Author: Publisher
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, discussed the latest regional developments in a phone call today. During the call, both ministers emphasized the need to de-escalate regional tensions, particularly the recent developments in Iran, and stressed the importance of negotiations to defuse tensions in the region. Source link
Austria’s Max Kuhner claimed the feature CSI5* Jump-Off (1.55m) title on the second tour of the HH The Father Amir’s Prix at Al Shaqab yesterday, producing a blistering round aboard EIC Quantum Robin V to take home the top prize of €26,500.Kuhner topped a competitive jump-off involving 10 riders, edging out Germany’s Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann by just one-tenth of a second. Meyer-Zimmermann finished second with the 11-year-old Cellagon Cascais, while Ireland’s Neal Fearon completed the podium on the BWP mare Derrygle Obsidian. Switzerland’s Nadja Peter Steiner, winner of Thursday’s 1.50m class, finished fourth with Mila, ahead of Austria’s Gerfried Puck on Equitron Naxcel V in fifth. In the CSI5* Six Bars 1.50m, France’s Megane Moissonnier emerged victorious with a flawless performance aboard Chacarija PS. Another highlight of the day was the CSI5* Six Bars 1.50m, a crowd-favourite test of scope and bravery. France’s Megane Moissonnier emerged victorious with a flawless performance aboard Chacarija PS. Italy’s Roberto Previtali finished second on Chaquano PS after four faults in the final round, while Portugal’s Duarte Seabra placed third with Fernhill Leonardo after withdrawing in the last round.Great Britain’s Millie Allen dominated the CSI5* 1.45m (Faults and Time) class, clocking 59.58 seconds on Quick Diamant HR to secure first place. She finished ahead of Eve Jobs of the United States on Kannandillo and Denmark’s Caroline Rehoff Pedersen riding Chaccball. Allen said: “Quick Diamant HR loves this arena and she’s a real pleasure to ride. I’m very grateful to get to ride on her.” A spectacular view of the Al…
Air India is facing a London lawsuit from the estates and relatives of some of the deceased over the June 2025 crash of a passenger jet which killed 260 people.A personal injury lawsuit was filed at the high court by 11 claimants on December 18, according to court records. No further details were immediately available. A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board, bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, lost height seconds after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad on June 12 and erupted in a fireball as it hit a medical college hostel. There was one survivor among those on the plane, and the crash also killed 19 people on ground.Air India and lawyers representing the claimants did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Separately, the families of four passengers killed in the crash are suing Boeing in the US, alleging that the accident resulted from allegedly faulty fuel switches. – AFP Source link
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that over 100 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the October ceasefire, including victims of Israeli drone and helicopter attacks. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in a UN media briefing via video from Gaza that “more than 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire of early October. That is roughly one girl or boy killed every day during a ceasefire”. Referring to the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, he added that “life in Gaza remains suffocating. Survival is still conditional. Whilst the bombings and shooting have slowed during the ceasefire, they have not stopped”. Elder said that nearly all the deaths of the 60 boys and 40 girls resulted from Israeli military attacks; including airstrikes, drone attacks, tank shelling, gunfire, and quadcopter drone attacks, with a few being the result of exploding war remnants. This figure is likely an underestimate, since it is based only on deaths for which sufficient information was available, he noted. According to the latest official statistics, the death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 71,424 martyrs and 171,324 injured. ( Source link
