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China’s foreign minister said Beijing supported Somalia in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity in a phone call yesterday with his Somali counterpart, a Chinese ministry statement said. Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the phone call during his visit to Africa, and said China opposed so-called Somaliland’s “collusion with Taiwan authorities to seek independence”, referring in the statement to Somalia’s breakaway region.Somalia was scheduled to be part of the Chinese diplomat’s annual New Year tour of Africa, which also includes Ethiopia, Tanzania and Lesotho, but the visit to the East African nation was postponed due to what the Chinese embassy said was a “schedule change”. Source link
File photo shows A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of…
Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup with a meek 2-1 home defeat to Brighton Sunday as Gabriel Martinelli’s hat-trick fired Arsenal to a 4-1 win at Portsmouth to reach round four. United interim boss Darren Fletcher could only watch on in horror as the Red Devils’ last chance of silverware this season and likely his chances of landing the job until the end of the season went up in smoke at Old Trafford. Fletcher’s men were left to rue not making more of a positive start before Brajan Gruda fired the visitors in front on 12 minutes from Danny Welbeck’s cross. The roles were reversed midway through the second half as Welbeck lashed into the top corner against his former club. There were persistent chants targeting United co-owners the Glazer family and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe as the discontent at Old Trafford grew. And any hope those in charge of the club had for a bounce following the removal of Ruben Amorim has proved very short-lived. Benjamin Sesko’s late header set up a grandstand finish, but it proved too little, too late for Fletcher. A red card for teenager Shea Lacey in stoppage time for dissent rounded off United’s miserable afternoon. Martinelli shrugged off the backlash to his clash with stricken Liverpool defender Conor Bradley as Arsenal reached the fourth round for the first time in three years. Championship side Portsmouth were dreaming of an upset against the Premier League leaders when they went in front after just three minutes through Colby Bishop. Mikel Arteta had made 10 changes from the side that drew 0-0 with Liverpool on Thursday. Martinelli drew stinging criticism for trying to push Bradley off the pitch in the closing stages after the Northern Irishman hit the ground with a serious knee injury. Liverpool confirmed the right-back will need surgery and will miss the rest of the season. The Brazilian apologised to Bradley after the game and did not seem affected by the furore at Fratton Park. “That’s personality, come in and talk on the pitch,” said Arteta. “To play for a big club you need a big personality because it can be that (being at the centre of a controversial incident), it can be an action that you miss, it can be something that costs you a game, and three days later there is a game, so you need to lift yourself up and make it count.” Arsenal could rely on their threat from set-pieces to turn the tie around. The Pompey lead lasted only five minutes as Andre Dozzell turned into his own net under pressure from Christian Norgaard. Martinelli then flicked in the first of his three goals before Noni Madueke missed the chance to make it 3-1 from the penalty spot when the England international fired wide. Gabriel Jesus teed up Martinelli to kill the tie off early in the second period before he completed his hat-trick from another Arsenal corner. West Ham eased the mounting pressure on Nuno Espirito Santo as new signing Taty Castellanos scored his first goal for the club to beat QPR 2-1 after extra-time. Castellanos has been signed to dig them out of trouble at the bottom of the Premier League and the £26mn arrival from Lazio bulleted home a header from Crysencio Summerville’s cross to secure a much-needed win. Leeds needed a second-half fightback to beat Derby County 3-1 and book their place in the fourth round. League One Mansfield held off Sheffield United to book their place in round four with a 4-3 win at Bramall Lane. Norwich, Hull and West Brom also progressed to the last 32. Source link
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is sending “hundreds” more officers to Minnesota a day after tens of thousands of people marched through Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration agent, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in remarks that aired Sunday.The officers would be deployed to bolster the safety of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol officials already in Minnesota, Noem said on Fox News’s *Sunday Morning Futures.Some 2,000 federal officers have already been dispatched to the Minneapolis-St Paul area in what the DHS has called its largest operation ever.The new deployments were scheduled to begin even as more than 1,000 rallies were planned nationwide this weekend to protest the federal government’s deportation push and Wednesday’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE officer.Minnesota officials have called the shooting unjustified, pointing to bystander video that they say showed Good’s vehicle turning away from the agent as he fired.Noem and other US officials have maintained that the agent