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

Little is known about the origins of Jews in Greece, but their presence dates back centuries and they were an "integral" part of ancient society, a new exhibit in Athens reveals.

Carlo Ancelotti said on Thursday that Gareth Bale deserves a good send-off in Real Madrid's last home game of the season against Real Betis.

Tiger Woods continues his amazing comeback from severe leg injuries in Thursday's opening round of the PGA Championship, joining Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy for an early morning start.

Work on the decommissioning of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has made "remarkable progress", the UN's nuclear watchdog chief said Thursday after a site visit, pledging to continue monitoring the process.

Indonesia will lift its ban on palm oil exports next week, President Joko Widodo said Thursday, relieving pressure on the global vegetable oil market after prices spiked because of the suspension and the war in Ukraine.

Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was sentenced on Thursday to one year in jail, nearly 35 years after he was accused of killing a man in a fit of rage.

Russia said Thursday that 1,730 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered this week at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, showing some emerging on crutches after an all-out battle that has become emblematic of the nearly three-month-old war.

Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Zac Stubblety-Cook smashed the world record Thursday at the Australian championships, touching in 2mins 05.95secs to send a warning for the world championships and Commonwealth Games.

Stock markets slumped Thursday after Wall Street suffered one of its worst batterings in two years as traders recoiled at the prospect of recession.

Authorities in southeastern DR Congo have seized one and a half tonnes of elephant ivory, legal and environmental officials said, in one of the largest hauls in Africa in years.

Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Zac Stubblety-Cook smashed the world record on Thursday at the Australian championships with a blistering time of 2mins 05.95secs.

Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has retired from international football, his country's federation has confirmed.

An Indonesian ferry carrying more than 800 people that had run aground was dislodged on Thursday and taken safely to dock at a nearby port, officials said.

Cyprus police said Thursday they had arrested one man a day after farmers set hay bales ablaze outside the presidential palace to protest against high input prices and a milk glut.

Gareth Bale has been named in the Wales squad for their World Cup play-off final against Scotland or Ukraine despite recent back trouble as they seek to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1958.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka drew the first Test in Chittagong on Thursday after Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella hung on for the visitors in a vital seventh-wicket stand.

In a land struck by ferocious bushfires and floods, Australian voters frustrated by climate inaction are flocking to a band of right-leaning green-minded independents, threatening to flip a string of conservative strongholds from blue to "teal".

Tammy Abraham said to himself when he joined AS Roma from Chelsea last summer he would give his "blood, sweat and tears for this club". In keeping his promise he could be rewarded with European silverware next week.

The Russian subsidiary of US tech giant Google said Thursday it will file for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account following a series of spats with Moscow.

Russia has hinted it is seeking to cut off Ukraine from Europe's largest nuclear plant unless Kyiv pays Moscow for electricity.

Eintracht Frankfurt have ruled out making big-name signings this summer despite beating Rangers to win the Europa League final, which guaranteed a lucrative first Champions League spot in the club's history.

North Korea is poised to conduct a nuclear test, Seoul and Washington said Thursday, with the United States warning it could come as President Joe Biden visits South Korea this week.

Russia said Thursday that 1,730 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered this week at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, showing some emerging on crutches after an all-out battle that has become emblematic of the nearly three-month-old war.

For Karey Patterson, the lingering memory of the February floods that devastated Australia's east coast was wondering how long he could hold his daughter's head above water as the torrent consumed their home.

Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella put on 44 runs in a vital seventh-wicket stand as Sri Lanka edged closer to safety in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Thursday.

She ran clutching her soup ladle from the wood-fired stove set up by trapped residents metres from their doorstep and dived into the basement to escape the mortar blast.

Markets in Europe and Asia posted losses Thursday, after Wall Street suffered one of its worst batterings in two years.

A medical school in Tokyo that made it harder for female students to pass entrance exams was on Thursday ordered to pay compensation to 13 women for gender discrimination.

Badminton world number one Viktor Axelsen pulled out of the Thailand Open on Thursday, citing an injury he sustained at last week's Thomas and Uber Cup finals.

Asian markets posted losses Thursday, after Wall Street suffered one of its worst batterings in two years in the previous session.

Cuban boxers will compete in their nation's first professional contest in six decades on Friday, eager to draw on their Olympic success to stage a victorious comeback.

Conflicts and natural disasters forced tens of millions to flee within their own country last year, pushing the number of internally displaced people to a record high, monitors said Thursday.