Stanley Nwabali denies Mohamed Salah, saving two penalties as Nigeria beats Egypt for third place at 2025 AFCON.

Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali saved two penalties including the first from Mohamed Salah for Nigeria to beat Egypt 4-2 in a penalty shootout for third place at the Africa Cup Nations.

Ademola Lookman scored the winning penalty in Saturday’s match.

Salah and Omar Marmoush had their penalty kicks saved by Nwabali at the start of the shootout after the teams drew 0-0 in normal time. No extra time was played for the consolation of a bronze medal.

It was the Super Eagles’ second consecutive penalty shootout following a scoreless draw after losing the semifinal to Morocco on penalties on Wednesday.

Nwabali produced a strong hand to stop a well-taken penalty from Salah, then thwarted Marmoush’s effort straight down the middle with his foot.

Salah had been kept quiet by Nigeria’s defenders and was unable to add to his 11 Africa Cup goals altogether.

Victor Osimhen remained on Nigeria’s substitutes’ bench, suggesting he was carrying an injury from the semifinal defeat to Morocco. Osimhen was taken off in extra time of that game just before the penalty shootout.

The Super Eagles ended the Africa Cup on a positive note in contrast to the last edition, where they lost in the final to host Ivory Coast.

Morocco and Senegal will contest the final in Rabat on Sunday. Sadio Mane’s goal was enough to send Senegal through with a 1-0 win over Egypt in their semifinal.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected to a seventh term, according to official results, winning nearly 72% of the vote to extend his 40-year rule. But opposition candidate Bobi Wine said the results were ‘fake’ and called for non-violent street protests.

Red Panda had been axed from the first episode of The Masked Singer UK a couple of weeks ago by ITV, but following their return on Saturday night their identity may be revealed

During their debut performance on The Masked Singer on Saturday night, Red Panda may have let slip their true identity.

The character had been axed from the first episode of the ITV series earlier this month, due to “potential insensitivities”. Red Panda was edited out by producers after the New Year‘s Eve bar fire tragedy in Switzerland

After 40 people sadly lost their lives in the blaze, ITV decided to cut the performance believing the theme and lyrics may be deemed insensitive. On Saturday Red Panda took to the stage, and fans immediately shared their theories of who it could be.

Many fans were all in agreement that the character could be none other than TV star Simon Farnaby. Clues included being “up to date”, a picture of James Bond’s Roger Moore and bonbon sweets, in four bowls.

READ MORE: The Traitors RECAP: Ross and Ellie reveal ‘expensive’ lengths to keep romance secretREAD MORE: Celebrity SAS star Graeme Swann opens up on ‘disgusting’ show and reveals nasty injury

There were also hints at working in TV, and going solo, and some hearts. As the performance came to an end, fans guessed Harry Hill was under the mask, before many changed their guess to Simon instead.

One fan said: “I can hear simon farnaby in red panda.” Another said: “Doesn’t Red Panda sound slike the voice Simon Farnaby does in Horrible Histories stuff, like in Stupid Deaths.”

A third fan posted: “Just me hearing Simon Farnaby for Red Panda?” A further fan added: “the singing voice sound like Simon Farnby”

It comes after Yak was revealed as Sex Pistols star John Lyndon in the latest unmasking last weekend. The show’s latest star took fans by surprise – with many failing to guess that it was the rock legend underneath that crooning cow.

“Nope didn’t get that lol #themaskedsinger,” one wrote on X. Another tweeted: “Would never have guessed him…” A third wrote: “Never in my life did I think I’d see Johnny Rotten singing an Olivia Newton-John song.”

The Sex Pistol singer didn’t hold back in his exit interview for the show, saying that it was “hardly” the highlight of his career. When asked whether being on the show would be a career highlight for him, he laughed: “I hardly think so. For me, I hope the fun comes across.

“Rather than going up there and doing sing along and guessing who I am straight away, I thought, show the other side of me. An absolute funstar. I’m the court jester by nature. It’s just the way it is.” As for whether he was sad to go, he said: “Certainly not. I think it’s been a privilege for you to have me.”

The Masked Singer UK airs Saturdays at 7PM on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Toulouse: Ramos; Delibes, Gourgues, Chocobares, Lebel; Kinghorn, Dupont (capt); Baille, Marchand, Aldegheri, Flament, Meafou, Banos, Willis, Jelonch.

Replacements: Mauvaka, Neti, Mallez, Brennan, Roumat, Cros, Graou, Thomas.

Sale: Davies; Ene, Ma’asi-White, Louw (capt), Wills; Curtis, Warr; Rodd, Jibulu, Harper, Burrow, Andrews, Gilmore, Woodman, Dugdale.

Replacements: Caine, McIntyre, Bell, Hogg, Logan, Hanson, Bedlow, Grace.

The relationship between Canada and China has been acrimonious for years, but now the two countries seem to be embarking on a new chapter.

Prime Minister Mark Carney concluded what he described as a “historic” visit to Beijing this week, hailing a new strategic partnership with China that he said could set both nations up for a “new world order”.

Many argue that United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs have pushed Canada and China to forge this new partnership. So, who stands to gain the most?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Einar Tangen – Senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think tank

William Lee – Chief economist and managing director at Global Economic Advisors

Jean Charest – Former Canadian deputy prime minister

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deployed a military radar in the Somali region of Puntland as part of a secret deal, amid Abu Dhabi’s ongoing entrenchment of its influence over the region’s security affairs.

According to the London-based news outlet Middle East Eye, sources familiar with the matter told it that the UAE had installed a military radar near Bosaso airport in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region earlier this year, with one unnamed source saying that the “radar’s purpose is to detect and provide early warning against drone or missile threats, particularly those potentially launched by the Houthis, targeting Bosaso from outside”.