acted in self-defense because Good, a volunteer in a community network that monitors and records ICE operations in Minneapolis, drove forward in the direction of the agent who then shot her, after another agent had approached the driver’s side and told her to get out of the car.In a separate appearance Sunday on CNN’s *State of the Union, Noem said that other video footage showed Good protesting ICE agents at other locations earlier on Wednesday morning, but did not say if or when it would be publicly released.Minnesota authorities said on Friday that they were opening their own criminal investigation into the incident, after some state law enforcement officials said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was refusing to co-operate with state investigators.White House Border Security Czar Tom Homan said on *Fox News Sunday that he wanted to let the investigation play out, but added that he “truly believe that officer thought his life was in danger to take that action”. Related Story Source link
Hubert Hurkacz capped his injury comeback and earned United Cup redemption as he inspired Poland to a first title with a 2-1 victory in the final against Switzerland in Sydney Sunday.Switzerland took a shock early lead when Belinda Bencic stunned world number two Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the opening singles of the mixed teams event.Playing his first tournament in seven months following knee surgery, 28-year-old Hurkacz withstood a Stan Wawrinka fightback to prevail 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and send it to a deciding doubles.Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski then completed a famous victory by beating Bencic and Jakub Paul 6-4, 6-3 to erase the heartbreak of Poland losing in the final in 2024 and 2025.’Finally, we made it! Third time lucky!’ Swiatek said during the trophy ceremony.’I really felt it was a team effort this year.’Hubi, what a comeback after so many months. You played amazing. You inspired us all with determination.’Our doubles team, wow! You just beat everyone. It was amazing.’Hurkacz fired 18 aces against the 40-year-old Wawrinka to erase two heartbreaking near misses in the last two United Cup finals.In 2024, Hurkacz squandered two championship points before falling to Germany's Alexander Zverev. The USA's Taylor Fritz denied him in a third-set tie-break last year.’He's definitely an inspiration,’ Hurkacz said of Wawrinka, who is playing his final season on tour before retirement.’I was growing up watching him play, compete and win so much. Obviously his game style is really powerful.’The shots that he can pull off sometimes, you can really admire them even when you are on the other side of the net.’Bencic won 12 of the final 15 games against a shell-shocked Swiatek, earning her second victory over the world number two.’To be honest, I felt I was in the match from the very first point,’ said Bencic, who won all five of her singles matches in the tournament.’I thought I was going great and I was 0-3 down. I was 'OK, what do I have to do?'’I think I just tried to keep the level and just wait for some chances.’With the title on the line, Zielinski partnered Kawa to victory over the Swiss pair who had been unbeaten in the tournament, scuppering Bencic's attempt at a perfect 10-0 record in singles and doubles.’This moment is so bittersweet,’ Bencic said, adding Switzerland had nothing to be disappointed about.’We can be so proud of ourselves and we really deserve to celebrate this. It was truly one of the best weeks of my life.’ Source link
Benin voted Sunday in parliamentary and local elections, just one month after a failed coup plot shook the west African country and three months ahead of presidential polls.President Patrice Talon’s ruling coalition is expected to strengthen its already powerful hand in the elections, with the main opposition Democrats party barred from the local polls.The elections come at a fraught moment for Benin, still reeling from a deadly coup attempt by army mutineers on December 7, which was put down by the military, with support from Nigeria and France.Talon, 67, who is nearing the end of his second five-year term, called on all voters to “do their duty” as he cast his ballot.”Today is the beginning of a better life,” he said. Benin’s President Patrice Talon votes at a polling station during the country’s parliamentary election, in Cotonou, Benin, January 11, 2026. REUTERS The legislative elections will define the political landscape ahead of April’s presidential polls, from which the opposition has also been struck from the ballot for failing to obtain the required number of signatures.Talon, who has served the constitutional two-term limit, is barred from running in April’s elections.His hand-picked successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is a strong favourite to win.Talon has presided over strong economic development across his nearly one decade in power, but critics accuse him of restricting political opposition and basic rights. A woman casts…
India’s Virat Kohli plays a shot during the first one-day international (ODI) cricket match between India and New Zealand at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on…
