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Celebrations as flight carries dozens of passengers from Port Sudan to Sudanese capital.

The international airport in Khartoum has received its first scheduled commercial flight in more than two years as the Sudanese government continues to assert its control over Sudan’s capital city after years of fighting.

The Sudan Airways flight travelled to Khartoum from the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on Sunday, carrying dozens of passengers.

Reporting from near the runway where the flight had landed, Al Jazeera’s Taher Almardi described scenes of jubilation following the arrival of the plane.

He said the reopening of the airport will help connect the capital to other regions in Sudan, with officials saying the facility is now ready to welcome as many as four flights daily.

Sudan Airways said in a statement that the flight, which was announced on Saturday with ticket prices starting at $50, “reflects the return of spirit and the continuation of the connection between the sons of the nation”.

The Sudanese military announced regaining full control of the capital from its rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, in March of last year.

Last month, Sudan’s army-aligned authorities moved the government’s headquarters back to Khartoum from their wartime capital of Port Sudan, which has also housed the country’s international airport since the early days of the war that began in April 2023.

Khartoum International Airport has come under repeated attacks, including an RSF drone assault in October that Sudanese officials said was intercepted.

On October 22, the airport said it had received a Badr Airlines flight, which was not pre-announced. But no further operations of commercial flights resumed until Sunday.

The war started as two top generals – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the military, and Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, the RSF chief – and their forces clashed for power and control over Sudan’s resources.

The fighting has ravaged towns and cities across Sudan, killing tens of thousands of people and forcing millions of others from their homes.

Violence continues to rage in central and western Sudan, particularly in Darfur, where the war has led to mass displacement and a humanitarian crisis.

“In Darfur today, reaching a single child can take days of negotiation, security clearances, and travel across sand roads under shifting frontlines,” Eva Hinds, spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said in a statement on Friday.

“Nothing about this crisis is simple: every movement is hard-won, every delivery fragile.”

Carlos Alcaraz has rewritten tennis history by becoming the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam with his victory over the great Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open 2026 in Melbourne.

Alcaraz, 22, overcame a first-set loss to complete a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 triumph over the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. In the process, he denied the 38-year-old a chance to become the only player with 25 Slam titles.

While the world number one later admitted his “legs were shaking” as he served for the title, he seemed to have the upper hand as the match wore on and finished after three hours and two minutes.

The top seed now has an Australian Open trophy to add to his two French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles each, also making him the youngest to garner seven Slams.

Djokovic, from Serbia and a 10-time champion in Australia, was the quicker of the two out of the blocks and broke his younger rival twice to swiftly claim the opening set.

But Alcaraz, of Spain, didn’t waste time in pulling back and claiming the second set with the same scoreline in a display of speed, power and finesse.

In breaking the career Slam record, Alcaraz surpassed his idol and compatriot Rafael Nadal – who watched from the stands and who was two years older when he did the same.

It was a first defeat for Djokovic in a Melbourne final after he won all 10 previously, leaving him still searching for a landmark 25th major to better Australia’s Margaret Court, who was also watching on.

Gladiatorial contest

Both men battled through five long sets in their semifinals, Alcaraz against Alexander Zverev and Djokovic against Jannik Sinner, and recovery was always going to be key after their physical struggles.

But they showed few signs of fatigue in another gladiatorial contest.

They both opened with comfortable holds before a double fault and netted forehand presented the first break point chance for Djokovic at 2-1.

Alcaraz saved it, but the aggressive fourth seed kept pressing and converted on his third, then consolidated for a 4-1 lead.

Djokovic was reading Alcaraz’s serve well, and once he got in the rallies, he was authoritative, with a sensational forehand winner earning him two set points.

He claimed the set in a statement 33 minutes after a ninth unforced error from the top seed, having dominated the big moments.

It was vintage Djokovic, but Alcaraz came storming back, upping the tempo to break for 2-1 in the second set, pumping his fist when he saved a break point and held in the next game.

Djokovic put drops to his eyes and began rubbing them, unable to tame a now rampant Alcaraz, who broke again for 5-2.

There were some sensational rallies that had the crowd on their feet in set three, which went with serve until Djokovic slapped a forehand wide under pressure to slip 2-3 behind.