Just days after the conclusion of the first tournament in the Qatar International Table Tennis Series, the WTT Star Contender Doha 2026 Championship kicked off with a bang yesterday. The WTT Star Contender Doha 2026, the second tournament in the 31st edition of the Qatar International Table Tennis Series, began at the Lusail Sports Hall. The Star Contender tournament is being held from January 13-18 with 170 players from around the world competing for a prize purse of $300,000. This tournament is part of a comprehensive series being hosted by Doha until the end of the month. It will be followed by the Junior Contender tournament from January 19-22, then the Junior Star Contender tournament from January 23-25 and will conclude with the Federer tournament from January 27-31. The preliminary rounds of the tournament witnessed fierce competition from the very first day, as players vied for a place in the main draw amidst a highly competitive atmosphere. In the men’s singles competition, Saudi Arabia’s Ali al-Khadrawi lost to South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon 3-1 in a fierce battle match that went to extra time before the Korean player ultimately prevailed.In another match, Iran’s Navid Shams secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Norway’s Borgar Haug after a five-game marathon. Romania’s Rares Sipos also triumphed, defeating Qatar’s Nawaf al-Malki in straight sets. Egypt’s Mohamed El Beiali achieved a significant 3-2 win against Abdullah Abdulwahab, despite a strong performance from the Qatari against a formidable and experienced opponent.In other matches, Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancarik defeated Hong Kong’s Lam Siu-hang 3-1, and China’s Yuan Licen overcame Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit 3-2 in a marathon fourth set that ended 18-16. China’s Xu Yingbin continued his impressive run with a decisive 3-0 victory over France’s Florian Bourrassaud, while India’s Ankur Bhattacharjee secured a comfortable 3-0 win against Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen. Qatar’s Yousif Abdalla suffered a 3-0 defeat to China’s Hsu Hsien-Chia. In a thrilling encounter, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Bushlaibi lost to India’s Akash Pal 3-2, while the USA’s Jinbao Ma triumphed over Lebanon’s Michel Abi Nader 3-0. In the women’s singles, Qatar’s promising young player, Alia al-Baz, was defeated 3-0 by India’s Swastika Ghosh, while India’s Yashaswini Ghorpade secured a 3-0 victory over Hong Kong’s Lee Hui Man. The Star Contender tournament features a large number of top-tier players who shone in the Champions tournament, most notably Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju, the defending men’s singles champion, along with world number one Lin Shidong, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Brazil’s Hugo Calderano. In the women’s singles draw, Zhu Yuling, who had a phenomenal WTT Champions Doha that culminated in her lifting the title, steps in as the event’s No 2 seed. A lot has been said of Zhu’s success over the last year, but adding a WTT Star Contender title to a trophy cabinet that already boasts one from the United States Smash and WTT Champions Doha 2026 would be something else. Also hanging around in Doha from last week are defending champion and Top Seed Kuai Man, Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin and Adriana Diaz. One player inside the Top 10, Chen Yi, is set to make her 2026 Doha debut.What makes the Star Contender event different to Champions is the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Doubles events. The Women’s discipline is headed by another pair from Korea Republic in Ryu Hanna and Kim Nayeong. Their toughest challengers will come in the form of defending champions Satsuki Odo and Sakura Yokoi. Source link
A crane at a China-backed high-speed rail project in Thailand collapsed onto a passenger train, causing it toآ derail on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring 30, local authorities said. One police official said the death toll is expected to rise due to the high number of critical injuries.Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 people were on board the train and authorities were rushing to identify the deceased. The incident happened when the train was passing by a work site where a crane in the location collapsed and hit the passing train. It caused the train to derail and briefly catch fire, causing a number of losses. Emergency responders and disaster response units were rushed to the scene to carry out rescue and relief operations. Amid concerns over the rising number of deaths, Ratchakitprakarn ordered a “thorough and comprehensive investigation†into the cause of the accident. The collapsed crane was part of a high-speed rail project valued at approximately $5.4 billion. Source link
The draw for the preliminary round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers was held today in Rabat, on the sidelines of the ongoing AFCON in Morocco.The draw for the tournament, which its finals will be held in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in 2027, pitted Seychelles against Lesotho, Djibouti against South Sudan. Chad will play Burundi, Somalia will meet Mauritius, Eritrea will take on Eswatini, and Sao Tome and Principe will play Ethiopia. The preliminary round matches will be played during the upcoming international break, between March 25 and 31. Source link
