Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have set fire to three villages in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, where the UN says attacks against Palestinians and their property have reached unprecedented levels.
Ulster head coach Richie Murphy feels the province’s increased representation in Ireland’s Six Nations squad “shows we are progressing and moving in the right direction”.
Last year, just four Ulster men were selected, including development player James McNabney, but returning head coach Andy Farrell initially selected seven from the northern province with Cormac Izuchukwu called up at the weekend due to an injury to Munster’s Thomas Ahern.
Izuchukwu is the only Ulster player from 2025 to return, with fellow forwards Tom O’Toole, Tom Stewart and Nick Timoney making the cut this time, while Rob Baloucoune, Nathan Doak, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale were named in the backs as Ireland prepare for their Six Nations opener against France in Paris on 5 February.
Murphy believes their inclusion is the result of improved performances by Ulster this season who currently sit sixth on the United Rugby Championship [URC] table, while topping their pool in the European Challenge Cup.
“One of the things we talked about earlier in the year was that if you perform well in the white jersey, the green one will look after itself,” Murphy told BBC Sport NI.
“Last year we had four in there, so to double that and have Bryn Ward away travelling with the team as a trainee is very positive.
“Fifteen between the two squads [Six Nations and Ireland XV] is where we want to be. There are one or two disappointed they didn’t get the call, but that’s the competition in Irish rugby.
Last week, Murphy and coaches Mark Sexton, Willie Faloon and Jimmy Duffy signed two-year contract extensions to keep them at Ulster until the summer of 2028 despite rumours of interest from other clubs.
However, the former Ireland U20 coach is happy to continue what he started.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here so far and to extend it for another two years is brilliant,” he added.
“It was March two years ago [2024] when I came in and there was a lot of transition with senior players leaving and a change in the coaching team.
“When you see the exciting young players who are around and you get a feeling we can add to that group by bringing in a couple of Irish guys and guys from overseas, we can build a really good URC team here that challenges at the top end, hopefully, and also in Europe.
South Sudan’s army, following territorial losses in recent weeks, has announced a major military operation against opposition forces, raising fears for civilian safety.
In a statement on Sunday, army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang said Operation Enduring Peace would commence as he ordered civilians to evacuate three counties in Jonglei state immediately. He directed aid groups to leave within 48 hours.
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Koang told The Associated Press news agency on Monday that the operation aims to recapture towns recently seized by opposition forces and “re-establish law and order”.
“The country is not at war,” Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny told reporters in Juba on Tuesday. “We are only stopping the advancement” of the opposition forces, he said.
However, this came days after a senior army commander was filmed urging his troops to kill civilians and destroy property in the Jonglei offensive, drawing rebuke from the United Nations and others.
“It is now indisputable: South Sudan has returned to war,” said Alan Boswell, the International Crisis Group’s project director for the Horn of Africa. “It is incredibly tragic for a country that only grows weaker and poorer.”
Here’s what to know about the resurgence of violence in South Sudan:
Beginning in December, a coalition of opposition forces seized a string of government outposts in central Jonglei, a region that is the homeland of the Nuer ethnic group and an opposition stronghold.
Some of those forces are loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar, while others consider themselves part of an ethnic Nuer militia called the White Army. White Army fighters have historically fought alongside Machar but consider themselves a distinct group.
Machar, an ethnic Nuer, was made the most senior of five vice presidents under a 2018 peace agreement that ended fighting between his forces and those loyal to President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, the country’s largest group.
That five-year civil war was waged largely along ethnic lines, killing an estimated 400,000 people.
There has been a resurgence of violence in the past year, with sporadic fighting.
Machar was suspended last year as South Sudan’s number two after White Army fighters overran a military garrison in the town of Nasir. He now faces treason and other charges over that attack, which authorities allege Machar helped orchestrate. But Machar’s allies and some international observers say the charges are politically motivated. He remains under house arrest while his trial unfolds slowly in the capital, Juba.
Machar’s trial is widely seen as a violation of the 2018 peace agreement. Yet Kiir and his allies say the agreement is still being implemented, pointing to a faction of the opposition still in the unity government.
Forces loyal to Machar have declared the agreement dead, and have since ratcheted up pressure on the army by seizing armouries and launching hit-and-run attacks on government positions. The government has relied largely on aerial bombardments to beat back a rebellion that analysts say is gaining momentum across multiple states.
After seizing the government outpost of Pajut in Jonglei on January 16, opposition forces threatened to advance towards Juba. The government has responded by amassing fighters in nearby Poktap, while several thousand Ugandan soldiers defend Juba.
Army chief Paul Nang gave his troops one week to “crush the rebellion” in Jonglei.
On Saturday, a day before the army announced its offensive, a senior military commander was filmed urging his forces to kill all civilians and destroy property during operations in Jonglei. It was not clear who took the video, which has been shared on social media.
“Spare no lives,” General Johnson Olony told forces in Duk county, not far from Pajut. “When we arrive there, don’t spare an elderly, don’t spare a chicken, don’t spare a house or anything.”