He gamely saved four set points at 3-5, but, with his energy level dropping, was unable to save a fifth as the Spaniard took control.

On the back foot, Djokovic then saved six break points in an 11-minute opening service game in set four to stay alive and kept fighting hard.

But Alcaraz ground him down and pounced as Djokovic served to stay in the match to seal a maiden Australian championship.

It ensured he remained world number one and Sinner two, with Djokovic moving up a place to three ahead of Zverev.

Australian Open win ‘means the world’ to Alcaraz

Despite his heartbreaking loss, Djokovic was gracious in defeat as he walked around the net to congratulate Alcaraz on his side of the court.

Plenty of pats on the back and smiles were exchanged in a passing-of-the-baton moment between the two tennis icons.

Afterwards, Alcaraz told the host broadcasters that his legs were shaking as he served for the championship.

“I was telling myself, at least put it [the serve] in and then let’s see what happens,” the champion said with a laugh.

The man from Murcia, southeastern Spain, said the elusive win in Australia was something he had been working hard for.

“It means the world to me and shows that all the hard work paid off,” he said.

Alcaraz’s seventh Slam put him alongside John McEnroe and Mats Wilander and one behind Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.

However, the young champion was quick to dismiss talk of overtaking his heroes Nadal and Djokovic, and said 22 or 24 titles were “too far away” at the moment.

“I know how difficult it is to win a Grand Slam,” he said. “I know what it takes, so I just want to enjoy each one because I don’t know if it’s going to be my last one.

“I want to keep going and working hard to feel this emotion again.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic did not make any explicit statements on his career but did admit he’s not sure whether he will return to Melbourne for next year’s Australian Open.

“I tried to give it back with good tennis over the years. This is my 22nd year coming to Australia,” he said at the presentation ceremony.

The Serb said he didn’t think he’d be “standing on a Grand Slam final podium again”.

“God knows what happens tomorrow, let alone in six or 12 months,” the 2023 champion said.

“It has been a great ride, and I love you guys.”

They added that the government was “focused on delivering a balanced approach with strengthened law enforcement to tackle supply coupled with investment in treatment, the development of a skilled workforce, sustainable recovery services and peer networks that will support people in recovery with employment, housing and education”.

As the Rafah crossing reopens, there are concerns over how restricted exits and particularly re-entries will be for Palestinians. Dr Mohammed Tahir, a trauma surgeon who volunteered in Gaza, says people fear that opting for medical treatment abroad may mean they will never return.

Laura Fernandez, President Rodrigo Chaves’s protege and former chief of staff, is a frontrunner and could avoid an April 5 run-off.

Polls have opened in the Costa Rica general election as the ‍centre-right populist government seeks to extend its mandate and secure control of the Legislative Assembly at a time when drug-fuelled violence has gripped the country.

Voting stations opened at 6am local time (12:00 GMT) on Sunday and will remain open until 6pm (24:00 GMT), with early trends likely within hours.

Laura Fernandez, President Rodrigo Chaves’s protege and former chief of staff, is leading in the polls ⁠with more than 40 percent, enough to win outright and avoid an April 5 run-off. ​She has pledged to continue Chaves’s tough security policies and anti-establishment message.

Her closest ‍rivals in the 20-candidate field are Alvaro Ramos, a centrist economist representing Costa Rica’s oldest political party, and Claudia Dobles, an architect representing a progressive coalition and a former first lady whose husband, Carlos Alvarado, ‍served as president ⁠from 2018 to 2022.

Both are polling in the single digits but are seen as the two most likely to compete in a possible run-off if Fernandez falls short of 40 percent.

Fernandez has also urged voters to hand her 40 seats in the country’s 57-seat Legislative Assembly, a supermajority that would allow her to pursue constitutional reforms. The current government holds just eight seats and has blamed ​congressional gridlock for blocking its agenda.

Polls show about a ‌quarter of the 3.7 million voters remain undecided, with the largest group being between the ages of 18 and 34 and from the coastal provinces of Guanacaste, Puntarenas and Limon.

