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

A scuba diving boat sank Saturday off one of Ecuador's ecologically sensitive Galapagos Islands but damage was minor and no one was hurt, officials said.

Kyiv prepared on Saturday for its first wartime visit from two top US officials, as Ukraine accused Russia of killing six people in a strike on Odessa that all but buried hopes of a truce for Orthodox Easter.

A ship carrying diesel fuel sank Saturday off one of Ecuador's ecologically sensitive Galapagos Islands, officials said.

Veteran Belgian singer Arno, a rock icon known for his husky voice and unruly hair, died on Saturday from cancer at the age of 72, his agent announced.

Rain forced the Barcelona Open to postpone both its semi-finals on Saturday, with Carlos Alcaraz up against Alex de Minaur and Diego Schwartzman playing Pablo Carreno Busta.

Bayern Munich's decade of dominance in the Bundesliga has fuelled calls for reforms to make the German top flight more exciting, with even end-of-season play-offs being suggested as a possible solution.

Even as their players doused each other with beer to celebrate winning a 10th straight Bundesliga title on Saturday, Bayern Munich were still suffering from the hangover of their shock Champions League defeat by Villarreal.

Tottenham lost ground in the race to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League as they were held to a damaging 0-0 draw at Brentford on Saturday.

Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera stayed on course for victory in the Rally of Croatia on Saturday after a dramatic day which saw one stage cancelled and another cut short in deteriorating weather conditions.

Virat Kohli's second successive golden duck in the IPL saw Royal Challengers Bangalore crash to 68 all out and lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad by nine wickets on Saturday but the team insisted their star batter will bounce back.

Bayern Munich were crowned Bundesliga champions for the 10th consecutive season on Saturday after a 3-1 home win over second-placed Borussia Dortmund.

Stella Assange, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, urged the British government on Saturday not to sign his extradition order to the US, saying his fate will have repercussions throughout Europe.

Last year's champion Tadej Pogacar will miss Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege to be with his grieving fiancee after the death of her mother, opening the door for his rivals in the fourth Monument of the season.

Reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan reclaimed top spot on Saturday after beating Roma 3-1 at home to move one point clear of AC Milan.

World number one Iga Swiatek said she was "born to fight" after battling past Liudmila Samsonova on Saturday to seal a 22nd consecutive win and book her place in the Stuttgart final.

Virat Kohli's miserable IPL continued on Saturday when he was dismissed for a second successive golden duck as his Royal Challengers Bangalore were skittled for just 68 by Sunrisers Hyderabad who strolled to a nine-wicket win.

Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera joined Major League Baseball's elite 3,000-hit club on Saturday, becoming just the 33rd player to reach the milestone.

Ukrainian officials Saturday accused Russia of thwarting a fresh attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol and killing six people in a strike on Odessa, all but burying hopes of a truce for Orthodox Easter.

They may be facing a Wimbledon ban but Anastasia Potapova and Veronika Kudermetova ensured there will be at least one Russian winner on the WTA Tour this year by reaching the Istanbul final on Saturday.

With the stakes high in France's second-round presidential election, many French citizens in the United States and Canada trooped to polling places Saturday to cast their ballots, a day before their fellow citizens back home.

Lewis Hamilton admitted defending champions Mercedes have no hope of defending their title this year after he finished 14th, three places behind his team-mate George Russell, in Saturday's sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Frenchman Johann Zarco will start Sunday's Portuguese MotoGP in pole position on his Ducati Pramac after topping a crash-laden qualifying ahead of Spanish rider Joan Mir.

Novak Djokovic reached his first final of the year at the Serbia Open on Saturday after recovering from a set down to beat Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-1 6-2 and described his home support as "phenomenal".

RB Leipzig conceded late two goals on Saturday to crash to a 2-1 home defeat by Union Berlin, who kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive in the Bundesliga.

Scientists on Saturday began a five-month mission to study how plastic pollution in Africa's main rivers and climate change stresses are impacting microorganisms in the Atlantic ocean, they announced.

Jos Buttler has smashed three centuries in seven Indian Premier League innings to reinforce his status as one of the world's best Twenty20 batsmen and says he has rarely played as well before.

Gabriel Jesus scored four goals as Manchester City thrashed Watford 5-1 to open up a four-point lead in the Premier League title race, while Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-1 to take control of the race for fourth.

France on Saturday prepared to choose between centrist President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen to rule the country for the next five years after a bitterly contested and polarising election campaign.

Gabriel Jesus scored four times as Manchester City crushed Watford 5-1 to move four points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday.

Thousands on Saturday celebrated the traditional "Holy Fire" ceremony of blazing candles at Christianity's holiest site in Jerusalem to mark the eve of Orthodox Easter.

Unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson Fury prepared to put his WBC crown on the line against former sparring partner Dillian Whyte in a blockbuster all-British bout at Wembley on Saturday.

World champion Max Verstappen recovered from a poor start to fight back and win Saturday's 21-lap sprint race and claim pole position for Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.