The radar’s presence was reportedly confirmed by satellite imagery from early March, which found that an Israeli-made ELM-2084 3D Active Electronically Scanned Array Multi-Mission Radar had indeed been installed near Bosaso airport.

READ: UAE: The scramble for the Horn of Africa

Not only does the radar have the purpose of defending Puntland and its airport from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, but air traffic data reportedly indicates it also serves to facilitate the transport of weapons, ammunition, and supplies to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), further fuelling the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

“The UAE installed the radar shortly after the RSF lost control of most of Khartoum in early March”, one source said. Another source was cited as claiming that the radar was deployed at the airport late last year and that Abu Dhabi has used it on a daily basis to supply the RSF, particularly through large cargo planes that frequently carry weapons and ammunition, and which sometimes amount to up to five major shipments at a time.

According to two other Somali sources cited by the report, Puntland’s president Said Abdullahi Deni did not seek approval from Somalia’s federal government nor even the Puntland parliament for the installation of the radar, with one of those sources stressing that it was “a secret deal, and even the highest levels of Puntland’s government, including the cabinet, are unaware of it”.

READ: UAE under scrutiny over alleged arms shipments to Sudan

Actor Todd Bridges and Bettijo B. Hirschi are headed separate ways after three years of marriage.

“After much prayer and reflection, my spouse and I have made the difficult decision to separate,” Bridges told The Times in a statement Thursday. “This was not an easy choice, and it comes with a heavy heart, but also with love and gratitude for the life we shared.”

Bridges, 60, and Hirschi met in January 2022 and married nine months later, after a brief engagement. It was a second marriage for both. Hirschi told Tamron Hall last year that a friend who wrote a new dating profile for her showed it to Bridges as “market research.” The friend then told Hirschi that he wanted to get in touch.

“She’s a lot like my mom,” Bridges told Hall.

“I thank God for the time we’ve had together, the lessons we’ve learned, and the family we’ve built,” Bridges continued. “Even in this season of change, I trust He is guiding us both toward healing, peace, and new beginnings. I ask for privacy as we navigate this transition and continue to lift my former partner up in prayer, wishing them joy and fulfillment in the chapters ahead.”

The couple’s September 2022 wedding ceremony at Greystone Mansion & Gardens in Beverly Hills was attended by about 70 friends and family, according to People. Bridges was previously married to Dori Smith from 1998 to 2012.

The marriage brought together both spouses’ children from their previous marriages. Hirschi has four younger children with her first husband while Bridges has two adult offspring: daughter Bo is from a previous relationship with Amanda Rushing and he shares son Spencir, 27, with his first wife. Spencir Bridges was, like his dad, a child actor, with roles in the 2007 movie “Daddy Day Camp” and, in 2005, the TV series “ER.” His most recent acting credits were in 2009, when he had roles on the series “iCarly” and the TV movie “The Three Gifts.”

Todd Bridges is the last surviving original cast member of the hit sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” which ran for eight seasons from 1978 to 1986. Conrad Bain played Phillip Drummond, the wealthy father of Kimberly (Dana Plato) who adopted sons Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis (Bridges). Housekeeper Edna Garrett, played by Charlotte Rae, spun off into the series “Facts of Life.”

Dana Plato, who played Bain’s daughter Kimberly, died in 1999 from an overdose when she was 34. Bain died of natural causes in January 2013, at age 89, while Rae died in August 2018 at 92.

Gary Coleman died in May 2010 at age 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage in an accidental fall at his home in Utah.

TMZ first reported the divorce news Wednesday afternoon.

West Ham United forward Callum Wilson made light of the uncertainty surrounding his future, as he reacts to scoring a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

READ MORE: Late West Ham winner piles pressure on Spurs boss Frank

Protesters rallied in Denmark and Greenland against US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland. Trump said he would impose tariffs from Feb. 1 on the UK, Denmark and other nations until a deal is reached ‘for the complete and total purchase of Greenland’.

Fisheries minister says three employees from ministry on board plane, operated by Indonesia Air Transport.

Indonesian authorities are searching for a plane carrying three government workers and at least seven crew members after contact with the aircraft was lost, officials said.

The fisheries surveillance aircraft had been heading to ‍Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, after departing from Yogyakarta Province, before contact was lost, Andi Sultan, operations chief at the Makassar search and rescue agency, told the news agency Reuters.

He said that air traffic control lost contact with the ATR ‍42-500 aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, at about 1:30pm (0530 GMT) on Saturday, around the Maros region ⁠in South Sulawesi province.

He declined to comment on the possible cause of the incident.

Maritime affairs and fisheries minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono told a news conference on Saturday that three employees from his ministry were on board the plane, which was operated by Indonesia Air Transport.

Reports on the number of crew members varied. Sultan said there were eight on board, while news agency AFP cited the airline as saying there were seven.

The plane had ‌been chartered by Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, ministry official Pung Nugroho Saksono told state news agency Antara.

Sultan said the search and rescue agency suspected that the plane had come down near the peak of Mount Bulusaraung, with about 400 ‍personnel, including ⁠military and police units, deployed to search for the plane and those on board, though the effort was being hampered by bad weather.

According to unconfirmed Flightradar24 data, an aircraft matching the description was flying eastward over the Java Sea at about 11,000 feet (approximately 3,350 metres) before rapidly losing altitude and dropping off ‌tracking systems.

The ATR 42-500 is a regional turboprop ‌aircraft capable of carrying between 42 and ⁠50 passengers.

Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR said it had been informed of “an accident” involving one of its planes and that its specialists were “fully engaged” to support both Indonesian investigators and the operator.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago in Southeast Asia, has a poor aviation safety record, with several fatal crashes in recent years.

Dave Grohl had a solution in mind for anyone who didn’t know the words to the song he and the other Foo Fighters were about to play Wednesday night at Inglewood’s Kia Forum.

