Author: Publisher
LIV Golf has signed Thomas Detry, who last year became the first Belgian to win on the PGA Tour. Major winners Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith all committed to stay with LIV Golf in 2026 on Tuesday, turning down the chance to follow Brooks Koepka back to the US PGA Tour.Five-time major winner Koepka announced his return to the US circuit on Monday under a new program that created a pathway back for stars who joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit. It was open to those players who had won either a major or the Players Championship between 2022 and 2025, meaning American DeChambeau, Spain’s Rahm and Australian Smith would have been eligible to make the move back from LIV. But none of them were interested.”Look, I’m contracted through 2026, so I’m excited about this year,” said two-time US Open champion DeChambeau at a LIV Golf media day in Florida.Asked if he shared the sentiment, Rahm, who won the US Open in 2021 and the Masters two years later, replied: “I’m not planning on going anywhere. Very similar answer to what Bryson gave. I wish Brooks the best.”Smith, the 2022 Open winner, was similarly keen to stay with the breakaway tour. “I’m going to stay,” he told reporters. “I have made my bed and I’m gonna sleep in it. I feel like I am in a really good place in my career and my life, my family life, and I don’t need to change it.”PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said this week Koepka’s decision to leave LIV last month had prompted officials to consider how they handled the issue of embracing players who wanted to rejoin.The result was the PGA Tour’s new “Returning Member Program”, which came with “severe and justified consequences”.That included a five-year forfeiture of rights to participation in the PGA Tour’s player equity program, while Koepka had agreed to make a $5 million charitable contribution to a recipient which will be determined jointly by Koepka and the PGA Tour.Launched in 2022, LIV Golf’s emergence led to bitter divisions throughout the sport as several of golf’s biggest names left the PGA Tour after signing big-money deals.LIV Golf signs Belgian Detry, re-signs twice major winner JohnsonLIV Golf has signed Thomas Detry, who last year became the first Belgian to win on the PGA Tour, to its roster while former world number one Dustin Johnson has re-signed with the league, the Saudi-funded circuit said.World number 58 Detry, who picked up his lone PGA Tour victory at last February’s Phoenix Open, is joining the 4Aces team captained by two-time major champion Johnson, who signed a multi-year extension with LIV.Detry is arguably the biggest LIV signing since Rahm and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton joined the league ahead of the 2024 season. “There’s an amazing vibe around the 4Aces that you feel right away,” said Detry. “You can see they play with confidence and there’s a definite swagger coming from all the guys… feeling like you belong on the biggest stages. That’s exactly the type of environment I want to be a part of.”The 33-year-old Detry is coming off a career year during which he made the cut in 19 of the 24 events he played, including at the Phoenix Open where he romped to a seven-shot victory.For the first time, Detry also played every major in the same calendar year in 2025, missing the cut at the Masters and PGA Championship before earning a share of 23rd at the U.S. Open and finishing joint 45th at the British Open. Johnson, who did not meet the criteria for PGA Tour reinstatement under a new and limited program announced this week by the U.S.-based circuit, has been with LIV Golf since its launch in June 2022.He was LIV’s first season-long individual champion in 2022 and his 4Aces also won that year’s team championship. The 41-year-old American, whose peak years are behind him, missed the cut in the first three majors of 2025 before earning a share of 23rd at the British Open. Related Story Source link
Newly-appointed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov addresses lawmakers during a session of Ukrainian parliament, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Wednesday. Ukraine’s parliament appointed young technocrat Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister Wednesday as the government seeks to drive innovation to strengthen the military during a difficult phase of the nearly four-year war.