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

The most senior Russian official to visit Washington since the start of the Ukraine war said Thursday he had discussed potential cooperation with the United States in the Arctic and on rare earth metals but acknowledged that "disagreements" remain.

Palestinian director Basel Adra, who won an Oscar this year for co-directing a documentary on Israeli violence in the West Bank, sounded the alarm at the UN on Thursday, saying the situation was worsening despite the film's success.

Japan and Taiwan promised billions in investment. Britain offered an invitation from the king. In the end, even US allies failed to dissuade President Donald Trump from hitting them with tariffs, which threaten to remake not just the global economy but the foundations of US foreign policy.

Chelsea climbed to fourth place in the Premier League as Enzo Fernandez sealed a 1-0 win that piled pressure on beleaguered Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou on Thursday.

The fate of South Korea's presidency hangs on the Constitutional Court Friday as it decides whether to uphold Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over a disastrous martial law declaration or to return him to power.

Donald Trump's tariffs have become a black and white issue on social media, where penguin memes have gone viral after he targeted an island inhabited by the flightless birds, but no people.

An original model of E.T., created for Steven Spielberg's beloved film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," did not find a buyer after being put up for auction, Sotheby's auction house in New York said Thursday.

A week after taking the alpine skiing crystal globe Italian Federica Brignone underwent surgery after suffering a broken leg on Thursday hampering her preparations for the star's home Winter Olympics next year.

Wall Street led a global markets bloodbath Thursday as countries around the world reeled from President Donald Trump's trade war, while the White House insisted the US economy will emerge victorious.

St. Petersburg city council members voted 7-1 on Thursday to approve spending $22.5 million on a new teflon-coated fiberglass roof for hurricane-damaged Tropicana Park to allow the Tampa Bay Rays to return in 2026.

Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks was suspended for one game without pay by the NBA on Thursday after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season.

The Pentagon inspector general's office will investigate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss air strikes on Yemen, the watchdog said Thursday.

The trade uncertainty fueled by recent tariffs will likely raise the risks of higher inflation and slower growth, and pose challenges for Federal Reserve policy, a senior banking official said Thursday.

Bruce Springsteen announced Thursday he will release a boxed set of new music this summer spanning 83 songs.

Tom Cruise paid tribute to late "Top Gun" co-star Val Kilmer on Thursday, leading movie theater owners in a moment's silence at the CinemaCon event before unveiling new footage from his latest "Mission: Impossible" movie.

President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, the United States' top trading partner, on Thursday welcomed her country's exclusion from the list of nations targeted in Donald Trump's latest round of import tariffs.

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has made repeated visits to the White House as he tries to persuade US President Donald Trump to settle a major antitrust case before it goes to trial on April 14, US media reported.

A fencer was disqualified from a US women's foil event for refusing to compete against a transgender opponent in an incident that has gone viral online.

With the United States the largest export market for champagne, producers of France's leading sparkling wine had little to celebrate on Thursday about facing an additional 20 percent tariff, although they held out hope for negotiations.

A week after taking the alpine skiing crystal globe Italian Federica Brignone suffered a broken leg on Thursday hampering her preparations for her home Winter Olympics next year.

The head of Myanmar's junta was due to discuss the response to his country's devastating earthquake at a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday after the death toll passed 3,000.

India batter Venkatesh Iyer smashed 60 off 29 balls to fire holders Kolkata Knight Riders to a 80-run hammering of Sunrisers Hyderabad in a comeback IPL win on Thursday.

Russian superstar soprano Anna Netrebko -- shunned on some world stages since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine -- will appear at London's Royal Opera House later this year.

A French ex-daycare worker on Thursday was sentenced to 25 years in prison over a baby's death in her care, after she gave the infant drain cleaner to silence her crying.

More than four years after the UK's withdrawal from the European Union became effective, Britain has escaped harsher US tariffs, facing only half of the 20 percent imposed on its EU neighbours.

Canada said it would impose a 25 percent tariff on some autos imported from the United States, retaliating against President Donald Trump's levies that came into affect on Thursday.

Former world number two Casper Ruud said on Thursday tennis players were not receiving a fair share of the millions generated by the Grand Slams.

US President Donald Trump in March ridiculed Lesotho as a place "nobody has ever heard of" and then this week hit the tiny African kingdom with the highest of his reciprocal trade tariffs for any single nation.

Trade economists were scratching their heads on Thursday at the formula used by the White House to measure trade imbalances and inflict punishment on all its global trading partners.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told nervous NATO members on Thursday that Washington remained committed to the alliance, but said they must agree to massively ramp up their spending targets for defence.

A new exhibition opening in Paris on Friday showcases archaeological artifacts from Gaza, once a major commercial crossroads between Asia and Africa, whose heritage has been ravaged by Israel's ongoing onslaught.

Africa's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that the continent faces "an unprecedented financing crisis" that could lead to between two to four million additional deaths annually.

Tadej Pogacar said on Thursday he cannot wait for this weekend's one-day Tour of Flanders race and is targeting a repeat of his 2023 win while hoping to avoid a sprint finish against champion Mathieu van der Poel.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for a suspension of investment in the United States until Donald Trump's "brutal and unfounded" new tariffs against Europe and the rest of the world were clarified.

Wall Street led a global markets bloodbath Thursday as countries around the world reeled from President Donald Trump's trade war, while the White House insisted the US economy would emerge victorious.

Lossiemouth won the feature race of the first day of the Grand National festival on Thursday, the fourth of a remarkable four Grade One victories for legendary Irish trainer WIllie Mullins.

Stock markets and the dollar tumbled Thursday after President Donald Trump's latest worldwide tariff salvo fanned a trade war that many fear will spark recession and ramp up inflation.

Around 100 authors on Thursday protested outside the London headquarters of Meta, accusing the US tech giant of "stealing" content to train its Artificial Intelligence models.

London's Tate Modern unveiled a huge, spectacular abstract painting by acclaimed US artist Joan Mitchell on Thursday, part of one of the "most significant gifts" to the gallery in recent decades.