Harlequins snatch late PWR win against Trailfinders

Harlequins snatched a late bonus-point win over Trailfinders as the Premiership Women’s Rugby returned after a six-week break.

Trailfinders were leading 26-20 in the closing stages when Wales international Alex Callender, who was making her first start of the season after returning from injury, scored a late try, with Spain full-back Claudia Pena adding the conversion, to hand the visitors a 27-26 victory.

Aoife Wafer earlier scored a hat-trick of tries for Quins, who are now on a four-game unbeaten run and stay third in the PWR table on 28 points.

“This is huge for us, building that momemtum again,” Wafer, 22, said after the victory.

“We got a couple of wins pre-Christmas but every win is important pre the international break, it is all going to crucial.”

Wafer made her long-awaited Harlequins debut last month, having not featured since the World Cup in September when she played on despite breaking her collarbone and rupturing a medial collateral ligament in Ireland’s quarter-final defeat by France.

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Glasgow hold off Munster to stay top of URC

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United Rugby Championship

Glasgow Warriors 31 (28)

Tries: Smith, Lancaster, Oguntibeju, McKay Cons: Lancaster 4 Pens: Lancaster

Munster 22 (5)

Glasgow Warriors maintained their spot at the top of the United Rugby Championship table with a bonus-point victory over Munster at Scotstoun.

Ollie Smith, Dan Lancaster, Jare Oguntibeju and Josh McKay scored tries to establish a commanding 28-5 half-time lead, with Ethan Coughlan responding for the visitors.

A wonder try from Dan Kelly gave Munster hope and further scores from Brian Gleeson and Diarmuid Kilgallen brought the visitors back within six points.

Lancaster knocked over a late penalty to halt the Munster fightback and ensure Glasgow made it nine straight wins in all competitions.

Munster had started on the front foot, banging on the Glasgow line but the home side struck with their first attack.

A sweeping move from deep set Smith free and while he appeared destined to be bundled into touch by two red jerseys, he somehow grounded the ball with an extraordinary finish before being forced out of play.

Fly-half Lancaster banged over a cracking touchline conversion in windy conditions, and less than a minute later he was converting his own try in front of the posts after intercepting a pass from opposite number Tony Butler.

Munster struck back in similar fashion, Coughlan reading Stafford McDowall’s wide pass to collect and score.

The frenetic pace slowed somewhat but with a strong wind at their backs, Warriors wanted to add to their lead before the break.

They hammered at the Munster line and eventually Oguntibeju was able to dive through a ruck to touch down.

Munster wing Thaakir Abrahams was sent to the bin for a cynical knock-on to halt a Glasgow attack.

The home side made their numerical advantage count – McKay gliding through a gaping hole to go over for the bonus-point try.

Angus Fraser and Seb Stephen both crossed for Glasgow, but both were denied after TMO interventions – Fraser adjudged to have been held up, and Stephen’s stunning solo effort ruled out for an earlier knock-on by Ben Afshar.

Kelly conjured a stunner of his own and this one did count. The Munster centre broke through off a first-phase scrum move from inside his own half and showed terrific pace to burn the cover defence on the outside to score.

For the first time in the contest, Warriors were wobbling and when they messed up a lineout near their own 22, Gleeson reacted first to gather and race away to score.

The pendulum had swung towards the Irish side and when Kilgallen crossed for their fourth try, it was a six-point game.

Line-ups

Glasgow Warriors: McKay; Rowe, McDowall (c), Yule, Smith; Lancaster, Afshar; Bhatti, Stephen, Walker, Craig, Oguntibeju, Ferrie, Fraser, Miller.

Replacements: Stewart, McBeth, Talakai, Cockburn, Vailanu, Duncan, Oliver, Urwin.

Munster Rugby: Haley; Abrahams, Daly, Kelly, Kilgallen; Butler, Coughlan; Wycherley, Barron (C), Jager, O’Connell, Wycherley, Edogbo, Quinn, Gleeson.

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What do China and the UK want from each other?