“People are tired of promises from all the governments, including ‌this one, even though the government has said things that are true, like needing stronger laws to restore order,” said Yheison ‌Ugarte, a 26-year-old deliveryman from downtown Limon, a Caribbean ⁠port city that has been the hardest hit by drug violence.

Despite homicides surging to an all-time high during his term and multiple corruption investigations, Chaves remains deeply popular, with a 58 percent approval rating, according to the University of Costa ‌Rica’s CIEP polling.

While consecutive re-election is not allowed in Costa Rica, Fernandez has pledged to include Chaves in her government and positioned herself as the continuity of his mandate.

Modi’s government presents annual budget, focusing on sustaining growth despite volatile financial markets and trade uncertainty.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has unveiled its annual budget, aiming for steady growth in an uncertain global economy rocked by recent tariff wars.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for the 2026-2027 financial year in Parliament on Sunday, prioritising infrastructure and domestic manufacturing, with a total expenditure estimated at $583bn.

India’s economy has so far weathered punitive tariffs of 50 percent imposed by United States President Donald Trump over New Delhi’s imports of Russian oil. The government has sought to offset the impact of those duties by striking deals, such as its trade agreement with the European Union.

Despite the past year’s challenges, the Indian economy has remained one of the world’s fastest growing.

The budget for the new financial year, which starts on April 1, projects gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the range of 6.8 to 7.2 percent, according to the government’s annual Economic Survey presented in Parliament. It is a shade softer than this year’s projected 7.4 percent but still outpaces estimates by global institutions such as the World Bank.

To keep growth strong, the government said it will spend 12.2 trillion rupees ($133bn) on infrastructure in the new fiscal year, compared with 11.2 trillion rupees ($122bn) last year. It will also aim to boost manufacturing in seven strategic sectors, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, rare-earth magnets, chemicals, capital goods, textiles and sports goods while stepping up investments in niche industries like artificial intelligence.

Despite plans to prop up growth with state spending, the government is aiming to bring down the federal government debt-to-GDP ratio from 56.1 percent to 55.6 percent in the next financial year and the fiscal deficit from its current projected level of 4.4 percent of GDP to 4.3 percent.

Sitharaman offered no populist giveaways, saying New Delhi would focus on building resilience at home while strengthening its position in global supply chains, marking a departure from last year’s budget, which wooed the salaried middle class with steep tax cuts.

Before the budget presentation, Modi on Thursday said the nation was “moving away from long-term problems to tread the path of long-term solutions”.

“Long term solutions provide predictability that fosters trust in the world,” he said.

Modi’s government has struggled to raise manufacturing from its current level of contributing under 20 percent of India’s GDP to 25 percent to generate jobs for the millions of people entering the nation’s workforce each year.

It has also seen a sharp decline in the value of the rupee, which has recently weakened to all-time lows after foreign investors sold a record amount of Indian equities. Those sales have added up to $22bn since January last year.

“Overall, this is a budget without fireworks – not a big positive, not a big negative,” Aishvarya Dadheech, founder and chief investment officer at Mumbai-based Fident Asset Management, told the Reuters news agency.

Starmer says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should testify before US Congress about his past dealings with the late convicted sex offender.

The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suggested that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a former prince, should cooperate with authorities in the United States investigating the Jeffrey Epstein files and activities.

Speaking on Saturday to reporters at the end of a visit to Japan, Starmer said, “Anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that.”

“You can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that,” he added, according to remarks carried by Sky News. “Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority.”

Asked whether Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, should issue an apology, Starmer said the matter was “for Andrew” to decide.

His comments came as the US Justice Department said it would be releasing more than three million pages of documents along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images under a law intended to reveal most of the material it had collected during two decades of investigations involving the wealthy financier, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

The disclosures have revived questions about whether the former British prince, who was stripped of his title last year over his friendship with Epstein, should cooperate with the US authorities in their investigation.

Mountbatten-Windsor – who has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein – has so far ignored a request from members of the US House Oversight Committee for a “transcribed interview” about his “longstanding friendship” with the billionaire.

The files have also prompted the resignation of Slovak official Miroslav Lajcak, who once had a yearlong term as president of the United Nations General Assembly.