“Look at the old guy next to you and just f—ing sing that,” he told the crowd, stringy black hair matted to his sweaty, reddened forehead. “Odds are he’s been listening to KROQ since the f—ing early ’80s.”

Wednesday’s show was billed as both a celebration of Grohl’s 57th birthday — at one point two stagehands wheeled out an enormous cake — and a fundraiser for a couple of organizations fighting homelessness in the band’s hometown of Los Angeles.

But nearly four years after the shocking death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the concert was also a showcase of Foo Fighters’ essential durability: the group’s dogged yet cheerful determination to keep going no matter what.

Wednesday’s show was a fundraiser for two organizations fighting homelessness in L.A.

(Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

Last year, the band fired Hawkins’ replacement, Josh Freese, without much explanation, then replaced him with Ilan Rubin of Nine Inch Nails. (In a very KROQ twist, Freese went on to take Rubin’s spot in Nine Inch Nails.)

The drama with the drummers followed Grohl’s revelation in late 2024 that he’d fathered a child outside his marriage — a threatening reputational blow to a guy long regarded as a kind of benevolent rock ’n’ roll uncle.

And just last week, the Foos announced that guitarist Pat Smear would miss the band’s upcoming gigs after accidentally “smashing the s— out of his left foot.” Jason Falkner, a former member of the great ’90s psych-pop band Jellyfish who’s played for years with Beck, filled in for Smear at the Forum, where Rubin’s kick drum bore a picture of Smear’s face.

Despite all that, Foo Fighters came on like they always have: heavy, crunching, speedy, tuneful.

“You know, I haven’t gone to the bathroom once this whole show,” Grohl said as he approached the two-hour mark.

After coming up through the punk scene in Washington, D.C., Grohl became a star as the drummer of Nirvana; he started Foo Fighters in 1994 as a way of grappling with the death that year of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Over the decades the band’s music has moved steadily toward the kind of classic rock that punks once professed to hate — think of Led Zeppelin, think of Aerosmith, go ahead and think of Boston — while Grohl has taken up the role of jocular frontman with a gusto approaching that of David Lee Roth.

Here the Foos performed on a rotating stage that the singer happily said made him feel like “I’m in the showroom at the Mercedes dealership in Van Nuys.” (He also pointed out that the setup ensured that everyone would eventually “get a nice look at my ass.”)

Key to the band’s longevity, of course, is a deep store of hits that now themselves count as staples of any classic rock playlist. “Learn to Fly” and “Times Like These” were crisply melodic; “My Hero,” which Grohl dedicated to Smear and his broken foot, was somehow bludgeoning and propulsive. “Monkey Wrench” sounded like an atomic-powered version of “Johnny B. Goode.” And “Best of You” had a soulful tug that reminded you that Prince famously covered the song in the rain at the Super Bowl in 2007.

The Wednesday show also celebrated Dave Grohl’s 57th birthday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

Around the halfway mark, Grohl threw a bit of Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” into the Foos’ “No Son of Mine” — “That was for Lemmy,” he said of the late Motörhead frontman — then had his bandmates take a break as he sang a solo rendition of “Under You,” about his struggle to accept Hawkins’ passing.

The last time Foo Fighters played the Forum, he noted, was in 2022 at an all-star tribute to the drummer. After “Under You,” the rest of the group returned for a long, searching take on “Aurora,” which Grohl has said was the first song he and Hawkins wrote together.

“Sorry we’re getting so emotional,” he said, though few in the intergenerational crowd seemed to mind. (Less enthusiastically received was the band’s aimless jamming in “Run.”)

Foo Fighters closed, as they typically do, with “Everlong,” the sturdy mid-’90s alt-rock anthem that never seems to go out of fashion even — or especially — among kids who hadn’t been born when it came out.

“Hello,” Grohl sang coolly over a bed of thrumming electric guitars, “I’ve waited here for you.”

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was left frustrated after his side’s defeat by Sunderland, saying the clubs board are “abandoning'” them and that he has “always kept his mouth” but no longer can because he wants to “defend his players”.

He adds that the team has had its “heart tore out” twice in the day before a game this season with Eberechi Eze’s move to Arsenal in the summer and captain Marc Guehi’s proposed move to Manchester City in the January transfer window.

MATCH REPORT: Sunderland 2-1 Crystal Palace

Available to UK users only.

US president says 10 percent tariffs to be imposed on eight countries over opposition to US control of semi-autonomous Danish territory.

President Donald Trump has said a number of European allies will be hit with a series of increasing tariffs for opposing United States control of Greenland, as he escalates his campaign to acquire the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

In a ‍post on ⁠Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said 10 percent tariffs would come into effect on February 1 on ​Denmark, ‌Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

He added those tariffs ‌would rise to ‌25 percent on June ⁠1 and would continue until an agreement is reached ‌for the US to buy Greenland.

There was no immediate reaction by the European countries.

Trump’s announcement came as thousands of people rallied in cities across Denmark to reject the Republican’s repeated threats to take control of Greenland.

In the capital, Copenhagen, protesters waved the flags of Denmark and Copenhagen and chanted slogans such as “Kalaallit Nunaat” – the Arctic island’s name in Greenlandic.

The protests took place hours after a bipartisan US congressional delegation in Copenhagen sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland of their support.

“I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Denmark do not abandon their faith in the American people,” said Senator Chris Coons, adding that the US has respect for Denmark and NATO “for all we’ve done together.”

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has insisted for months that the US should control Greenland. Earlier this week, he said that anything less than the Arctic island being in US hands would be “unacceptable.”

According to the latest poll published in January of last year, 85 percent of Greenlanders oppose the territory joining the US, while only 6 percent were in favour.

While Greenland and Denmark have rejected the idea of the island being “owned” by the US, efforts to get the US administration to change its stance have so far appeared to fail.

The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland left a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, DC, this week, saying that they “didn’t manage to change the American position”.