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had ordered Fedorov, 34, to implement fast decisions to protect Ukraine’s skies, strengthen supplies to the front line and introduce other technological solutions to stop Russian advances.”We immediately identified the first priorities for the ministry of defence. The main one is air defence,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X after meeting Fedorov.The exhausted Ukrainian army is outmanned and outgunned on the battlefield after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Russian forces are steadily grinding forward in the eastern Donetsk region and trying to punch through defence lines in the south and northeast.With diplomatic efforts to end the war failing to produce tangible results, Kyiv needs to strengthen its armed forces, which total around 1 million personnel.Zelenskiy said “much broader changes” were needed in the system for mobilising troops for the war.”Decisions have already been made to ensure a more equitable distribution of personnel among combat brigades,” he said.Parliament voted to extend martial law and mobilisation until May, the 18th time since Russia’s full-scale invasion.Fedorov has already played an important role in shaping Ukraine’s high-tech response to Russia’s invasion in previous roles as the first deputy prime minister and digital transformation minister.”Today, it is impossible to fight with new technologies using an old organisational structure,” Fedorov told lawmakers before the vote, promising sweeping changes.”Our goal is to change the system: to reform the army, improve infrastructure on the front lines, eradicate lies and corruption, and make leadership and trust a new culture.”Fedorov was instrumental in creating a “drone line” – a defensive line of drones meant to inflict maximum damage on Russian troops. He also helped improve connectivity for Ukraine’s forces at the front line by deploying Starlink terminals.Along with strengthening its defence efforts, Ukraine needs to implement big changes to stabilise the battered energy sector. Parliament appointed Denys Shmyhal, a former prime minister, as the new energy minister.Shmyhal, one of the country’s most experienced government officials, faces the dual challenge of keeping Ukraine’s lights on despite heavy Russian attacks while also cleaning up the energy sector.His predecessor was dismissed in November after anti-corruption agencies uncovered a scheme to skim $100mn from Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company.Both new ministers take up their positions weeks after a corruption scandal in the energy sector that caused Ukraine’s biggest wartime political crisis and led to widespread public anger at Zelenskiy’s government. Following that, Zelenskiy replaced several security officials and placed a popular spy chief at the centre of his administration as his chief of staff. Related Story Source link
Annalena Baerbock noted that the New Year began with crises in Venezuela and Iran, with the international community “at an even more urgent make-or-break moment” than when the landmark session began in…
A displaced Palestinian woman sits near damaged tents, amid a windstorm, in Gaza City, Tuesday. A rainstorm swept across the Gaza Strip Tuesday, flooding hundreds of tents, collapsing homes sheltering families displaced by two years of war and killing at least six people, local health officials said.Medics said five people, including two women and a girl, died when homes collapsed near Gaza City’s beach, while a one-year-old boy died of extreme cold in a tent in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.Tents were torn from their stakes, some flying dozens of meters before crashing to the ground. Others lay crumpled in muddy pools as families scrambled to salvage what they could. Residents tried to resecure remaining shelters, hammering in loosened pegs and stacking sandbags around the edges to keep floodwaters from pouring inside.”We didn’t realise what was happening until the wall started collapsing – an eight-metre-high wall, a strong concrete wall. Because of the speed and force of the wind, the wall fell on top of us, onto three tents,” said Bassel Hamuda, a displaced man in Gaza.”The elderly man, 73 years old, was martyred. His son’s wife was killed, and his son’s daughter was killed,” he said.Three months since a ceasefire halted major combat, Israeli forces have ordered the near-total depopulation of nearly two thirds of Gaza, forcing its more than 2mn people into a narrow strip near the coast where most live either in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.Dozens of relatives gathered at a hospital morgue Tuesday for special prayers over bodies laid on medical stretchers before the funerals.The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said at least 31 Palestinians had died since the start of the winter season from exposure to cold or the collapse of unsafe buildings