Lajcak was not accused of wrongdoing but left his position after emails showed that Epstein had invited him to dinner and other meetings in 2018.

The newly released files also show Epstein’s email correspondence with Steve Bannon, one-time adviser to US President Donald Trump; New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and other prominent contacts in political, business and philanthropic circles, such as billionaires Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

The files show a March 2018 email from Epstein’s office to former Obama White House general counsel Kathy Ruemmler, inviting her to a get-together with Epstein, Lajcak and Bannon. Lajcak said his contacts with Epstein were part of his diplomatic duties.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice is facing criticism over how it handled the latest disclosure.

One group of Epstein accusers said in a statement that the new documents made it too easy to identify those he abused, but not those who might have been involved in Epstein’s criminal activity.

“As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinised, and retraumatised while Epstein’s enablers continue to benefit from secrecy,” it said.

From farmers protesting in Europe against a trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur to deadly attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province that killed nearly 200 people and demonstrations in Cuba opposing threats by the United States, here is a look at the week in photos.

Iran has announced that it now considers all European Union militaries to be ‘terrorist groups’. This follows the EU’s terror designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over a deadly crackdown on protesters.

Move comes after a European Union decision to label the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a ‘terrorist organisation’.

Iran has declared European armies “terrorist groups” after a European Union decision to apply the same designation to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over a bloody crackdown on recent protests.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday the decision was made under “Article 7 of the Law on Countermeasures Against the Declaration of the IRGC as a Terrorist Organisation”.

“Europeans have in fact shot themselves in the foot and, once again, through blind obedience to the Americans, decided against the interests of their own people,” Ghalibaf said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the bloc’s designation of the IRGC on Thursday, saying repression could not “go unanswered”.

“Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” she wrote on social media.

The United States-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has confirmed 6,713 deaths during the nationwide protests that began on December 28 over economic grievances but soon evolved into a serious challenge to the government.

Iranian authorities have not announced any official arrest numbers, but said at least 3,117 people were killed during the protests, including 2,427 described as “innocent” protesters or security forces.

Internet and mobile access were cut off by the state across Iran on the night of January 8, during the height of the protests.

The IRGC is a branch of Iran’s military, established after the 1979 Iranian revolution. Operating alongside the regular armed forces, it answers directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plays a central role in Iran’s defence, foreign operations, and regional influence.

Iran’s retaliatory move came amid weeks of rising tensions, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening military strikes and building up its naval presence ⁠in the Middle East. Trump, however, said on Saturday that Iran was “seriously talking” with the US, hours after Iran’s top national security official said arrangements for negotiations were progressing.

Iranian officials have warned that any attack would draw a “comprehensive” response. Tehran has also planned a live-fire military drill for Sunday and Monday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes.

Meanwhile, the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday said if ‍the US ‍attacked Iran, it would become a regional conflict.

“[Trump] regularly says that he brought ships […] The Iranian nation shall not be scared by these things, ‍the Iranian people will ⁠not be stirred by these threats,” Khamenei said.

“We are not the initiators and do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will strike a strong blow against anyone who attacks and harasses them.”

Hundreds of protesters in Italy have denounced plans to bring ICE agents from the US to the Winter Olympics in Milan that begin on Friday. Italy’s interior ministry says ICE will only operate at US diplomatic offices and won’t be patrolling on the ground.

Feb. 1 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1790, the U.S. Supreme Court convened in New York City for its first session. Only three of the six justices were present so there was no quorum.

In 1861, Texas seceded from the United States.

In 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.

In 1896, Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Boheme premiered in Turin, Italy.

In 1946, Norwegian Trygve Lie was selected to be the first U.N. secretary-general.

In 1947, members of the Jewish underground launched pamphlet bombs throughout Tel Aviv, warning British military authorities to expect further retaliation against its drive to suppress violence in the Holy Land.

In 1951, the Defense Department, responding to needs to effectively execute its Korean War strategy, ordered drafting of 80,000 men during April for assignment to the U.S. Army.

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 1960, four Black students, later known as the Greensboro Four, staged the first of a series of non-violent protests at a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, NC.

