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

New Olympic snowboard halfpipe champion Ayumu Hirano says that riders are "putting their lives on the line" but not being scored "accurately", calling for better judging.

The United States outslugged Canada 4-2 on Saturday in a pivotal Olympic clash of hockey heavyweights lacking none of the intensity of their long rivalry despite the absence of NHL superstars.

Olympic veteran Edson Bindilatti says it's high time that Brazil's bobsleigh team finally ditched its nickname 'Frozen Bananas' and earned some respect on the ice track at the Winter Games.

For many American football fans, going to a Super Bowl is a once-in-a-lifetime special event.

US snowboarders at the Beijing Olympics strongly defended Saturday their long-serving head coach Peter Foley against "super upsetting" allegations of sexual misconduct and other inappropriate behaviour, saying the accusations damaged "team energy".

Myanmar's junta on Saturday announced an amnesty for more than 800 prisoners to mark the country's Union Day, as it held a parade and show of force in the capital.

Questions grew Saturday over why it took six weeks for Kamila Valieva's failed drug test to come to light, as the 15-year-old Russian figure skater fights to stay at the Beijing Olympics.

Experimentation, play, and glitter: a coronavirus-impacted New York Fashion Week got under way Friday with Fall/Winter 2022 shows by Proenza Schouler and Christian Cowan.

US President Joe Biden will speak to Vladimir Putin on Saturday after the United States warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin in days.

Sofia Goggia's chances of defending her Olympic downhill title took a nose dive when she crashed heavily last month -- but she showed Saturday she has gone through the pain barrier to give herself a fighting chance.

Thousands of opponents of Covid rules were encamped on the outskirts of Paris early Saturday after driving in convoys from across France, intent on entering the city in defiance of a ban by authorities who are determined to prevent any blockade of the capital.

Luckless Australian batting prodigy Will Pucovski suffered another concussion Saturday in his comeback match after an extended break out of the game.

Joel Embiid poured in 25 points and 19 rebounds to power the Philadelphia 76ers to a 100-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

The United States plans to re-establish an embassy in the Solomon Islands, a senior State Department official said Saturday, as Washington seeks to beef up its presence in a region where China is rapidly expanding its influence.

The Beijing Olympics are the most gender-balanced Winter Games ever, with competitors saying the expansion of mixed team events "means a lot" and helps drive up standards in women's sport.

The coaching team surrounding Kamila Valieva has come under fierce scrutiny after the 15-year-old Russian figure skater was engulfed by a doping controversy at the Beijing Olympics -- and none more so than Eteri Tutberidze.

Sahith Theegala fired a seven-under par 64 on Friday to lead the Phoenix Open, with former world number one Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele on his heels.

Carrie Johnson, the wife of Britain's prime minister, is an experienced political operative in her own right who has been thrust from the shadows as allegations of sleaze and scandal envelop Downing Street.

A Los Angeles Rams team bristling with star-power will seek to deny the giant-killing Cincinnati Bengals a Hollywood ending in the Super Bowl on Sunday as an NFL season full of plot twists reaches its climax.

Mexico is on course for one of its deadliest years yet for the press, with five journalists murdered already in 2022, prompting calls for authorities to end a culture of impunity.

Tesla can hardly make enough electric vehicles to meet booming demand, but behind the world's most valuable auto brand is its troubled California factory that makes most of those cars.

Truckers snarling a key bridge between Canada and the United States in protest at Covid rules defied a judge's order to leave Friday night, with the crowd getting even bigger two weeks into the snowballing protest movement.

With support from ex-police and military intelligence officers, American funding, and stockpiles of food and fuel, "Freedom Convoy" protesters are hunkered down for a long stay in the Canadian capital.

The Brooklyn Nets will welcome new acquisition Ben Simmons "with our arms wide open," general manager Sean Marks said Friday, but it's not clear when the former Philadelphia star will debut with his new NBA team.

Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee was ruled out of the Super Bowl on Friday after failing to recover from a knee injury.

Ian McDonald, the English architect of progressive rock who co-founded the band King Crimson as well as Foreigner, has died. He was 75 years old.

Truckers snarling a key bridge between Canada and the United States in protest at Covid rules were ordered by a judge to leave Friday night, setting up a potential showdown two weeks into the snowballing protest movement.

The United States dramatically raised the alarm Friday over Ukraine, warning that a Russian invasion starting with civilians caught under aerial bombing could begin in days and telling US citizens to leave within 48 hours.

Wall Street stocks tumbled and oil prices surged Friday as White House warnings of a possibly imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine reverberated through financial markets.

Former Major League Baseball standout Jeremy Giambi died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said Friday.

Kylian Mbappe scored an injury-time winner as Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for their Champions League showdown with Real Madrid by beating Rennes 1-0 in Ligue 1 on Friday.

The efficacy of third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines wanes substantially by the fourth month after administration, a new study by the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday.