks after a popular candidate was assassinated in public.

The moment Kim Prosser learned that her 19-year-old son Ashtyn had died by suicide, she says she dropped to the floor, where she lay "shaking and so cold."

Martin Scorsese's new film "Killers of the Flower Moon" recounts how the Osage nation of Native Americans gained significant oil wealth in the early 20th century and the murderous plot by outsiders to seize it.

As eagles swoop overhead and a cool autumnal wind blows through the cemetery in Gray Horse, on the ancient lands of the Osage people in northern Oklahoma, Margie Burkhart points to the tombs of ancestors murdered a century ago.

The United Nations on Thursday issued an emergency appeal for $294 million to address "the most urgent needs" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where more than 400,000 Palestinians have fled their homes in recent days.

World champions Argentina made it three wins out of three in South American World Cup qualifying with a hard-earned 1-0 win over a determined Paraguay on Thursday.

Julian Nagelsmann, the youngest Germany coach for almost a century, has turned to veterans as he hopes to rebuild the fallen giants nine months out from hosting Euro 2024.

Flanker Jac Morgan has been pivotal to Wales' advance into the World Cup quarter-finals, leading from the front in a number of outstanding perfomances that has seen him dubbed his country's very own Antoine Dupont.