“It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deployed a military radar in the Somali region of Puntland as part of a secret deal, amid Abu Dhabi’s ongoing entrenchment of its influence over the region’s security affairs.

According to the London-based news outlet Middle East Eye, sources familiar with the matter told it that the UAE had installed a military radar near Bosaso airport in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region earlier this year, with one unnamed source saying that the “radar’s purpose is to detect and provide early warning against drone or missile threats, particularly those potentially launched by the Houthis, targeting Bosaso from outside”.

The radar’s presence was reportedly confirmed by satellite imagery from early March, which found that an Israeli-made ELM-2084 3D Active Electronically Scanned Array Multi-Mission Radar had indeed been installed near Bosaso airport.

READ: UAE: The scramble for the Horn of Africa

Not only does the radar have the purpose of defending Puntland and its airport from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, but air traffic data reportedly indicates it also serves to facilitate the transport of weapons, ammunition, and supplies to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), further fuelling the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

“The UAE installed the radar shortly after the RSF lost control of most of Khartoum in early March”, one source said. Another source was cited as claiming that the radar was deployed at the airport late last year and that Abu Dhabi has used it on a daily basis to supply the RSF, particularly through large cargo planes that frequently carry weapons and ammunition, and which sometimes amount to up to five major shipments at a time.

According to two other Somali sources cited by the report, Puntland’s president Said Abdullahi Deni did not seek approval from Somalia’s federal government nor even the Puntland parliament for the installation of the radar, with one of those sources stressing that it was “a secret deal, and even the highest levels of Puntland’s government, including the cabinet, are unaware of it”.

READ: UAE under scrutiny over alleged arms shipments to Sudan

Forget reporter Ted. Call him Pastor Ted now.

Ted Chen, a familiar face on NBC4 News in Los Angeles since 1995, signed off for the last time Wednesday evening before setting off on a new path as a Christian minister.

“Many of you know I’ve been in seminary for the last several years,” he said, sitting with co-anchors Colleen Williams and Michael Brownlee after watching a video tribute to his time in front of the camera. “I got my master’s in Christian studies, and right now I’m pursuing my doctorate, my doctorate of ministry. And so, yeah, I’ll be graduating to full-time ministry beginning tomorrow.”

Even so, after 30-plus years in high gear, he might need a minute. But Chen said he’s looking forward to “a little slower pace and a chance to dig deeper” moving forward — that and not having to tell his wife he has to rush off on short notice for work.

“I’m gonna miss it, definitely,” he said. “I tell people, there’s an adrenaline shot to this, to being part of this business. There’s a serious, heavy responsibility that I took over the years.”

Chen’s career took him from Reno to Fresno to San Diego over those years and finally to L.A., where his favorite assignment wound up being the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

“It was China’s first Olympics and I remember how proud my parents were. … They were just so excited,” he said. “And it was just so meaningful to see that moment for China, and to go into the countryside and cover the plight of farmers.”

Chen also enjoyed all the awards shows he worked — hey, who says a reporter has to have gravitas all the time? — and said that “as a Trekkie,” his favorite celebrity interview was with the actor Leonard Nimoy.

“I normally don’t get starstruck,” Chen said, “but — him. Mr. Spock.” Whoo-ee.

In the goodbye video, Hetty Chang, NBC4’s Orange County reporter, remembered the moment she realized Chen was something special to the people of Los Angeles.

“When I first rode in the Golden Dragon Chinese New Year parade with him, I looked at him and thought, ‘Are you moonlighting as a movie star?’ ” she said. “Because people were stopping our car, our little float, and [they were saying things] like, ‘Stop the car! I want to take a picture with Ted Chen!’ ”

Chen’s wife, Ariell, wrote “I’M SO PROUD OF YOU” in an Instagram story on Thursday urging followers to watch his on-air send-off. The two met each other cross-country through a matchmaker after she, then Ariell Kirylo, had moved away from the L.A. area. They found they shared a “spiritual home” — Vintage Church in Santa Monica.

“That was certainly an interesting twist,” she told California Wedding Day, “to know we were in each other’s vicinity all along, but it took me moving to D.C. to call a matchmaker based out of Florida to meet a man at my church in L.A.! And they say dating in L.A. is hard.”

The veteran reporter elicited major respect from the people he worked with, all the way up to Marina Perelman, vice president of news for NBC4. “Ted’s career path has always been grounded in service and purpose. Over his 30 years with NBC4, he has covered remarkable stories and contributed to what he has often called the best newsroom in town. He is one of the people who truly make it that way,” she said Thursday in a statement.

“From his annual tradition of bringing cookies to the assignment desk to the kindness, compassion, and grace he shows every colleague and every person he meets, Ted embodies the very best of our newsroom culture.”

Chen put things in perspective himself on his final day in the newsroom, borrowing a page from all those athletes he’d seen over the years and telling Brownlee and Williams after all their kind words, “I’ll take the encouragement — and give God all the glory.”

Published on
17/01/2026 – 17:58 GMT+1

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday hailed the choosing of “fair trade over tariffs” as the European bloc signed a major trade deal with South America’s Mercosur nations that has been 25 years in the making.

“We choose fair trade over tariffs, we chose a productive long-term partnership over isolation,” Von der Leyen said at the ceremony in Asuncion, Paraguay.

European Council head Antonio Costa said the deal sent “a message of defense of free trade, based on rules, of multilateralism and international law as the basis for relations between countries and regions.”

He said it stood in contrast to “the use of trade as a geopolitical weapon.”

Negotiated over 25 years, the Mercosur agreement would create a free-trade zone of roughly 700 million people, gradually eliminating about 90% of tariffs across the industrial, services and agricultural sectors. The European Commission estimates that EU companies would save more than €4 billion a year in customs duties. Mercosur countries have also pledged to open their public-procurement markets to European firms on the same terms as domestic competitors.

