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

The US Supreme Court threw Purdue Pharma's $6 billion opioids settlement into question Thursday, accepting a challenge to the deal's immunizing the Sackler family, which controlled the drugmaker, from future litigation.

Phil Mickelson has placed bets worth a total of more than $1 billion during his career, including a $400,000 wager on the outcome of the 2012 Ryder Cup, according to excerpts from a forthcoming book published in US media on Thursday.

Third-seeded Casper Ruud came up just short in his bid to battle past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Thursday, falling 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) to the unseeded Spaniard at the ATP Toronto Masters.

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto announced on Thursday that it will begin construction of the largest solar power plant in northern Canada on the site of its Diavik diamond mine.

Violence in Cape Town eased after a week-long minibus taxi strike that paralysed the city and left five dead including a British tourist, police confirmed on Thursday.

Australian star Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from this month's US Open as he works his way back from injury, organizers said Thursday.

Fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula grabbed the first quarter-final berth at the WTA Montreal Open on Thursday with a crisp 6-4, 6-0 victory over Jasmine Paolini.

West African leaders on Thursday increased their threat of imminent military action against Niger after the country's coup's leaders moved to consolidate their control two weeks after seizing power.

The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi defeated a no-confidence motion in parliament on Thursday after a fiery speech by the premier at the climax of a three-day debate.

Henry Arundell has been told to "trust his instincts" by England coach Steve Borthwick when the 20-year-old rising star faces Wales in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham on Saturday.

Ecuador was under a state of emergency Thursday after the assassination of a popular presidential candidate just days before an election dominated by concerns over the once-peaceful country's descent into brutal violence linked to drug trafficking.

Hollywood's writers' union will return to the bargaining table this week after studios requested a meeting to explore ways to end the ongoing strike, the guild said Thursday.

Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa has pledged to donate $1,000 for every birdie he makes in the US PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs to fire relief efforts in Hawaii.

Iran has moved five Americans from jail to house arrest, officials and family members said Thursday, in the first step of a delicate deal that would unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian funds and allow the prisoners to leave the Islamic republic.

Wales coach Warren Gatland is "pretty confident" key back-row forward Taulupe Faletau will be fit to take his place in the squad for next month's Rugby World Cup in France.

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of social media platform X, said Thursday that the company formerly known as Twitter is "close" to breaking even and is hiring to beef up a staff slashed by owner Elon Musk.

Spain's eastern city of Valencia set a new temperature record on Thursday as the country baked under its third heatwave of the summer.

The president of the Central African Republic said his country wanted good relations with France, in an interview that followed years of tension fuelled by the CAR's rapprochement with Russia.

Violence in Cape Town appeared to have eased after a week-long minibus taxi strike that paralysed the city and left five dead including a British tourist, police confirmed Thursday.

Vincent Kompany believes Burnley are on the cusp of signing a future England international in Aston Villa midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

Russia is launching its first mission to the Moon's surface in nearly 50 years on Friday, hoping to reclaim prestige in space despite military and diplomatic setbacks at home over the Ukraine conflict.

Some sprinted to safety while others cowered low to the ground as a barrage of submachine-gun fire cut short the life of Ecuadoran presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, in scenes described as a "horror movie."

Three years after a horror fall almost ended her career, Chloe Dygert of the United States won the women's time trial at the cycling world championships on Thursday.

Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui.

Virgin Galactic launched its first tourist passengers into the weightlessness of space Thursday, the culmination of a nearly two-decade commercial pursuit, the company said.

Three French police were charged Thursday over a 27-year-old man's death during nationwide rioting earlier this summer, prosecutors said, an uncommon instance of officers facing a criminal case over on-duty violence.

Aston Villa midfielder Emiliano Buendia has suffered a "significant knee ligament injury" that could rule him out for up to eight months, the Premier League club announced Thursday.

Ecuador was under a state of emergency Thursday after the assassination of a popular presidential candidate just days before an election dominated by concerns over the once-peaceful country's descent into brutal violence linked to drug trafficking.

The US Treasury announced coordinated sanctions with Canada and Britain on Thursday against Riad Salameh, Lebanon's longtime central bank chief, who recently left office without a successor.

The long-awaited, first civilian space tourism flight by Virgin Galactic was set for takeoff Thursday, carrying an 80-year-old ex-Olympian and a mother and daughter who won their tickets in a sweepstakes.

Lufthansa pilots are to receive pay rises totalling 18 percent in the coming years, with the German airline saying Thursday it would bring "stability" after strikes over surging inflation.

Stock markets rose Thursday as highly anticipated data showed that US consumer inflation inched up last month but held at a moderate level.