damaged by previous Israeli strikes.It said about 7,000 tents were damaged in the past 48 hours, most of whose occupants have no alternative shelter.Municipal and civil defence officials said they were unable to cope with the storm because of fuel shortages and damaged equipment. During the war Israel had destroyed hundreds of vehicles needed to respond to the weather emergency, including bulldozers and water pumps.In December, a UN report said 761 displacement sites hosting about 850,000 people were at high risk of flooding, and thousands had moved in anticipation of heavy rain.UN and Palestinian officials said at least 300,000 new tents were urgently needed for the roughly 1.5mn people still displaced. Related Story Source link
Jockey Pierre Charles Boudot guided Posuelo Py to the Al Kharrara Cup win at the Al Rayyan Racecourse Wednesday. Jockey Pierre Charles Boudot continued his outstanding run this season guiding Posuelo Py to Al Kharrara Cup triumph and completed a hat-trick of wins at the Al Rayyan Racecourse Wednesday. Drawn widest in the Purebred Arabian Handicap (1200m) race, the eight-year-old bay gelding travelled midfield before powering down the home straight to score decisively by 1¼ lengths for owner Ibrahim Mohammed al-Fadala and trainer Hamad al-Jehani, giving Boudot a treble on the evening. Settled midfield through the early and middle stages, Posuelo Py was ridden with patience as Mared Al Jasra dictated a steady tempo, tracked closely by Naseeb Zakhir and Taymoor Al Shahania, the order at the head of affairs remaining unchanged. On straightening, Taymoor Al Shahania pressed sharply to take over, with Naseeb Zakhir quickly ranging up to challenge and for a moment it appeared the contest would be settled between the pair. Posuelo Py, however, was unleashed from the middle of the pack with an electrifying turn of foot, sweeping past his rivals to assert decisively and maintain his advantage to the line. Naseeb Zakhir filled second, trained and owned by Osama Omer al-Dafea and ridden by Faleh Bughenaim, edging Taymoor Al Shahania, who finished third for Al Bida Racing, trainer Ibrahim Khaled Elahmed and jockey Alberto Sanna, with the pair separated by just a quarter of a length. Boudot had opened the card with a neck-winning ride on La Quyood for trainer Julian Smart in the Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate (1900m), and later guided Deauville to victory in the Local Purebred Arabian Handicap (1200m, Class 5) for trainer Ibrahim Khaled Elahmed. Other winners included Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki-trained Burkan, in the 1900m Purebred Arabian Conditions race, Jassim al-Ghazali-trained Galeb Al Shahania under Marco Casamento supervision in the Local Purebred Arabian Handicap, Funny Bunny in the Thoroughbred Handicap, Tawfeeq in the Local Thoroughbred Novice Plate, and Fantastic Deal in the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate. RESULTS36th Al Rayyan Race Meeting – Al Kharrara Cup WINNERS: (Horse, Trainer, Jockey) 1: Al Kharrara Cup, Purebred Arabian Handicap Posuelo Py, Hamad al-Jehani, Pierre Charles Boudot 2 – Purebred Arabian Conditions Burkan, Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki, Tomas Lukasek 3 – Local Purebred Arabian Handicap Galeb Al Shahania, Jassim al-Ghazali, Marco Casamento 4 – Local Purebred Arabian Handicap Deauville, Ibrahim Khaled Elahmed, Pierre Charles Boudot 5 – Thoroughbred Handicap Funny Bunny, Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim al-Malki, Mohammed Hassan Ali Alabdulmalik 6 – Local Thoroughbred Novice Plate Tawfeeq, MHK al-Attiyah, Szczepan Mazur 7 – Thoroughbred Maiden Plate Fantastic Deal, Abdulla al-Mulla, Ivan Rossi 8 -Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate La Quyood, Julian Smart, Pierre Charles Boudot Related Story Source…
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on Wednesday that 2025 was one of the three warmest years on record, continuing the streak of extraordinary global temperatures.After analysing…
Eighteen people were killed and more than 30 are missing due to a landslide in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), triggered by heavy rains. Local authorities said the landslide occurred in the village of Burutsi in North Kivu province, eastern Congo.They noted that the landslide happened after several hours of torrential rain, cutting off the main road between the main city of Goma and the provincial capital, Walikale. Local officials said they have requested assistance from the government, but the road closure to Goma has hampered the government’s ability to respond quickly, and rocks and mud have hampered the search for survivors. Source link