The deal provides for the recognition of 344 “geographical indications”, protecting European products from imitation, and is also intended to secure supplies of critical minerals, reducing the EU’s dependence on China.

The agreement has crystallised divisions within the bloc.

Supporters – led by Germany and Spain – argue the EU needs new trade ties as the US closes its market and China pursues an increasingly aggressive trade policy. Opponents, spearheaded by France, say the deal threatens European farmers by exposing them to unfair competition from Latin American imports.

The ball is in the European Parliament’s court

Paris ultimately failed to assemble a blocking minority to stop the signing, losing the decisive support of Italy at the last minute. Rome backed the deal after securing funding for its farmers from 2028 and an exemption from the EU’s carbon border tax on fertilisers.

Despite opposing the agreement, France secured a safeguard clause allowing tariffs to be reintroduced if imports from Mercosur rise by more than 5% in sensitive sectors.

The deal also caps tariff-free access for key agricultural products. Annual beef imports will be limited to 99,000 tonnes at a reduced tariff of 7.5%, equivalent to 1.5% of EU production. Poultry imports will be capped at 180,000 tonnes a year, or 1.3% of EU output.

According to Commission estimates, EU exports to Mercosur countries are expected to rise 39% (€48.7 billion) by 2040, while imports from Latin America would increase 16.9% (€8.9 billion).

However, as French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X last week, “the signing of the agreement does not mark the end of the story.”

With the deal now signed, the ball is in the European Parliament’s court. Ratification requires lawmakers’ consent, and MEPs remain split largely along national lines, even as supporters hope backing from EU governments will sway undecided colleagues.

Opponents are set to test that support as early as next week, when lawmakers vote on a resolution calling for the agreement to be challenged before the EU’s top court.

Jonbon’s trainer, Nicky Henderson, admitted he had not expected the 10-year-old to take victory as they approached the final stretch of the Grade One two-miler, but he believed stamina helped him.

Speaking to ITV, he said: “I came in here thinking his record of never being out of the first two was under big threat. I really did fear that.

“He was amazing. That was an end-to-end gallop. It seemed to test them all. I thought he was beaten three out, but then he keeps going.

“He was a very fast horse. Now he’s not as fast as he was, but his stamina kicks in. He’s got older legs, but he’s brave, he jumps.

“You’ve got to be proud of him. That was a brave boy to come and do that.”

He was unsure, though, when asked whether Jonbon would now be a Cheltenham Champion Chase contender.

“I’d love to be trying him over further [distances], but things have invariably gone wrong [when I have],” Henderson said.

Gidleigh Park pulled up with six fences to go, but a fall for Il Etait Temps proved a bigger shock.

Ridden by Paul Townend, the grey had beaten Jonbon in their previous two encounters.

Jan. 16 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s push to apply artificial intelligence to defense is moving from slogans to implementation with the launch of a new collaboration platform linking policy, technology, security and talent development, organizers said.

The Defense Innovation Technology Security Association, the Korea Artificial Intelligence Association and KT said they launched the Defense AI Leaders Forum on Thursday at the Defense Convention Center and signed a three-party memorandum of understanding.

More than 150 representatives from government, industry, academia, research institutes and the military attended the event, according to organizers.

Organizers described the forum as a standing platform meant to connect policy with field needs and technology with operational demand, rather than a one-time seminar.

The forum set out five goals: helping shape defense AI policy and strategy, proposing key AI technologies and application models to enhance combat capability, building training and education systems for AI personnel, establishing a trusted defense AI system emphasizing security and safety and fostering an innovation ecosystem across the military, industry, academia and research institutes.

Co-chair Yang Yong-mo, a former chief of naval operations, said the forum is intended to boost both defense AI innovation and the country’s broader AI competitiveness by linking government, the military, industry, universities and research organizations.

Kim Seung-joo, chairman of the Korea Defense Innovation Technology Security Association, said defense AI “cannot be achieved by technology alone,” adding the association would work to connect policy and field operations and security and industry.

Kim Hyun-chul, president of the Korea Artificial Intelligence Association, said the priority is linking member companies’ AI technologies to real-world defense use cases and developing viable business models where technology meets demand.

KT Vice President Ahn Chang-yong, who heads the company’s enterprise division, said applying AI in defense requires understanding the security environment and building an ecosystem in which industry, academia, research institutes and the military work as one team. He said KT would support defense development through its AI and communications capabilities and experience in public and defense projects.

Jeon Jun-beom, director of the Defense Artificial Intelligence Planning Bureau at the Ministry of National Defense, said AI is already reshaping defense by increasing combat efficiency and speeding decision-making. He said defense AI must be “safe, responsible and trustworthy,” not only fast and powerful.

At the forum, Shim Seung-bae, head of the defense and security subcommittee under the Presidential Committee on National AI Strategy, presented what he called a defense AI action plan focused on governance reform, AI infrastructure and expanding the defense AI ecosystem. Shim said the aim is to build a smarter military that collaborates through data and AI as South Korea adapts to changes such as troop reductions and evolving battlefield conditions.

Organizers said the forum’s next test will be whether it delivers sustained outcomes such as practical application models, policy recommendations and measurable results.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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As the U.S. is reportedly moving at least one and perhaps more aircraft carrier strike groups to the Middle East ahead of a potential future attack on Iran, open-source tracking is beginning to show some U.S. Air Force assets may be heading that way as well. As we have seen in the past, large numbers of cargo flights and surging fighters into the region, as well as other aircraft, is a common occurrence when a crisis is brewing in the region, and there have been plenty of them in recent years.

You can catch up with our previous coverage of unfolding events in the Middle East here.