In 1968, the communist Viet Cong began a major offensive in the Vietnam War with a fierce attack on the South Vietnamese city of Hue.

In 1978, famed director Roman Polanski escaped to France after pleading guilty to charges of having sex with an underage girl.

In 1991, South African President F.W. De Klerk announced he would seek repeal of key laws on which the apartheid system was based.

File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during its descent over the southwestern United States. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.

In 2004, Janet Jackson had a “wardrobe malfunction” in her appearance with Justin Timberlake during the halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

In 2009, Iceland swore in its first female prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir.

In 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding his departure after a reign of nearly 30 years, announced he wouldn’t seek re-election.

In 2012, at least 73 people were killed and 200 hurt in a fight between fans and players at a soccer match in Port Said, Egypt.

In 2021, the Myanmar military took control of the government and announced a nationwide state of emergency hours after detaining leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking elected government officials in a coup.

In 2023, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced his re-retirement from the NFL after 23 seasons in the league.

File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

Teenage star Lamine Yamal opens the scoring after six minutes to set the foundation for a convincing Barcelona victory.

Lamine ‌Yamal scored one goal and created another as Barcelona extended their lead at the ‍top of La Liga with a 3-1 victory over Elche on Saturday.

Barcelona moved to 55 points from 22 matches, four ahead of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. Elche remained in 12th place with 24 points from 22 games.

Yamal opened the scoring for the visitors ⁠before Alvaro Rodriguez equalised for Elche in an end-to-end first half.

Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford struck ​to complete the win, sparing the blushes of wasteful Barca, who had 30 efforts ‍on goal in the match.

“We got three more points. We continue to grow as a team. We haven’t reached our peak yet,” Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said.

“We usually have people who finish well. There are times ‍when they fail. ⁠The important thing is that we have them [chances].”

Yamal sets the tone

Barcelona took the lead within six minutes when Dani Olmo played Yamal through on goal, and the 18-year-old rounded goalkeeper Inaki Pena to score his 13th goal of the season in all competitions.

Olmo struck a shot against the crossbar midway through the first half, and within a minute, Elche were level.

German Valera slipped former Real Madrid forward Rodriguez in behind the Barcelona defence, and he raced clear to score.

The visitors should have retaken the lead when Torres struck ‌the crossbar again from six yards out with a poor miss. The ball rebounded to him, and he then steered it against the post in a comical sequence of play.

Torres got his goal in 40 minutes when de Jong found space in the box and, rather than shoot himself, laid the ball back for the forward to fire into the roof ‌of the net from 15 yards.

It should have been 3-1 ⁠minutes later when Fermin Lopez somehow skied the ball over the crossbar from six yards with the goal gaping.

Barcelona continued to create chances in the second half, with substitute Rashford guilty of a poor miss when he put his shot wide ‌with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Rashford got his goal in 72 minutes, however, when Yamal’s low cross was not cleared by the Elche defence, allowing the England forward to blast the ball ‍into the roof of the net from close range.

“Barca attack very well,” Rodriguez said. “They have very good players, and it wasn’t to be. We will continue working to do better.”

Follow our live build-up, with toss and team news, ahead of the crucial group stage match in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

US President Donald Trump says Iran is ‘seriously talking’ with the US and hopes that talks with Tehran will lead to a nuclear deal. Trump also reiterated that he’s sending ‘powerful ships’ to the Gulf.

Jan. 31 (UPI) — Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul lost their bid to have a federal court order the Department of Homeland Security to end its immigration enforcement effort in the state.

U.S. District Court of Minnesota Judge Katherine Menendez on Saturday denied a motion to enjoin the federal government from continuing its immigration law enforcement surge in the Twin Cities.

“Even if the likelihood of success on the merits and the balance of harms each weighed more clearly in favor of plaintiffs, the court would still likely be unable to grant the relief requested: An injunction suspending Operation Metro Surge,” Menendez wrote in her 30-page ruling.

She cited a recent federal appellate court ruling that affirmed the federal government has the right to enforce federal laws over the objections of others.

“The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a much more circumscribed injunction, which limited one aspect of the ongoing operation, namely the way immigration officers interacted with protesters and observers,” Menedez said.