Liam Rosenior said he was ready to embrace the pressure of managing Chelsea and unlock what he called the club’s “limitless” potential as he prepares for his first game in charge of the West London side today.Rosenior, 41, was confirmed as Chelsea’s new head coach on Tuesday on a contract running until 2032, following the departure of Italian Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day. He is Chelsea’s fourth permanent boss appointed since Todd Boehly’s 2022 takeover.”I think the (general) turnover of managers now is huge,” Rosenior told reporters on Friday ahead of their FA Cup third-round tie at Championship side Charlton Athletic.”The pressure is there from day one and if I wasn’t willing to take on that pressure and privilege I wouldn’t be here… If you are scared or fearful there is no point being a coach.”Although relatively inexperienced at the top level, Rosenior’s reputation grew after guiding Strasbourg to European qualification with a seventh-placed finish in Ligue 1.His appointment was aided by the fact that Strasbourg and Chelsea share the same multi-club ownership structure, with Boehly’s consortium, BlueCo, taking over the French side in 2023.”When I went in at Strasbourg I was a joke in the media and they said that my team would finish last,” Rosenior said. “I was a nobody from England and we finished three points off the Champions League places. The noise is just noise.”I am not promising it, but I am working towards it and I believe strongly we can be very successful here.”NOT FAR AWAYRosenior’s first challenge will be to arrest Chelsea’s slump after a run of one win in nine Premier League games, which has left them eighth with 31 points from 21 matches.”It’s a tough run, it’s a tough league,” Rosenior said. “We aren’t the only club that’ll go through difficult periods, every club does. Sometimes a different voice helps, but we aren’t far away and that’s really important for the players to know…”The potential for this club is limitless, and I won’t limit limitlessness.”Rosenior got a quick reality check on Wednesday when he watched Chelsea lose 2-1 at Fulham, with fixing their poor discipline record now high on his to-do list.Television cameras showed Rosenior sitting high in the stands, stony-faced, as left back Marc Cucurella was sent off for a foul on Harry Wilson 22 minutes into the game.The dismissal was Chelsea’s fifth red card in the league this season, a major factor in their struggles to live up to expectations following their Club World Cup triumph in July.”It is one of the few things (disciplinary issues this term) that we can improve on,” he said. “I know how we do that. I have spoken to the players about managing setbacks.”They show passion and emotion for the shirt. It is making sure in key moments we react positively to setbacks.” Source link
According to the data compiled for the latest Employment and Social Trends 2026 report, the global unemployment rate is projected to stay stable at around 4.9 per cent…
India’s army chief yesterday accused Pakistan of flying drones into Kashmir, where the two countries fought a four-day clash last year.“They have been told that this is unacceptable to us, and please put a stop to it,” General Upendra Dwivedi told reporters in New Delhi in an annual briefing to the media ahead of Army Day tomorrow. Heads of military operations of both countries spoke to each other earlier yesterday, he said. India’s army reported sighting multiple drones flying over Indian-controlled border villages last week.“These drones, I believe, were defensive drones, which want to come over (our territory) to see if any action is being planned against them,” Dwivedi said. There was no immediate response from Pakistan’s army.“We are fully alert along the Line of Control,” Dwivedi added, referring to the heavily fortified de facto border. Dwivedi said several low-flying drones entered Indian-controlled airspace with their lights switched on – as many as seven on Saturday, and another two or three on Sunday.“It’s possible they wanted to see if there were any gaps, laxity in our defence, any gaps through which they could send terrorists,” he added. In an incident on Friday, a drone from Pakistan was suspected to have dropped two pistols, three ammunition magazines, 16 bullets and one grenade that were recovered following a search, a source said. In the past, there have been reports of civilian drone intrusions from Pakistan into Indian states along the border, with Indian security agencies telling local media that they had shot down drones that were seeking to drop light arms or drugs. Pakistan has dismissed these accusations as baseless and misleading. Source link