Title-holders Paris Saint-Germain and record 15-time winners Real Madrid are among the European giants who will have to come through the play-off round of this season's Champions League after missing out on direct qualification for the last 16.
Ranked number three in the world, England have most of their boxes ticked ahead of next month's T20 World Cup, with several of their batters and bowlers comfortably sitting inside the top ten of the rankings.
US senators looked likely to reject a key vote Thursday to avert another damaging shutdown in President Donald Trump's second term, with Democrats blocking funding for his immigration crackdown after the killings of two activists by federal agents.
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Boulevard
Amid a subdued atmosphere one month after the deadly fire that killed 40 young people and injured 116, the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana will host the final World Cup skiing races starting Friday before the Milan-Cortina Olympics get under way next week.
January 29, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Oil jumps, gold climbs further on Trump's Iran threat
Politics
January 29, 2026
Elena Rybakina said Thursday she was braced for another "great battle" as she plots revenge over world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rerun of their 2023 Australian Open final.
January 29, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Ireland's hopes of regaining the Six Nations title suffered a second blow in two days with veteran centre Bundee Aki suspended for their first three matches for "verbal abuse and disrespect".
January 29, 2026
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed "really good progress" on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.
January 29, 2026
Pino Terzo Di Dio was in tears as firefighters carried his beloved parrots out of his home, which has been cordoned off as his town teeters on a cliff edge.
January 29, 2026
Politics
Gold soared to a fresh record near $5,600 on Thursday and oil prices climbed after US President Donald Trump ramped up geopolitical tensions with threats of a military strike on Iran.
January 29, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka crushed Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in a politically charged Australian Open semi-final on Thursday and faces Elena Rybakina for a third Melbourne title.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the ideological army of the Islamic republic tasked with protecting the revolution from external and domestic threats but is accused by the West of militant activity abroad and serial rights violations at home.
The European Union on Thursday laid out plans to overhaul its visa system and step up deportations as part of a five-year migration strategy that cements a hardening line on the hot-button issue.
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka said that an umpire call against her for grunting helped fire her to victory over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a politically charged Australian Open semi-final.
January 29, 2026
Sports
Elena Rybakina battled past Jessica Pegula into the Australian Open final on Thursday with the fifth seed setting up a repeat of her 2023 title match against Aryna Sabalenka.
January 29, 2026
RECENT NEWS
French energy giant TotalEnergies relaunched construction Thursday on a massive gas project in northern Mozambique that was halted for five years after a jihadist attack that claimed hundreds of lives.
Iran on Thursday vowed a "crushing response" to any attack after US President Donald Trump warned time was running out for a nuclear deal, and as the European Union looks to declare the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organisation.
Construction on a stalled $20-billion gas project by TotalEnergies in Mozambique officially resumed Thursday, nearly five years after it was suspended due to a deadly jihadist attack.
Gold demand surged to a record high in 2025 as investors and central banks flocked to the safe-haven asset as protection against US President Donald Trump's unpredictable policies and their potential economic impact, industry data showed Thursday.
January 29, 2026
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