US President Donald Trump told Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences, drawing an angry retort from its leader who said “no one” tells the communist-ruled country what to do. The island nation near Florida has been a US foe and ally of Caracas for decades, but Trump has ramped up his threatening language in recent days – particularly after Washington toppled Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro. “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”He provided no details about what potential deal he referred to, or what such an arrangement would achieve. His remarks come a week after US forces seized Venezuela’s leader Maduro in a nighttime operation in Caracas that killed dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.A week ago, Trump stated that “Cuba is ready to fall”, noting that the island’s economic crisis was worsening and that it would be difficult for Havana to “hold out” without receiving heavily subsidised Venezuelan oil. Earlier Sunday the president reposted a message suggesting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – a child of Cuban immigrants – could become the president of Cuba.Trump shared that post with the comment: “Sounds good to me!” In a separate message soon afterwards, Trump said that “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!” “Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week’s U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years.” Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel rebuffed Trump’s threatening language, saying that the Caribbean island’s residents were “ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood”.“Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” he said on X. “Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.” Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also weighed in to stress that Cuba is within its rights to import fuel from any willing exporter, “without interference or subordination to the unilateral coercive measures of the United States”. Under a US trade embargo, Havana since 2000 has increasingly relied on Venezuelan oil provided as part of a deal struck with Maduro’s predecessor, the firebrand leftist Hugo Chavez.Trump’s provocative language on Cuba comes as the emboldened American leader has hinted he has other countries in his sights after capturing Maduro. Trump, who had openly sought last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, has recently threatened Colombia, Mexico, Iran and Greenland. Some Republican US lawmakers have lauded Trump for his aggressive comments on Cuba, including Mario Diaz-Balart, a US congressman from Florida. “We are witnessing what I am convinced will be the beginning of the end of the regime in Havana,” Diaz-Balart posted in Spanish Sunday on X. “The tyranny in Cuba will not survive the second term of President Trump, and Cuba will finally be free after decades of misery, tragedy, and pain.” Trump’s push on Cuba represents the latest escalation in his move to bring regional powers in line with the United States and underscores the seriousness of the administration’s ambition to dominate the Western Hemisphere. Trump’s top officials, including Rubio, have made no secret of their expectation that the recent US intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba over the edge. US officials have hardened their rhetoric against Cuba in recent weeks, though the two countries have been at odds since former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Cuba relies on imported crude and fuel mainly provided by Venezuela, and Mexico in smaller volumes, purchased on the open market to keep its power generators and vehicles running. As its operational refining capacity dwindled in recent years, Venezuela’s supply of crude and fuel to Cuba has fallen. However, the South American country is still the largest provider with some 26,500 barrels per day exported last year, according to ship tracking data and internal documents of state-run PDVSA, which covered roughly 50% of Cuba’s oil deficit. Even before Maduro’s capture, Cuba had been struggling to keep the lights on. Vast swaths of the island live without electricity for much of the day, and even the capital Havana has seen its economy crippled by hours-long rolling blackouts. Shortages of food, fuel and medicine have put Cubans on edge and have prompted a record-breaking exodus, primarily to the United States, in the past five years. Mexico has emerged in recent weeks as a critical alternative oil supplier to the island, but the supply remains small, according to the shipping data. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum last week said her country had not increased supply volumes, but given recent political events in Venezuela, Mexico had turned into an “important supplier” of crude to Cuba. Related Story Source link
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, the reigning Chicago Marathon champion, won his third consecutive men’s crown on Saturday at the World Cross Country Championships.The 25-year-old completed the hat-trick over 10 kilometers in a winning time of 28min 18sec with Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi 18sec back in a third consecutive runner-up finish, with Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo third in 28:45.Kiplimo became only the fourth man to win three world cross country titles in a row after Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele (2002-2006) and the Kenyans Paul Tergat (1995-1999) and John Ngugi (1986-1989).”To win three times, I’m so happy about it,” Kiplimo said. “I think it’s about the consistency in your training. Another thing it’s about is believing in