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

More than 70 shells embedded in a footpath outside a Bangkok shopping mall have been found to be the fossils of marine creatures that lived more than 66 million years ago, Thai experts have confirmed.

The chief executive of England's Rugby Football Union has been admitted to hospital but is expected to return to work, the governing body announced Tuesday.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to ban online cockfighting following outcry over the industry sparked by the disappearance of dozens of workers and concerns about the social costs of gambling.

The WHO said Tuesday that "epidemic" overweight and obesity rates are linked to over 1.2 million deaths annually across Europe, calling for swift policy changes to reverse the dangerous trend.

Pope Francis said in an interview published Tuesday that he requested a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, while comparing the scale of the bloodshed to Rwanda's genocide.

Tokyo Olympic silver medallist cyclist Azizulhasni Awang said that he had been given a "second chance" at life after the 34-year-old Malaysian had open-heart surgery.

Czech art collector Meda Mladkova, who supported artists in Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia from exile in Washington during the Cold War era, died aged 102 on Tuesday, her foundation said.

An innovative women's cricket tournament grouping established stars with emerging-nation players starts this week as the sport looks to expand globally and outgrow its reliance on the men's game.

British energy giant BP said Tuesday that its decision to pull out of Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine pushed it deep into the red in the first three months of this year.

Asia stocks fell Tuesday as markets braced for a sharp US interest rate hike and similar moves by other central banks as they struggle to control inflation, with traders increasingly worried about another possible recession.

Hundreds of pro-choice and anti-abortion activists gathered in front of the US Supreme Court on Monday night, hours after a stunning leak of a draft opinion that signals the institution may be set to strike down the right to abortion.

British energy giant BP on Tuesday plunged into a huge net loss in the first quarter after it decided to exit Russia over the country's invasion of neighbour Ukraine.

Deandre Ayton scored 25 points as top seeds Phoenix overpowered Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday while Miami exploited the absence of Joel Embiid to rout Philadelphia in the NBA playoffs.

Australia's central bank raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade on Tuesday, a pre-election hike designed to curb soaring consumer prices.

Fiercer floods, winds and bushfires whipped up by warmer temperatures mean more than half a million homes in Australia will cost too much to insure by 2030, according to an analysis by a climate advocacy group published Tuesday.

Unregulated online content has spread disinformation and propaganda that have amplified political divisions worldwide, fanned international tensions and even contributed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a media watchdog warned Tuesday.

Hong Kong has plummeted down an international press freedom chart as authorities have wielded a draconian new security law to silence critical news outlets and jail journalists, a new report said on Tuesday.

A US Supreme Court draft opinion leaked to the press on Monday suggests a majority of justices are ready to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade, shredding nearly 50 years of constitutional protections on abortion rights.

Leni Robredo was a neophyte congresswoman in 2016 when she came from behind to narrowly beat Ferdinand Marcos Junior for Philippines vice president. She hopes to repeat the feat in their May 9 rematch for president.

Fighting raged in the critical port city of Odessa and across Ukraine's east as fresh evacuations of civilians from war-ravaged Mariupol were expected Tuesday.

In baseball-mad South Korea teams of professional cheerleaders pumping up players and fans with elaborate K-pop routines are as integral to the games as beer and fried chicken.

Nearly 40 years after the Philippines began hunting for the billions of dollars plundered during former dictator Ferdinand Marcos's regime, much of the loot is still missing and no one in the family has been jailed.

Asia stocks mostly fell Tuesday as markets brace for a sharp US interest rate hike and similar moves by other central banks as they struggle to control inflation, with traders increasingly worried about another possible recession.

In Iraq, "maku" means "nothing", and father-of-five Issa al-Zamzoum says "maku" a lot: no electricity, no home, no rebuilding and no job.

Iran's oil minister has paid an official visit to ally Venezuela to meet President Nicolas Maduro and discuss ways to "overcome" the effects of US sanctions against both nations, officials said.

Tyler Herro scored 25 points from the bench as the Miami Heat exploited the injury absence of Joel Embiid to rout the Philadelphia 76ers 106-92 in their Eastern Conference playoff series opener on Monday.

In another life, not so long ago, Inna was a hairdresser. Now she spends her days chasing down food and water, in a struggle to simply survive in the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Three million women joined Japan's workforce in the past decade, and it's at least partly thanks to top executive Kathy Matsui, who coined the "womenomics" catchphrase that inspired government policy.

Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City stars to show their "personality" as the Spaniard plots yet another successful visit to Real Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg.

As Real Madrid celebrated their La Liga title win, Carlo Ancelotti was already trying to direct momentum towards Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester City.

The Supreme Court may be poised to strike down the right to abortion in the United States, US media reported Monday, citing a leaked draft of a majority opinion that would represent a staggering blow to women's rights.

Bulldozers sit idle next to tree stumps along the disputed route of a new Mexican tourist train. Beneath the jungle, environmentalists warn that a magical labyrinth of underground rivers and caves is also under threat.