US President Donald Trump’s threat to slap a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran risks reopening old wounds with Beijing, Tehran’s biggest trading partner. Iran became a flashpoint in US-China ties during Trump’s 2017-21 first term as president as Washington tightened sanctions on Tehran and put China’s Huawei, accused of selling technology to the Islamic Republic, in its crosshairs. The arrest of Meng Wenzhou, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, in Canada at Washington’s request sparked retaliation and a hostage crisis, with bitter recriminations lingering for the remainder of Trump’s first administration. With Iran in his sights once again, the duty would see Chinese shipments to the US incurring levies exceeding 70%, higher than the effective 57.5% tariffs in place before Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a deal in October to de-escalate their trade war.It remains unclear which countries with Iranian business links Trump might target, and he has not named China. The US president has also made offhand remarks that threatened to upend US foreign policy without acting on them before.“China will call (Trump’s) bluff. I can assure you that Trump will not impose the extra 25% tariffs on China, and if he does, China will retaliate and he will be punished,” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, “just like in Meng Wenzhou’s case.” Some Chinese experts questioned why Trump seemed intent on revisiting one of the most contentious foreign policy issues from his first term, despite having already made Beijing think twice about providing economic support to Tehran. “China and Iran are not as close as in the public imagination,” said a Beijing-based Chinese academic who advises the foreign ministry on Iran policy, and requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to media. China has sharply reduced Iranian imports in recent years, according to Chinese customs data, with Chinese companies wary of being sanctioned by the US government. China bought just $2.9bn of Iranian goods in the first 11 months of last year, the latest customs figures show, compared with a peak of $21bn in 2018 during Trump’s first presidency. That said, Beijing moves around 80% of Iran’s shipped oil through small independent refiners trading off the books to skirt US sanctions over the country’s nuclear ambitions.China’s state-backed oil majors have not done any business with Iran since 2022. Some analysts say the independents’ shipments means the total value of China’s purchases remains in the tens of billions of dollars. “China is just an excuse, a kind of disguise for the Trump administration, to impose new pressure (on) Iran,” said Wang Jin at the Beijing Club for International Dialogue think tank. When asked at yesterday’s regular press conference on Trump’s tariff threat, China’s foreign ministry said that Beijing would “resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests”.Still, Iran remains substantially bigger business for China than Venezuela, where Trump acted to curb Beijing’s stake with a commando raid to capture President Nicolas Maduro to face drug charges in the US.Analysts said Trump’s renewed push to cut off Iran from global trade flows is likely to deepen scrutiny of Xi’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative, where Iran is a strategic hub for the passage of Chinese goods to the Middle East. Source link
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah will lead the Dakar Rally into its second and final week after winning the sixth stage in the Saudi Arabian desert yesterday to take over at the top from South African rival Henk Lategan.Al-Attiyah, a five times Dakar winner now competing for the Dacia Sandriders, had been second overnight but turned a deficit of more than three minutes into a six-minute-and-10-second advantage over the 326km timed stage between Hail and Riyadh.Today is a rest day before the rally resumes in Riyadh tomorrow with seven more stages to the finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on January 17. Al-Attiyah won yesterday’s stage by two minutes and 58 seconds from teammate and nine times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, Dacia’s first Dakar one-two, with Toyota’s American Seth Quintero third. Overall, three different manufacturers filled the podium positions with Toyota’s Lategan second and Ford’s Nani Roma third 0û his first time on the virtual podium since 2019.Al-Attiyah, 55, has now completed 19 successive Dakars with at least one stage win every time. Yesterday was his career 49th stage win in the car category – one off the record held jointly by Ari Vatanen and ‘Mr Dakar’ Stephane Peterhansel.