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s warm welcome on a visit to China this week marks a thaw in icy relations with Beijing.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in China this week with a large delegation of businesspeople and cultural figures.

He received a warm welcome from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

But the visit got a frosty reception from the White House, with United States President Donald Trump calling Starmer’s trip “dangerous”.

What prompted Trump’s remarks? And how important was the British prime minister’s visit?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Will Hutton – Political economist

Andy Mok – Senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization

Scarlets draw in Benetton fog after chaotic finale

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United Rugby Championship

Benetton (13) 20

Tries: Odogwu, Garbisi Cons: Smith, Farias Pens: Smith 2

Scarlets (3) 20

Scarlets and Benetton shared the spoils in a dramatic United Rugby Championship draw in the Treviso fog.

Both sides missed late kicks – with teenage Scarlets fly-half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones failing with a routine conversion – and had to settle for two points each in a game that was completed despite the testing conditions.

Benetton led 13-3 after eight points from the boot of Rhyno Smith and a try by Italy centre Paolo Odogwu.

Former Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies went over soon after the restart in heavy fog and the visitors hit the front in the 57th minute through wing Tomi Lewis.

Scarlets – who already have a game to catch up at Connacht following a round two postponement – were pleased that referee Andrew Brace was happy to continue despite the challenging circumstances.

Scrum-half Alessandro Garbisi sniped over for a classy try with nine minutes to go to put Benetton 20-15 in front, but wing Macs Page levelled, only for Leggatt-Jones to miss the conversion next to the posts.

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In a test of both sides’ squad depth before the Six Nations, the first half was scrappy with Benetton full-back Smith missing an early penalty and then striking two over in response to Leggatt-Jones’ opener.

The Italians suffered a pre-match blow with the loss of Tonga centre Malakai Fekitoa and then lost strong-running number eight So’otala Fa’aso’o, but gradually turned the screw.

Pressure paid off as half-time approached when seven-times capped centre Odogwu, released from Italy’s squad, jinked over from close range.

Scarlets had the chance to respond swiftly, but failed with a pair of driving line-outs in the corner to trail by 10 points at the break.

They quickly cut into that when veteran scrum-half Davies sniped over after a typically strong carry by the excellent number eight Fletcher Anderson, Leggatt-Jones converting.

Scarlets went into a 15-13 lead in the 57th minute when Lewis crossed from Leggatt-Jones’ superb pass to the left wing before referee Andrew Brace, after consulting with his fellow officials, was convinced to keep going.

The visitors were held up over the line as they tried to make it a two-score game and that proved to be crucial.

Hard Benetton carrying in the 22 opened up a weak spot at a ruck for Garbisi to finish superbly, with Roger Farias adding the extras.

The Scarlets response was superb with Leggatt-Jones getting to Dane Blacker’s dink over the top to put Page over, only for the 18-year-old stand-off to miss the routine conversion.

How they lined up

Benetton: Smith; Mendy, Odogwu, Drago, Ratave; Farias, Uren (capt); Gallo, Maile, Gallorini, Marini, Snyman, Izekor, Kingi, Fa’aso’o.

Replacements: Bernasconi, Aminu, Pasquali, Scrafton, Casartelli, Garbisi , Gallagher, Medina.

Scarlets: J Davies; Page, Roberts, Williams (capt), Lewis; Leggatt-Jones, G Davies; Hepburn, Van der Merwe, Holz, Price, Lousi, Douglas, Taylor, Anderson.

Replacements: Harry Thomas, Morse, Henry Thomas, Ball, D Davis, Blacker, McBryde, Badham.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Assistants: Clara Munarini & Bisetto Luca (Italy)

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Iran says ready for ‘fair’ talks with US but not ‘under shadow of threats’

Iran’s foreign minister says the country is ready for “fair and equitable” talks with the United States amid soaring tensions, as US President Donald Trump refused to rule out taking military action against Tehran.

On a visit to Turkiye on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that, “Iran has no problem with negotiations, but negotiations cannot take place under the shadow of threats”.

