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

Manchester United signed Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce on Friday in a deal worth a reported £4.3 million ($5.3 million).

Tens of millions of people in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and other southern Chinese megacities sheltered indoors Friday as Super Typhoon Saola threatened to become the strongest storm to hit the region in decades.

Markets mostly rose Friday ahead of a crucial US jobs report later in the day and following data showing inflation in the world's largest economy had ticked up slightly.

Pope Francis arrived in Mongolia on Friday for the first papal visit to the Asian nation, as he sent a message of "unity and peace" to neighbouring China in a bid to improve ties.

Artificial intelligence and facial recognition software are seen by some as the future of crime-fighting around the world.

Daniil Medvedev recovered from a mini meltdown to beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 and reach the US Open third round.

Parisians woke up on Friday to a world without rented electric scooters, loathed as a pedestrian-bothering nuisance by some but mourned by others.

The bank of screens in Ismail Aydin's Istanbul water management system control room flashes a worrying number: 29.7 percent.

Tens of millions of people across southern China hunkered down Friday as Super Typhoon Saola swept towards the megacities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, forcing the cancellations of hundreds of flights, shutting business and closing schools.

Carlos Alcaraz is not letting the defence of his US Open title get in the way of following his beloved Real Madrid -- and new signing Jude Bellingham's red-hot form for the Spanish giants.

Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Sudan's war have crossed into Chad to find themselves in overcrowded camps, sweltering in plastic huts and awaiting healthcare that never comes.

Ons Jabeur overcame a bout of flu that has left her feeling like a "zombie" to battle into the third round of the US Open on Thursday.

In inflation-hit Argentina, where rentals, cars, and appliances are increasingly priced in dollars to sidestep the volatile peso, a leading presidential candidate has sparked debate over whether to officially adopt the currency as a remedy to a battered economy.

Ecuador's capital Quito was rocked by attacks with grenades and two car bombs overnight, followed hours later by inmates in six prisons taking hostage 57 prison guards and police officers on Thursday, officials said.

Teenagers from a crowded Manila slum shoot hoops on a court bearing the shiny logo of the FIBA World Cup, the tournament where the Philippines team disappointed a basketball-mad nation.

Singaporeans headed to the polls Friday in the city-state's first contested presidential election in more than a decade, a vote being closely watched as an indication of support for the ruling party after a rare spate of political scandals.

Siya Kolisi had difficulty speaking immediately after his Springbok team completed an emphatic 35-7 demolition of New Zealand’s All Blacks in their final warm-up match before the Rugby World Cup.

Scotland need some magic from a reformed Finn Russell if Gregor Townsend's men are to upset the odds just by making it out of a devilishly difficult World Cup pool.

Manchester United will seek a cure for their travel sickness when they travel to face Arsenal in an early-season blockbuster on Sunday as Liverpool take on free-scoring Aston Villa.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz edged closer to a US Open rematch with Italy's Jannik Sinner on Thursday as Grand Slam winners Aryna Sabalenka and Marketa Vondrousova booked their places in the third round.

Pope Francis arrived Friday in Mongolia, beginning the first papal visit to the vast Asian nation landlocked between China and Russia.

The Dallas Cowboys have once again been named the NFL's most valuable franchise by Forbes magazine, topping the list for the 17th straight year at a valuation of $9 billion.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz eased into the third round of the US Open with a 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) win over South Africa's Lloyd Harris on Thursday.

After a three-and-a-half year pandemic-era pause, US federal student loans start accumulating interest again from Friday, with repayments set to cut the monthly take-home pay of millions of Americans by hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars.

Chinese manufacturers will be out in force at next week's IAA auto show, one of the industry's biggest, revving their new electric models on the turf of German carmakers, which have been lagging in the e-mobility race.

Fiji head into the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France buoyed by their first-ever win over England and hoping to end a 16-year wait for a Pacific island nation to reach the knockout stage.

Once France's top club, Lyon are in full-blown crisis on and off the pitch coming into this weekend's clash with reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday ended its latest deliberations on whether to restrict native peoples' rights to claim their ancestral lands -- seen as key buffers against climate change -- with four votes against and two in favor.

Miriam Butler looked out at a flooded street in Crystal River, northwest Florida, where an abandoned car stood semi-submerged in the murky waters.

At least 48 people have been killed in a crackdown on an anti-UN protest in eastern DR Congo, according to sources and official documentation reviewed by AFP on Thursday, raising a previously reported death toll.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday floated the idea of a transition back to democracy in neighbouring Niger similar to the nine-month period his country underwent in the late 1990s.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday that Luis Rubiales' kiss on the mouth of Spanish women's football star Jenni Hermoso "should never have happened".