“I worked a lot today. The first five days were not always easy but today we tried to push. The car is working very, very well and I’m really happy,’ said al-Attiyah. “It’s fantastic to have the lead at the rest day. We need to follow this strategy for next week also. The first week was not easy, but we always tried to manage to not have any problems, we just had a few punctures. The last three days and the marathon stage were not easy. We tried to open on the second day of the marathon, but we are quite happy”.Spaniard Carlos Sainz, father of the Formula One driver and a four times Dakar winner still racing hard at the age of 63, was in fourth place for Ford with teammate Mattias Ekstrom fifth and Loeb sixth. American Mitch Guthrie, stage winner on Thursday for Ford, dropped to seventh from sixth.In the motorcycle category there was no change at the top, although leader and defending champion Daniel Sanders was handed a six-minute penalty for riding at 98kph in a zone limited to 50kph.KTM rider Sanders now leads Honda’s American Ricky Brabec, the stage winner after the Australian’s penalty, by 45 seconds with Argentine rider Luciano Benavides more than 10 minutes behind in third.”It was an emotional rollercoaster all day. Unfortunately, I got a speeding penalty, so that will set me back a bit,” said Sanders. “I just pushed as much as I could today but it’s hard to do good in the sand, especially opening. I did the best I could and I’ve got to stop making silly mistakes. I haven’t pieced this first week together so well.” Source link
New Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa insisted Tuesday he would be himself at the helm of the Spanish giants rather than trying to imitate Jose Mourinho.Arbeloa, who in his playing days at Madrid was an ally of his then coach Mourinho, has drawn comparisons to the Portuguese veteran for his approach to management.The 42-year-old former defender was appointed to replace Xabi Alonso on Monday after Real Madrid lost the Spanish Super Cup final against rivals Barcelona on Sunday.”I have not spoken to Jose yet. For me it was a privilege and an honour to be coached by Jose Mourinho,” Arbeloa told a news conference.”I have a great relationship with him… and obviously he was someone who influenced me a lot, I carry him within me.”(However) I am going to be Alvaro Arbeloa, because while it’s true I am not afraid of failing, and have never been, I’m sure that if I tried to be Jose Mourinho, I would fail spectacularly.”Mourinho, currently coaching Benfica, led Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning one La Liga title.During that era he battled against Pep Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona when the fierce rivalry between the Catalans and Real Madrid was at its most bitter.Barca currently lead Madrid by four points at the top of La Liga and Arbeloa’s job is to revert the situation, although his first match in charge is at Albacete in the Copa del Rey last 16 on Wednesday.Arbeloa, who was coaching Madrid’s reserve side and previously working with the club’s youth teams before he was promoted, said success is the most important thing for the record 15-time European champions.”This club is winning, winning, and winning again. That demand on ourselves, showing the DNA of what brought us here, that has filled our trophy cabinets (is what I want),” continued Arbeloa.”When I was a player I received those values from the players in the dressing room, and for me that is the most important thing… to be able to excite the fans we have all over the world and try to leave those cabinets even more full.”That is my work, that is my obsession and what I will be living every day.”Madrid did not announce how long Arbeloa’s contract as first-team coach would be.”What I can tell you is that I’ve been here for 20 years, at home, and I will be at Real Madrid as long as they want me here,” added Arbeloa.”This is my home, that’s how I feel and that’s how it will always be.”No MbappeStriker Kylian Mbappe was absent as Arbeloa took charge of his first training session on Tuesday before the visit to face second-tier Albacete.Mbappe made his comeback from a knee sprain as a late substitute in the Spanish Super Cup final defeat by Barcelona on Sunday, but is likely to keep working on his recovery until next Tuesday’s Champions League match against his former side Monaco.A Real Madrid source told AFP it was “logical” that Mbappe was absent from training, given his knee issue.Former coach Alonso had admitted it was a calculated risk to involve Madrid’s top goalscorer in the match against Barca in Saudi Arabia.Arbeloa said he had a close relationship with Alonso, a former team-mate for Madrid and the Spanish national team.”Everyone here knows the bond that connects me to him, the friendship that connects me to him, how much I value him, how much I love him, and I know that’s mutual, has been mutual and will continue to be mutual,” said Arbeloa.Alonso, replaced after less than eight months at the helm, said on social media he was leaving the club having done the best he could.”Things didn’t go as I would have liked,” wrote the Basque coach on Instagram on Tuesday.”Coaching Real Madrid was an honour and a responsibility. I’m grateful to the club, the players and above all the fans for their confidence and support.”I leave respectfully, with gratitude, and the pride of having done the best I could.” Related Story Source link