All this comes as President Donald Trump is mulling what to do next after reportedly calling off some kind of operation against Iran. Trump repeatedly threatened the regime over its brutal crackdown on anti-government protestors that has left thousands dead, but relented after being told the killings would stop. He also promised protesters that help was on its way. However, the administration at the moment appears to prefer a diplomatic solution. U.S. military planners have reportedly asked for more time to prepare, while Trump has come under intense pressure from Israel and the Gulf states not to attack over fears of regional instability. It should be remembered, though, that the U.S. was also negotiating with the regime ahead of last June’s Operation Midnight Hammer attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The lack of forces in the region, for both effective offensive operations and especially defensive ones, likely impacted his decision to hold off.

Trump on Friday acknowledged he called off the attack, but denied anyone pressured him to.

“Nobody convinced me, I convinced myself,” he told reporters outside the White House when asked if Arab and Israeli officials convinced him not to attack Iran. “You had, yesterday, scheduled, over 800 hangings. They didn’t hang anyone. They cancelled the hangings. That had a big impact.”

A military operation may be off the table for now, but Trump has not categorically ruled out striking Iran in the future. Should he decide on a kinetic operation, his options run the gamut from surgical strikes on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces and their Basij paramilitary troops killing the protestors to a decapitation strike on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to again striking nuclear facilities. Going after Iran’s air defenses and short-range standoff weapons could be another option in order to make future operations less risky.

Iran, for its part, has threatened to attack U.S. bases in the region, potentially much more severely than the one on Al Udeid Air Base last year in response to Midnight Hammer. Israel too, is a factor. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly urged Trump not to attack Iran in part because of the large expenditure of air defense munitions during the 12-Day War last June, leaving Israel vulnerable to potential Iranian barrages.

Regardless, even though the U.S. has tactical aircraft, six warships and some 30,000 troops in the region, it does not appear to be prepared for any major sustained operations against Iran that could radically alter the status quo, or the expected barrage of missiles and drones that would follow. This is a point we made last night.

“There are not enough assets in the Middle East to execute a sustained campaign that will accomplish anything of huge consequence in Iran, TWZ editor-in-chief Tyler Rogoway posted on X. This was never a question. 

Yes, the limited U.S. tactical airpower in the region can do some damage, but you need a complete, fully packaged force in order to really get in there and make a big dent. This requires a huge array of capabilities (see what one major night over Venezuela took) to cover contingencies etc. Even TLAMs are limited in the region, with just three destroyers there and possibly a submarine. Yes, bombers flying global airpower missions could play a significant role, B-52s and B-1s with JASSMs and B-2s could potentially go after hardened regime targets, possibly to decapitate the regime, but those sorties would be very low in number. And if a decapitation strike wasn’t successful then what? Huge contingencies need to be in place for what could come after. 

Above all that, there is not enough capability to robustly deal with the aftermath of U.S. strikes, which could include massive barrages of short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. These systems were left far more intact after the war with Israel as they did not threaten Israel. This continues to be a reality many do not realize. Additional ground based air defenses and fighters would be needed to deal with a major response, as well as naval assets. 

Bottom line here is all this takes time to move and get into place in preparation for something like this. Just in order to mount a major defense, not an offensive operation, it requires a lot of movements. We saw absolutely no movements that indicated such a force was being deployed. We still don’t see those indications. So if an attack was slated to occur, it would have been very limited in nature and would have likely left Iran in a place to respond massively, which we are not ideally prepared for.

Is there room for a very surgical operation likely focused on the regime’s upper echelons, yes, but even then, you need contingencies and capabilities in place if things don’t go right. Very much balancing the risk vs reward.

Taking out some targets using cruise missiles/standoff weapons etc. is certainly doable, but what do you achieve and at what potential cost from a retaliation? What does it actually achieve in real terms on the ground?”

A former high-ranking U.S. military official confirmed our analysis.

“It would be massive,” said the official of the scale of what it would take to attack Iran. “First, we have to get forces there; then we would need to stage and employ them; then we need to sustain them … and we would have to be prepared to do all that for a long time. It would dwarf anything we have likely done in the recent past.”

Clearly, the reported movement of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the region would boost U.S. striking power when it arrives, likely sometime next week. It’s embarked CVW-9 Carrier Air Wing consists of eight squadrons flying F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2D Hawkeyes, CMV-22B Ospreys and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks. Its escorts, Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 bring a large number of missile tubes that could be used to strike Iran. These vessels could also be used in the defense of U.S. targets and those of its allies during a reprisal.

There are also unconfirmed claims that the George H.W. Bush Carrier group is also headed to the region, which would add similar additional capabilities. The carrier left its homeport of Norfolk on Jan. 13. The Navy declined to comment about any ship movements while CENTCOM has declined to talk about any movements of assets to the region.

These five true crime programmes are guaranteed to make your jaw drop

The cold January nights continue to drag on and many people may be looking for the perfect TV show to binge watch this weekend.

Whether you are looking for a cosy rom com or a trustworthy period drama, there are many options out there to choose from, which can at times be overwhelming. We’ve all at some point continued to scroll before giving up and watching nothing, right?

Many TV fans are turning their attention to true crime shows, which are arguably perfect for curling up on the couch with during these colder evenings. As a TV writer, here are five true crime series that you do not want to miss, all guaranteed to make you squirm.

24 Hours in Police Custody

Dubbed the “best show ever”, 24 Hours in Police Custody is available to stream online on Channel 4. The jaw-dropping documentary follows a local police force as they are plunged into serious crimes that rock the community.

Channel 4 teases: “The landmark documentary series that captures real life drama at its most intense, following police detectives around the clock as they investigate major crimes.”

Just this week (January 13), a brand new episode dropped, with another instalment set to land on January 20 at 9pm, which will examine the probe into Zombie Knives. It follows from December’s “haunting” episodes which left fans “horrified” as police investigated a harrowing case involving a double murder of a father and son.

Police Suspect No.1

There are five series currently available on Channel 5, with the broadcaster having released its fifth instalment just this month. Police Suspect No.1 follows police officers and detectives in a race against the clock as they investigate crimes in their local areas.