yourself.”Kiplimo was last year’s London Marathon runner-up in 2hr 3min 37sec in his debut at the 26.2-mile distance, then captured the Chicago Marathon in 2:02:23 last October, a quick turnaround that added to the challenge of defending his title.”Today was the hardest one,” Kiplimo said.Agnes Ngetich, the world 10km record holder, took the women’s title in 31:28 over 10km to deliver Kenya a 10th consecutive women’s crown at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.Ngetich defeated Uganda’s Joy Cheptoyek by 42 seconds in a dominant performance with Ethiopia’s Senayet Getachew third in 32:13 over a course featuring sand, water and mud zones plus barriers resembling fallen logs.In the men’s final, Kiplimo was second by two seconds at the mid-race mark and with two kilometers remaining was alongside Aregawi and world half marathon runner-up Ebenyo.Kiplimo surged ahead by eight seconds on Aregawi entering the final kilometer and raced across the finish line to cheers.He does not expect to seek a fourth world cross country crown as he will turn his attention to the marathon.”I think now maybe this one is going to be the last one because of the marathon… because I’ll be training for the marathon,” Kiplimo said.Aregawi, the 10,000m runner-up at the 2024 Paris Olympics, had lost by nine seconds to Kiplimo in 2023 and by only three seconds in 2024 in the two prior editions of the event.Jimmy Gressier, the Frenchman who had been tipped for a podium finish after his shock 10,000m victory on the track at last year’s world championships, was a disappointing 15th.Ngetich dominatesKenya’s Beatrice Chebet, the reigning 5,000 and 10,000m champion, did not seek a third consecutive women’s title because she is beginning a 2026 maternity break.That left Ngetich to continue Kenya’s title streak and she did so in epic fashion.Ngetich grabbed the early lead and began to stretch a gap after two kilometers, pulling away to run alone through the Florida pine trees and reach the midpoint at 15:20.Ngetich led by 35 seconds after seven kilometers and stayed in command to the finish to win by the second-largest margin in the race’s history, trailing only the 1980 victory of Norway’s Greta Waitz by 44 seconds over 4.82km.It was Ngetich’s first cross country competition since winning on home soil in last February’s Sirikwa Classic.Ngetich was third behind Chebet at the 2023 worlds and fourth in a Kenyan top-four sweep in 2024.Ethiopia swept the men’s and women’s team titles with Kenya second and Uganda third in each. Source link
Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka celebrates with the trophy after winning the Brisbane International Sunday. (Reuters) World number one Aryna Sabalenka warmed up for a tilt at a third Australian open title in four years in ominous fashion by winning her second successive Brisbane International crown Sunday.Sabalenka scored a dominant 6-4, 6-3 win over Marta Kostyuk in just 78 minutes.”Every day you go out there and prove your level, and I think this week I did it really well,” said Sabalenka after a tournament in which she powered to the title without dropping a set.Looking ahead to the Australian Open, which begins next Sunday, Sabalenka said: “The only thing I know is that I’ll be there, I’ll be fighting.”Salablenka lost in the Melbourne Park final last year to Madison Keys, having been Australian Open champion in 2023 and 2024.”I’ll do my best to go as far as possible,” said Sabalenka. “And do a little bit better than last year. That’s my focus.”Kostyuk, the world number 26, had enjoyed a spectacular week, beating three top 10 players on the way to the final.But she had no answer to the power of Sabalenka and the Ukrainian’s serve, so reliable in the early rounds, also went off the boil.Sabalenka was rarely troubled on her own delivery and faced only three break points.The 27-year-old Belarusian said she had tried to introduce new elements to her game so she wasn’t relying just on power, and that had paid off this week.”I finally found the touch game,” she said.”I figured something and I kind of changed my game style – now I’m not only the aggressive player, I can play at the net, I can be in defence, I can use my slice, I have a good touch.”I’m super happy to see that things are clicking together.”There has been animosity between the two players in the past.Like many Ukraine players, Kostyuk refuses to shake hands with Russians or Belarusians because of the war in her homeland.There was no handshake at the end of the Brisbane final and in her speech at the trophy presentation, Kostyuk brought up the situation in Ukraine.”I play every day with a pain in my heart and there are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now,” she said.”It’s minus 20 degrees outside and it’s very painful to live this reality every day.”Sabalenka said she wasn’t concerned by Kostyuk’s attitude towards her.”It’s their position, what can I do?,” she asked.”When I go out there, I think about my tennis and the things I have to do to get the win.”It doesn’t matter if it’s Marta Kostyuk or Jessica Pegula there. I have nothing to prove. I go there and I just compete as an athlete.”Kostyuk told reporters she was determined to keep what is happening in Ukraine in the public eye.”I think it’s important for me to use my platform in the right way, and my platform is Ukraine, because I represent Ukraine,” she said.”So I think it’s really important to talk about that.” Related Story Source link