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

Former professional footballers are almost three-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population, according to a study commissioned by the English Football Association (FA) and Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, who helped Manchester United capture a pair of Premier League titles, will require right knee surgery and be sidelined indefinitely, the Los Angeles Galaxy announced Friday.

India's Ravindra Jadeja took two prize wickets but Australia remained in command of the World Test Championship final despite an error-strewn display at The Oval on Friday.

Horse racing resumed at Belmont Park on Friday, a day after smoke from Canadian wildfires had shut down the track, which appeared ready to host the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

Olympic chief Thomas Bach on Friday echoed his call for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competition as individual neutrals after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

World champion Francesco Bagnaia topped the timesheets after Friday's practice at the Italian MotoGP.

Novak Djokovic reached his seventh French Open final in dramatic and controversial circumstances on Friday when world number one Carlos Alcaraz suffered serious cramping which torpedoed his challenge.

Erling Haaland says he is "not stressed" about his mini goal drought ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan after already scoring 52 in his first season at Manchester City.

Residents of northeastern United States were breathing more easily Friday as smoke from Canadian fires gradually cleared after blanketing several cities in a noxious haze this week.

Novak Djokovic defeated an ailing Carlos Alcaraz 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 on Friday to become the second oldest men's finalist in French Open history and close in on a record 23rd Grand Slam title.

Newcastle announced a multi-year shirt sponsorship deal with Saudi events company Sela on Friday, in an early test of new Premier League rules on owner-related commercial deals.

Fighting raged Friday in southern Ukraine, but Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed Kyiv's long-expected offensive was already failing.

Retired motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi's switch from two wheels to four moved up a gear on Friday at Le Mans.

Lautaro Martinez said Friday that he is hoping to make it a perfect season by winning the Champions League with Inter Milan six months after World Cup glory with Argentina.

A historical dream team of five master sculptors, including Michelangelo, Rodin and Takamura, have trained artificial intelligence (AI) to design a sculpture dubbed "the Impossible Statue", now on show in a Swedish museum.

A historical dream team of five master sculptors, including Michelangelo, Rodin and Takamura, have trained artificial intelligence (AI) to design a sculpture dubbed "the Impossible Statue", now on show in a Swedish museum.

Pakistan's cash-strapped government unveiled a 14.5 trillion rupee (around $50.5 billion) budget Friday, with over half set aside to service 7.3 trillion rupees of debt.

"Brilliant Turk" or "the genius": Turkish media are gushing over new central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, who soared through the ranks of US financial firms but now faces the monumental task of curbing inflation and stabilising the falling lira.

Germany's Georg Zimmermann powered to victory in the sixth stage of the Criterium du Dauphine on Friday, as Jonas Vingegaard maintained his overall lead.

Ange Postecoglou has promised "a team to get excited by" as he plots Tottenham's revival after being appointed as the Premier League club's new manager.

The torch-bearer for a new generation of climate campaigners, Greta Thunberg was a baby-faced 15-year-old when she led a protest movement by skipping school a day a week.

Former Manchester United defender and ex-Inter Miami coach Phil Neville has joined the coaching staff of Canada's national team ahead of next week's CONCACAF Nations League Final Four.

Ferrari mark their return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with pole position for Saturday's centenary anniversary of motorsport's most celebrated endurance race.

Sudan's warring generals have agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire from Saturday, US and Saudi mediators said, acknowledging that previous attempts to pause a conflict now nearing its third month had proved abortive.

David Warner fell early but Australia stretched their lead over India to 196 runs at tea on the third day of the World Test Championship final at The Oval on Friday.

Saudi Arabia may have failed to lure Lionel Messi but Karim Benzema's extravagant welcome and the merger that stunned golf underline the extent of the oil-rich country's sporting ambitions.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said the health of the preschool children badly wounded in a mass knife attack by a Syrian refugee was "heading in the right direction", as police questioned the attacker.

Russia is receiving materials from Iran to build a drone factory on its territory that "could be fully operational early next year," White House national security spokesman John Kirby warned Friday.

Australia established a sizeable first-innings lead of 173 over India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval on Friday but only after Ajinkya Rahane led a tailend rally.

Belgium's capital Brussels is a treasure trove of Art Nouveau gems and now the city is trying to attract new audiences to its rich heritage, with the help of acrobats and trapeze artists.

Fighting was raging Friday in southern Ukraine, with observers seeing the combat as the opening phase of Kyiv's long-expected offensive.

Sudan's warring generals have agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire from Saturday, US and Saudi mediators said, acknowledging that previous attempts to pause a conflict now nearing its third month had proved abortive.