The first episode of the brand new season returned on January 12, with another on the way next week, but all episodes are available to stream on Channel 5 online.

The brand new season has already plunged viewers into the deep end as they were left feeling “disgusted” following the brutal watch – which saw chilling bodycam footage of a savage attack on a police officer.

Catching a Killer

Catching a Killer on Channel 4 has been dubbed a “gripping” watch as it gives viewers an extraordinary insight into the inner workings of a police force. With episodes released sporadically, the latest instalment was released this month titled ‘Buried Truths’.

Delving into the chilling case of Cumali Turhan who was reported missing after being lured into a bar by his “love rival”, the brutal watch is guaranteed to make your jaw drop with the chilling revelations made by detectives.

One fan who watched the latest episode said: “Was that the one where they put him in the bin, not to mention cutting off his privates? Honestly it sickened me to the core, that poor man.”

All five episodes are available to stream on Channel 4 online as viewers eagerly await news of a new release.

The Beauty Queen and the Catfish

Just this month, the BBC has dropped a brand new documentary that has been branded an “absolutely crazy” watch by fans. It delves into the twisted world of an online catfish who betrayed several women.

The Beauty Queen and the Catfish follows the real-life story of beauty queen Abbie Draper when she received a Facebook friend request that would change her entire life.

She was contacted by someone claiming to be her grandad’s doctor, and despite seeming to have it all, Abbie soon uncovered a web of lies and deceit. The three episode series aired on the BBC earlier this month, but all episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

One fan said: “On Ep2 wow that’s wild! For one how does someone have the time to do all this! Absolutely madness and scary!”

Twisted Sisters

Twisted Sisters: Madness and Manslaughter is a true crime documentary exploring the horrific story of twin sisters who repeatedly ran into traffic on a busy motorway.

Released last month on Channel 5, viewers at the time admitted the harrowing watch gave them “chills” as one person said on social media: “What you see in the first five minutes of this show, it’s absolutely brutal. You won’t believe your eyes.”

Channel 5’s synopsis teases: “The strange story of twins who repeatedly ran into M6 traffic in an apparent suicide pact.”

The mini series is available to stream on 5 online.

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, with an assist from Noah Goldberg, giving you the latest on city and county government.

Ever since the Jan. 7 wildfire incinerated much of Pacific Palisades, residents have pressed city leaders to do more to speed the recovery.

Fire victims have pushed Mayor Karen Bass to weigh in on mortgage relief. They have asked city leaders for help with their insurers. And they have sought clearer answers about the city’s timeline for putting utility lines underground.

Now, Palisades residents are on the verge of a major victory — wide-ranging relief from the permit fees charged by the Department of Building and Safety and several other agencies during the rebuilding process.

On Friday, the city’s top budget official issued a reworked proposal, recommending that the City Council waive the fees for every type of building destroyed in the fire.

In his nine-page report, City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo recommended fee relief for single-family homes, duplexes, condominium complexes, townhouses, apartment buildings and commercial businesses.

That is a departure from the approach Szabo and other city officials initially favored. In October the council’s powerful Budget and Finance Committee sought to limit the relief to two types of buildings — single-family homes and duplexes — after expressing fears about the hit to the city budget if the program were more expansive.

Dozens of Palisades residents showed up at City Hall last month to denounce that narrower approach. Among them was Roseanne Landay, whose two-bedroom condominium was destroyed in the fire.

Landay said she didn’t understand why council members were treating residents of her building differently from other Palisades homeowners.

“We pay taxes. We vote. And these are our homes,” she said at the time. “We lost everything, just like our neighbors who happened to be lucky enough to live in a different structure, a different building.”

The boisterous protests helped spur the council to take another look. On Tuesday the budget committee is set to take up Szabo’s revised plan. From there it would head to the full council for a vote.

Szabo’s change in strategy was immediately welcomed by Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes the Palisades.

“If we are going to rebuild and recover, it needs to be holistic, and that includes all of the properties,” she said in an interview.

The push to waive building permit fees in the Palisades has become a thorny political issue for Bass, who first announced the idea during her State of the City address last spring. Some in the Palisades said Bass did too little to shepherd the fee relief through the council’s approval process, allowing it to drift for much of the year.

Asked about Szabo’s propsoal, Bass said she would keep working to help Palisades residents “rebuild and return home.”

“I look forward to signing the ordinance into law to waive these fees and provide this much-needed relief that survivors deserve,” she said in a statement.

In April, days after her State of the City speech, Bass issued an emergency order temporarily suspending the payment of permit fees by wildfire victims until the council enacted a law making the fee relief permanent.

Weeks later, Landay and the group she founded, Pali Condo Captains, pressed Bass to expand her order to include townhouses, condominiums and other multiunit buildings. Bass did so in May.

The council’s ad hoc committee on wildfire recovery, which is chaired by Park, endorsed Bass’ proposal in June. But things got bogged down from there.

In October, council members on the budget committee voiced alarm about the potential loss to the city budget caused by forfeiting the permit fees, which cover the cost of city staff time. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield drew a link between the plan for fee relief and reduced services in other parts of the city.

During one hearing, Szabo warned that the cost of waiving the permit fees could reach as high as $278 million, which could wreak havoc with the city budget.

Palisades residents blasted that estimate as overinflated, pointing out that it assumed that every fire victim who lost a property in the Palisades would rebuild at 150% of the structure’s original size.

By December, it was clear that many had decided against rebuilding and planned to sell their properties instead — rendering them ineligible for the relief program. Under the proposal, fee waivers would not be provided to buyers of burned-out properties.

Szabo, in the report released Friday, said he reworked the numbers after reviewing the assumptions underlying the original cost figures presented to the council. Based on the revised numbers he now expects the cost of waiving the fees to reach about $90 million.