Armed groups in South Sudan, including the military, have repeatedly been implicated in civilian abuses, including sexual violence and forced recruitment.
Olony’s comments were particularly aggressive and drew concern. “We are shocked, we are disturbed, we are surprised,” said Edmund Yakani, a prominent civic leader.
His words showed that government troops were being “empowered to commit atrocities, to commit crimes against humanity, and, potentially, even to commit a genocide,” Yakani said.
The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan expressed “grave alarm” at developments that it said “significantly heighten the risk of mass violence against civilians”.
Machar’s political group said in a statement that Olony’s words were an “early indicator of genocidal intent”.
Speaking to the AP, government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny called Olony’s comments “uncalled for” and “a slip of the tongue”.
But he also said while it was possible that Olony was “trying to boost the morale of his forces”, his words are not indicative of government policy.
Olony, appointed assistant chief of defence forces for mobilisation and disarmament a year ago, also leads a militia, known as the Agwelek, from his Shilluk tribe that agreed to integrate into the army last year.
The deployment of forces to Nuer communities by Olony is contentious because of a separate rivalry between the Shilluk and Nuer communities. In 2022, White Army fighters razed Shilluk villages and displaced thousands of civilians before the government intervened with attack helicopters.
Olony’s forces were also involved in military operations in other Nuer communities last year.
World number two Nelly Korda has called the lack of a mixed gender indoor virtual league “an unbelievable miss” following the launch of a women’s competition backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
The WTGL will be held in the same Florida venue as the men’s TGL, which is currently midway through its second season.
Some of the world’s best female golfers will compete in a season of team matchplay in the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, but Korda suggested not combining the men and women’s events was a missed opportunity.
“I have mixed feelings on it, and I’m surprised no other girls have spoken out about it,” she said.
“It’s a huge and unbelievable miss that we’re not playing alongside the men.
“There’s no greater way to grow the game, and it would have been revolutionary. It would have been the first time, I think, that men and women are on the same playing field, playing for the same exact amount of money.
“But I also think it’s great that we are getting this opportunity, so that’s my mixed feelings.”
The indoor golf set-up features teams of players hitting shots at a five-storey-high simulator screen before moving to a short-game area with bunkers and a green that can rotate 360 degrees, creating hole-to-hole variations.
Asked about the prospect of a mixed-gender event, Mike McCarley, a former TV executive who founded the TGL alongside McIlroy and Woods said the idea had been discussed.
“I think that is something that’s interesting to us and is interesting to the LPGA and is interesting to a lot of the players we’re talking to,” said McCarley.
“Right now, we’re really focused on building (the TGL) out and providing, frankly, a nice stage and really nice platform to showcase the players and their personalities.”
Korda, 27, is yet to commit to entering the event, saying she is “still weighing out the time commitment” required to play in the tournament.
World number one Jeeno Thitikul and British golfers Charley Hull and Lottie Woad are among the players confirmed to compete.
Atlanta Drive beat New York GC 4-3 to win the first TGL title last year, with a prize pot of £10.39m being split between the two finalists.
This season’s competition began on 28 December, with a best-of-three final set to start on 23 March.
“I have a lot, a lot of incredible, good opinions about him,” said Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola when asked about Oscar Bobb in November.
“His intuition is extraordinary. The moment he frees his mind he can do it.”
Two months on and Bobb is close to leaving for Fulham for a reported fee of around £30m – the 22-year-old Norway winger the latest City youth graduate to depart after breaking into the first team.
Since Guardiola took charge in 2016 and transformed City into an all-conquering team, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Brahim Diaz and Tosin Adarabioyo have also come through the ranks to play for the senior side before departing.
It is a ploy that has served City well.
According to Paul MacDonald from FootballTransfers.com, City have made more than £250m selling young players from their talent factory over the past five years alone.
Including sell-on fees, that figure is closer to £270m, he says.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz did not make a competitive appearance for the club before the then 21-year-old was sold to Aston Villa for £15m in 2019.
Jadon Sancho was sold to Borussia Dortmund for a reported £8m in 2017 before joining Manchester United £73m just four years later, while Jeremie Frimpong was signed by Liverpool for £29.5m from Bayer Leverkusen last summer. They have both gone on to make names for themselves after leaving City without making a first-team appearance.
Morgan Rogers, who joined City from West Brom at the age of 17 on a professional contract, was sold to Middlesbrough in 2023 and is now thriving for Aston Villa and England.
City spent a British record £100m on Jack Grealish in 2021, while they invested £77m on Croatia centre-back Josko Gvardiol two years later – and this January spent £65m on Antoine Semenyo and £20m on Marc Guehi.
Yet it is their ability to sell young talent that has helped bring in funds for big-money deals.
With City chasing a seventh Premier League title in 10 seasons under Guardiola, one might expect a player’s career to go downhill once they leave Etihad Stadium.