“The injunction in that case was not only much narrower than the one proposed here, but it was based on more settled precedent than that which underlies the claims now before the court,” she explained.

“Nonetheless, the court of appeals determined that the injunction would cause irreparable harm to the government because it would hamper their efforts to enforce federal law,” Menendez continued.

“If that injunction went too far, then the one at issue here — halting the entire operation — certainly would,” she concluded.

Menendez said her ruling does not address the merits of the case filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on behalf of the state and two cities, which are named as the lawsuit’s three plaintiffs.

Those claims remain to be argued and largely focus on Ellison’s claim that the federal government is undertaking an illegal operation that is intended to force state and local officials to cooperate with federal law enforcement.

Menendez said Ellison has not proven his claim, which largely relies on a 2013 ruling by the Supreme Court in a case brought by Shelby County, Ala., officials who challenged the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The act placed additional restrictions on some states based on “their histories of racially discriminatory election administration,” Menendez said.

The Supreme Court ruled a “departure from the fundamental principle of equal sovereignty” requires the federal government to show that geographically driven laws are “sufficiently related to the problem that it targets” to be lawful, she wrote.

Ellison says that the ruling “teaches that the federal government cannot single out states for disparate treatment without strong and narrowly tailored justification,” according to Menendez.

But he does not show any other examples of a legal authority applying the “equal sovereignty ‘test'” and does not show how it would apply to a presidential administration’s decision on where to deploy federal law enforcement to “enforce duly enacted federal laws,” she said.

“There is no precedent for a court to micromanage such decisions,” and she can ‘readily imagine scenarios where the federal executive must legitimately vary its use of law enforcement resources from one state to the next,” Menendez explained.

Because there is no likelihood of success in claims based on equal sovereignty, she said Ellison did not show there is a likelihood that plaintiffs will succeed in their federal lawsuit, so the motion to preliminarily enjoin the federal government from continuing Operation Metro Surge is denied.

Former President Joe Biden appointed Menendez to the federal bench in 2021.

The Sunday Telegraph says the King paid a surprise visit to joggers at a Parkrun event on his Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. “Yes, it really IS His Majesty,” is the Sunday Mirror’s headline, above a photo of the King, laughing beside one of the organisers, who’s holding up a sign to that effect. Joggers “lapped up” the joke, it says.

Jan. 31 (UPI) — The Iranian military intends to conduct two days of live-fire naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, starting on Sunday, despite warnings against it from the U.S. military.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is conducting the drills amid civic unrest and U.S. President Donald Trump deploying a “massive armada” to the area, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

“U.S. forces acknowledge Iran’s right to operate professionally in international airspace and waters. Any unsafe and unprofessional behavior near U.S. forces, regional partners or commercial vessels increases risks of collision, escalation, and destabilization,” CENTCOM officials said in a statement on Saturday.

“CENTCOM will ensure the safety of U.S. personnel, ships, and aircraft operating in the Middle East. We will not tolerate unsafe IRGC actions, including overflight of U.S. military vessels engaged in flight operations, low-altitude or armed overflight of U.S. military assets when intentions are unclear, high-speed boat approaches on a collision course with U.S. military vessels, or weapons trained at U.S. forces,” CENTCOM said.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, with Iran situated along its northern shore and Oman and the United Arab Emirates along its southern shoreline.

More than 100 merchant vessels per day sail through the strait, which makes it an “essential trade corridor” that supports the region’s economy, CENTCOM said, as reported by Fox News.

The deployment comes as the Trump administration considers potential military intervention in the Iranian unrest.

Various estimates place the number of protestors and other civilians killed at between 6,000 and more than 30,000 since protests began on Dec. 28.

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman attended a private briefing in Washington, D.C., on Friday and warned that Iran would grow stronger if the United States does not act in Iran is warranted if military action is warranted, Axios reported.

Trump has threatened to target Iran’s leadership with military strikes if widespread killings of protesters continued, but he delayed any strikes after Saudi leaders cautioned against it.

Salman’s comments on Friday indicate a change among Saudi Arabia’s leadership regarding potential military action in Iran.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday accused the U.S. military of trying to dictate how the Iranian military conducts “target practice on their own turf.”