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“I should also state unequivocally that Iran’s defensive and missile capabilities – and Iran’s missiles – will never be the subject of any negotiations,” Araghchi said during a news conference alongside his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

“The security of the Iranian people is no one else’s business, and we will preserve and expand our defensive capabilities to whatever extent is necessary to defend the country.”

Tensions have been rising for weeks between Tehran and Washington amid Trump’s repeated threats to attack Iran over a recent crackdown on antigovernment protests and his push to curtail the Iranian nuclear programme.

Earlier this week, the US president said a “massive armada” – led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier – was moving towards Iran and was ready to use “violence, if necessary” if Iranian leaders did not agree to negotiate a nuclear deal.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, Trump said his administration was sending “a larger number of ships” to Iran.

“And hopefully we’ll make a deal,” he said. “If we do make a deal, that’s good. If we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens.”

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett noted that Trump said he gave Iran a deadline, but “only Iran knows what that deadline is”.

“So he’s left the world in waiting, trying to determine what the next steps will be,” Halkett said.

Trump, who in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from a previous deal that saw Iran agree to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions, has been pressuring Iran to halt all uranium enrichment.

Washington has accused Tehran of seeking a nuclear weapon – a claim Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied.

Amid the latest tensions, senior officials in Tehran have repeatedly said they are open to negotiations, but only once Trump ends his military threats against the country.

They also have stressed that Iran’s armed forces are ready to respond if attacked.

Meanwhile, regional allies including Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been engaging in diplomatic efforts to try to prevent a military confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier on Friday told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a call that Ankara was ready to play a “facilitator” role between the two sides.

Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister, also said he had long discussions on the issue with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday and would keep lines open with Washington.

Speaking alongside Araghchi on Friday, Fidan said US-Iran nuclear negotiations must restart and would pave the way to lifting sanctions on Iran.

INEC Recognises Nenadi Usman-Led LP After Court Order

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised the Labour Party (LP) National Working Committee (NWC) led by Nenadi Usman

INEC indicated that the move followed a court order mandating the electoral commission to do so.

Checks on the INEC website as of Friday showed that the umpire has now listed Usman as the caretaker committee chairperson of the Labour Party (INEC).

Other members of the NWC are Senator Darlington Nwokocha (National Secretary); Hamisu Santuraki (National Treasurer); Aisha Madije (National Financial Secretary), and Eric Ifere (National Legal Adviser.

[READ ALSO] LP Leadership: Court Affirms Nenadi Usman-Led Committee, Orders INEC Recognition

The development adds another layer of intrigue to the battle for the leadership of the Labour Party (LP), one of Nigeria’s opposition political parties.

On January 21, the Federal High Court, Abuja, recognised the Usman-led NWC of the Labour Party, sacking Julius Abure as the party’s national chairman.

Justice Peter Lifu based his action on the verdict of the Supreme Court declaring Nenadi as the authentic leader of the Labour Party

He asked INEC to recognise the Usman-led NWC as the party’s legally recognised authority until the conduct of the party’s next convention.

According to Justice Lifu, the evidence before the court indicated that Abure’s tenure as Labour Party national chairman had ended.

While dismissing the matter as a non-justiciable internal party affair, he said the establishment of the Caretaker Committee was “a necessity” arising from the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling. ​

Following the ruling, the Abure-led group in the LP vowed to appeal the Federal High Court ruling.

The spokesman of the group, Obiorah Ifoh, claimed, “the judgment was a clear contradiction of the Supreme Court judgment, which clearly stated that no court has the power to appoint leadership for any political party and that leadership issues are internal affairs of political parties.” ​

Ifoh claimed that the Court of Appeal had, in the past, affirmed Abure’s NWC as the authentic leadership of the party.

“To us, this is a clear contradiction of what the Supreme Court said. The apex court held that all matters relating to the leadership of a political party are internal affairs of the party, and that has been its consistent position,” he said. ​

The internal wranglings in the party date back to the aftermath of the 2023 elections, where the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, polled over six million votes.