That is not necessarily true.
There are numerous examples of players going on to flourish elsewhere after failing to nail down a regular spot under Guardiola.
Palmer, who made 19 Premier League appearances for City, is a prime example.
Since moving to Chelsea for £42.5m in September 2023, the 23-year-old forward has established himself in the England side and helped his club win the Fifa Club World Cup and the Uefa Conference League.
In 2019, Spanish teenager Diaz signed for Real Madrid from City for a fee believed to be around £15m.
He made five Premier League appearances – all as a substitute – before leaving.
Since then the Malaga-born winger has won two La Liga titles, one Champions League – and, earlier this month, helped Morocco reach the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Spain defender Eric Garcia, who captained City at under-18 level, has won two La Liga titles since moving from Manchester to Barcelona in 2021, when he was 20, after 35 senior appearances.
Meanwhile, striker Delap – who also progressed through City’s Elite Development Squad (EDS) – was sold to Ipswich in a deal worth up £20m in July 2024, before Chelsea signed the player for £30m a year later.
The EDS was established to create a bridge between City’s academy and first team.
Designed to either prepare top-class talent for City’s main squad or to secure huge profit, selling EDS and non-first team players has brought in more than £500m to the club since Guardiola’s arrival.
That is significant because, when clubs sell academy graduates, the entire amount is recorded as ‘pure profit’ in their accounts, helping to meet the top-flight’s strict profit and sustainability rules.
Chelsea’s Belgium midfielder Romeo Lavia was 16 when he left Anderlecht for City.
Sancho, currently on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, was 14 when he moved north from Watford.
“Hugo Viana, he’s done it again,” was how one City fan put it on social media after the eye-catching signings of Ghana forward Semenyo and England centre-back Guehi this month.
But now the director of football will be praised for continuing the club’s remarkable recent record in selling players, with winger Bobb set to join Fulham.
“What City have been good at doing, which has gone under the radar, is selling players very successfully,” football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport earlier this month.
“In the past three years they have generated £350m profit from all player sales.”
That number will edge towards £400m if Bobb completes a move to Craven Cottage, having also generated around £50m by selling James McAtee, Yan Couto and Maxime Perrone in the summer.
Not only do they bring in good money, City also insert sell-on or buy-back clauses when players make an exit and that allows them to keep a portion of control for the future. This was highlighted when bringing back goalkeeper James Trafford in the summer from Burnley, who had signed him in 2023.
Although it won’t correlate directly on the balance sheet, the fee received for Bobb effectively pays off the £30.45m spent on Rayan Cherki last June when he arrived from Lyon.
An “extremely lucky” Novak Djokovic survived a huge scare to reach the Australian Open semifinals on Wednesday when Lorenzo Musetti retired hurt while two sets up, keeping alive the Serbian great’s bid for a 25th Grand Slam crown.
The fifth-seeded Italian was well on top and leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3 when he withdrew after treatment on his upper right leg, with his movement badly impeded.
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It was a huge stroke of luck for the error-riddled 10-time Melbourne winner Djokovic, who will now play either defending champion Jannik Sinner or American eighth seed Ben Shelton for a place in the final.
The let-off kept alive his bid to secure a record 25th major title.
Djokovic has been trying to move past Margaret Court and clinch the landmark since his last one at the US Open in 2023.
It has proved increasingly difficult with the emergence of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
“I feel really sorry for him, he was the far better player, I was on my way home tonight,” said Djokovic.
“It has happened to me a few times. He was in full control.
“So unfortunate, I don’t know what else to say. He should have been the winner today, no doubt. I am extremely lucky to get through this one today.”
With the victory against Musetti, Djokovic claimed sole ownership of most singles wins at Melbourne Park, surpassing Roger Federer with his 103rd.
It also put him into a 54th Slam semifinal to extend his own record.
But it looked to all be over for the 38-year-old.
He was his own worst enemy with an extraordinarily high unforced error rate, racking up 18 in the first set alone and 32 overall, before Musetti walked away.
Djokovic comfortably held serve, then worked three break points to start. A nervy Musetti saved two of them, but a misjudged forehand put him 2-0 behind.
The Italian, though, quickly settled, and a slew of poor shots by the Serb opened the door to a comeback in the next game.
It was the first of four games in a row won by Musetti, whose court coverage was sublime as Djokovic piled up mistakes off both his backhand and forehand.
The Italian had three break points to race 5-2 ahead, but the veteran somehow fought back through an eight-minute game to hold on.
But it was just delaying the inevitable, and Musetti took the set in 54 minutes, then broke again to open set two.
Djokovic was not done yet, breaking back, but then threw it away again with yet more errors to concede serve for a fourth time.
He was broken once more when serving to stay in the set, with Musetti unleashing a sensational forehand down the line to move two sets clear.
But Musetti needed treatment on a thigh issue after falling 2-1 down in the third and was clearly hurting, with his movement restricted.
He tried to carry on, but had no choice but to throw in the towel.