“Freedom of navigation and safe passage of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are of vital importance for Iran, as much as it is for our neighbors,” Araghchi added.

“The presence of outside forces in our region has always caused the exact opposite of what is declared: promoting escalation instead of de-escalation,” he said.

The pending military exercise also is scheduled after Iranian state media reported an explosion damaged a nine-story residential building and killed a young girl and injured 14 in Bandar Abbas, which is an Iranian port city located on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Fars News Agency denied reports that IRGC Navy leader Brigadier Gen. Alireza Tangsiri died in the blast, which local officials said likely was caused by a gas leak.

“The initial cause of the building accident in Bandar Abbas was a gas leak and buildup, leading to an explosion,” Bandar Abbas Fire Chief Mohammad Amin Lyaghat told Iranian state media. He called the explanation an “initial theory.”

Follow our live build-up, score, photos and text commentary stream from the men’s singles final at Melbourne Park.

Jan. 31 (UPI) — Israel on Saturday launched airstrikes at targets in Gaza, with Palestinian authorities reporting that at least 30 were killed in the attacks.

The strikes come after Israel accused Hamas of violating a shaky cease-fire in Gaza ahead of the expected reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

The strikes hit an apartment building, tent camp and a police station, hospital officials told the Los Angeles Times.

Ten officers and detainees were killed in the police station strike in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood outside Gaza City. Officials are searching the rubble for bodies and said the number of dead could increase, The Guardian reported.

The outlet added that three children and two women were killed in the apartment building in Gaza City, in addition to seven who died in strikes in the Khan Younis tent camp.

In a statement, Israel said the strikes were in response to militants leaving a tunnel in Rafah, which is controlled by Israel and would constitute a violation of the cease-fire.

The latest outbreak of violence comes one day before the land crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah is due to reopen, part of the multi-part cease-fire that Israel and Hamas agreed to last October.

Israeli officials said the crossing would be open to a “limited” number of people and that all individuals entering or exiting Gaza will be required to obtain a security clearance from Israel in coordination with Egypt, NBC News reported.

Hospitals and ambulances in Egypt already have been preparing to receive sick and injured Palestinians from Gaza when the crossing opens on Sunday morning.

Despite the both Israel and Gaza accusing each other of violating the cease-fire, an Israeli official told The New York Times that Israel will not alter plans to open the Rafah border crossing.

The talks come just a day before a second round of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.

United States special envoy Steve Witkoff has said he held “productive and constructive meetings” with Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Florida, as President Donald Trump’s administration presses to end Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

“We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine,” wrote Witkoff in a post on X following Saturday’s talks.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum also attended the talks.

Neither side released details of what was discussed.

Dmitriev also met Witkoff and Kushner in January on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He also held talks on the Ukraine war with US negotiators in a visit to Miami in December.

Saturday’s meeting comes before Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are expected to hold a second round of talks with US mediators in Abu Dhabi to discuss a US-backed plan to end Russia’s war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later appeared to suggest that the meeting would not take place on Sunday, saying in his nightly address that Ukraine was waiting for more information from the US about further peace talks and expected new meetings to take place next week.

A first US-mediated meeting was held in the United Arab Emirates’s capital last week, marking the first direct public negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv since the early weeks of the war.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week that he believes “we are getting close” to a deal to end the war.

Trump announced on Thursday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had agreed to his request not to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for a week amid extreme cold weather, which he said was “very nice” of the Russian president.

The Kremlin confirmed on Friday that Putin had received the request, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling Sky News the Russian leader had “of course” agreed to the proposal.

Zelenskyy wrote on X that the issue of a ceasefire on energy infrastructure attacks had been discussed during last week’s talks, and that he expected the agreements to be implemented. “De-escalation steps contribute to real progress toward ending the war,” he added.

On Friday, the Ukrainian leader said in his nightly address that neither Moscow nor Kyiv had conducted strikes ⁠on energy targets from Thursday night onwards.

Several sticking points over the US-backed plan to end the war remain, including Russia’s demand for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from about one-fifth of the Donetsk region, and the potential deployment of international peacekeepers in Ukraine after the war.