That estimate assumes the city will cover property owners who rebuild at 110% of the size of their original buildings. Property owners who build larger than 110% would have to pay a portion of the additional fees, Szabo said.

Landay, the Palisades condo advocate, said she’s happy to see a more inclusive relief plan and hopes the council will support it. From the beginning she argued that condo owners, many of whom are elderly, are among the community’s most economically vulnerable members.

At the same time, Landay wished she and her neighbors hadn’t had to spend so much time pressuring the city to act.

“I would much rather have spent this past year healing and recovering and rebuilding, instead of having to battle various government offices for assistance,” she said.

State of play

— CARUSO OUT: In a Friday evening news dump on social media, billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso announced he will not run for mayor or governor. “Though my name will not be on a ballot, my work continues,” he said.

— HERE COMES THE TAXMAN: L.A. labor unions began gathering signatures this week for a ballot measure to raise taxes on companies whose top executives make at least 50 times more than their median employee. “It’s high time the rich paid more taxes,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel employees.

— WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO? Under the tax proposal, 70% of the proceeds — about $350 million per year — would go toward the development of housing for working families. Business groups denounced the proposal, saying it would drive companies out of the city.

— TAXES, PART TWO: Bass publicly threw her support behind a half-cent sales tax hike planned for the November ballot that would raise money for the fire department. The firefighters union recently began collecting signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

— MOVING ON: Meanwhile, L.A.’s new fire chief said in an interview that he won’t try to find out who was responsible for watering down the LAFD’s after-action report on the Palisades fire. Jaime Moore made those remarks one week after he publicly confirmed that the after-action report was rewritten to shield top brass from scrutiny.

— PLENTY OF POTHOLES: Since Christmas Eve, L.A. street crews repaired more than 3,800 potholes as they respond to a deluge of road repair complaints. The pothole problem comes amid a rainy season that has dumped more than 14 inches of precipitation on downtown L.A. between October and last week — roughly 99% of what the city typically sees by the end of March.

— WORDS GET IN THE WAY: The long-running legal battle between the city of Los Angeles and the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights over homeless services has devolved into a fight over definitions of specific words, The Times reports.

— BACKING BASS: Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and City Councilmember Tim McOsker spoke at a fundraiser for the mayor’s reelection campaign in San Pedro on Thursday. Bass is seeking a second four-year term in the June 2 primary election.

— POSITIONING PARK: Park, who is running for reelection in her Westside district, has raised more than $1 million for her campaign, spokesperson Michael Trujillo said this week. About half the donations came from within Park’s district, which includes coastal neighborhoods stretching from LAX to Pacific Palisades, according to her team.

On Monday, while speaking at the Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum, Park made clear that she would rather concentrate on her council duties.

“It’s really more of a nuisance, having to focus on the campaign,” she said. “I have a lot of very, very serious, heavy work that we are in the midst of.”

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program went to the area around Venice Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue in the Pico Union neighborhood, which is represented by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez.
• On the docket next week: The council’s budget committee takes up the issue of Palisades rebuilding fees, as well as the mayor’s push to continue hiring police officers.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

I CLOSE my eyes as the platforms of London’s Euston train station fall back into the distance. 

Upon later opening my peepers, and pulling up the window blind, a picture-postcard landscape of rolling hills, trees and blue sky is revealed. 

The Caledonian Sleeper has worked its magic overnight, delivering me to Fort William in the heart of the Scottish Highlands in just 12 hours. 

And the ride in itself was nothing ordinary – in fact, quite the opposite. 

My indulgence began at Euston, before even boarding the train, as I relaxed to the max in a stylish lounge with complimentary drinks and chocolate brownies. 

Once on the train, its corridors’ forest-green walls and plush carpets beckoned me toward my snug cabin – it really does feel like Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express.  

GREAT SCOT

I swapped sunny Australia for Scottish island with no shops – it’s much better

RIDE AGAIN

I spent the night at the historic pub just three minutes from Thorpe Park

My en-suite Club cabin had a comfy bunk bed – which I had to myself – complete with squishy duvet, reading light, charging points and all the essentials for a night’s sleep – eye mask, earplugs and bottled water.  

Every feature of the cabin was super-practical – the back of the door boasted a full-length mirror and the sink was tucked neatly beneath the window.  

The en-suite bathroom, complete with a toilet and shower, made the cabin feel like a hotel-on-rails.  

With the Club cabins you also get entry to the Club Car – a gorgeous dining spot complete with tartan placemats whose colours represent the different stations the Sleeper serves.  

For my sumptuous three-course dinner, I was treated to a salmon quiche (£8) followed by a delicious harissa-and-honey chicken dish (£14) then salted caramel tart (£10). 

As for a tipple, there is plenty of choice, from gins to classic wines. 

Snugly tucked up in bed later, I felt the gentle rock of the train but the eyemask and earplugs helped me to drift off. 

The experience’s real magic emerges in the morning though.  

Waking up in sunny Scotland, with mighty mountains and sparkling lochs whizzing past my window was an experience to remember. 

Sliding on my slippers and shuffling off to the Club Car once again, I am once more awe-struck as the vast glass windows reveal a fully immersive experience of the glorious Scottish countryside.  

Whilst more expensive than flying, who wouldn’t want to swap airport stress for waking up amid the beauty of the Scottish wilderness? 

The morning menu, from warm pastries to a full Scottish breakfast, and fresh juices to hot drinks, is impressive. 

The doughy pancakes with fresh fruit leave me comfortably full as I “ooh” and “ahh” at views through the window.  

The Caledonian Sleeper runs multiple routes from Euston, including to Edinburgh and Glasgow – and this week, its services expanded to include its first ever from Birmingham.  

Whilst more expensive than flying, who wouldn’t want to swap airport stress for waking up amid the beauty of the Scottish wilderness?