It’s been 579 days since Rhys McClenaghan produced the best pommel horse routine of his life and achieved his dream of becoming the Olympic champion.
That glorious moment needed to be enjoyed and savoured.
What the 26 year-old didn’t know was that he’d get too much time on the sidelines.
A shoulder injury, that required surgery, has meant McClenaghan hasn’t competed since winning gold in Paris.
Now he is preparing for his much anticipated return to action at the Apparatus World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan (March 5-8) – and even the Olympic champion is admitting he’ll be nervous.
“Oh, most certainly,” McClenaghan told BBC Sport NI.
“I don’t think I’ve had this much of a break from competition, so I’m sure I’ll be nervous.
“I’m nervous at every competition I do, but that’s all part of the fun.
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McClenaghan will compete at four World Cups ahead of a big summer with three major events – the Commonwealth Games, European and World Championships.
The Los Angeles Olympics are now just two years away, honing into view very quickly, and the world of gymnastics didn’t stop while McClenaghan was out of action.
As with every Olympic cycle some athletes retire or take time off, and there are always new kids on the block looking to move the sport forward – even old faces like two-time Olympic champion Max Whitlock announcing his return to the sport.
McClenaghan may have the Grand Slam of Olympic champion, two World titles, three European titles and a Commonwealth Games gold tucked away, but the Newtownards gymnast knows the biggest challenges lie ahead.
“I know that there’s a tough challenge ahead of me in any competition I go to,” McClenaghan added.
“In this sport there’s definitely no room to be content with previous results. There’s these younger guys coming from junior into senior, and they’re so good on pommel horse.
“It’s like a new generation of pommel horse workers, but I’m certainly up for the challenge. I can see pathways of beating each and every one of them, and I look forward to figuring that out like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
“I feel like the last year I was pretty content and rightfully so, but it was a struggle of a year where I was injured constantly.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters he wants de-escalation of the Iran attacks but said he couldn’t rule out his country’s military participation. He was speaking alongside Australia’s prime minister during a visit to Canberra.
Angélique Kidjo has announced the release of her forthcoming album, ‘Hope!!’ an anticipated project that features Nigerian music stars Davido, Ayra Starr, and highlife duo The Cavemen.
The five-time Grammy-winning singer revealed the project in a post shared on her Instagram page on Wednesday, describing the album as a deeply personal work that has been five years in the making.
In the announcement, Kidjo disclosed that the 14-track album is dedicated to her late mother, Yvonne, who passed away five years ago, and said the project reflects the message of hope she received from her.
Writing on Instagram, the Beninese musician said, “5 years in the making: my new album HOPE!! Dedicated to my mother, Yvonne, is coming out on April 24th.
“She is the one who taught me that every dream I had could be accomplished, that HOPE for a better future is what makes us human. She left us 5 years ago, but her message resonates to this very day.
“I put my whole heart into this album, and I’m so GRATEFUL to all the great artists who have contributed their genius to the album: @pharrell, @ayrastarr, @nilerodgers, @quavohuncho, @iamshizzi, @davido, @pagny_officiel, @dadju, @fallyipupa01, @imcharliewilson, @iza, @pjmorton, @philippesaisse, @diamondplatnumz, @the.cavemen, @sowetogospelchoirlive, @smauricegrey, @sowetogospelchoirlive, @shungudzo, and @dianewarren, always by my side.
“I can’t wait for you to hear it! #hope. Pre-order HOPE!! now at the link in bio!”
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Beyond the Nigerian stars, the album also boasts an extensive list of international collaborators, including American music icons Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Quavo, and Charlie Wilson.
Other artists featured on the project include French singers Florent Pagny and Dadju, Congolese star Fally Ipupa, Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz, Brazilian artiste IZA, and American musician PJ Morton. South Africa’s renowned Soweto Gospel Choir also appears on the album.
The collaboration with Davido continues a growing musical relationship between the two artistes.
Kidjo previously worked with the Nigerian singer on the track “Joy,” while Davido also featured the legendary vocalist on “Na Money” from his 2023 album, Timeless.
Hope!! is scheduled for release on April 24, 2026, and marks Kidjo’s 19th studio album.
The project follows her critically acclaimed 2021 album ‘Mother Nature,’ which earned her a Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album.
Twenty years separate Lucas Friday and Danny Care.
Former Harlequins scrum-half Care, 39, played 101 times for England and trotted out against Exeter Chiefs to mark his 395th and final club appearance last May.
Instead of signing an experienced scrum-half, Quins opted to bring through teenager Friday – who at that stage had only three minutes of top-flight rugby under his belt.
But it was a fitting passing of the guard as Mike Friday – Lucas’ father and former England sevens coach – played a key role in Care’s early career development.
“It feels like a full circle moment as Lucas’ father Mike was my mentor from 16-20 in the junior national academy pathway and he picked me to play for England sevens,” Care told BBC Sport.
“Mike used to come and do a load of passing and kicking drills with me. He passed on his knowledge to me, fast forward 20 years later and I was doing the same for his son.
“It was a bit weird but in a nice way, a passing of the torch. It was nice that I could help as this guy’s father had given me so much.
“In a cathartic way it did play a little bit of a factor in my retirement as I knew you’ve got to let this kid fly now.”
Diminutive in stature but lightning quick with a bullet pass, the 19-year-old reminds Care of himself as a promising teenager.
The talent was undeniable but Friday’s willingness to learn shone through as he would wait for senior training to finishing before racing onto the pitch to do extra kicking practice.
“Post sessions they may not have wanted to do, or maybe had other things to do, but they [Harlequins senior scrum-halves Care and Will Porter] took the time to help develop me,” Friday told BBC Sport.
“I always wanted to ask questions and once they engaged back with me, it gave me more confidence. They might not have been so happy with the amount I asked.
“It would be technical questions on passing and what went well for him [Care] and what didn’t go well.
“Kicking technique is another thing and finding that consistency.
26 January 2025
22 February
‘It was like Morgan Parra was out there’
An injury saw Friday called up as a 17-year-old to England’s winning Under-20 World Championship squad in 2024, where he came off the bench in the final against France.
Having then made his league debut the following season against Newcastle, the scrum-half was primed to star for England at under age level.
Disaster then stuck in the third round of the Under-20 Six Nations as he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“It was very daunting not knowing what is going to happen but I got support from my dad and brother who have had ACL injuries,” Friday added.
“I came back in nine and a half months which gave me good time to develop physically in my lower and upper body with power and strength.
“It was all hard. At the start it is all about small wins and you don’t feel like you are making that much progress very early on.”
He returned against Gloucester in November and has since become a regular for Harlequins.
One of his impressive starts came in the Investec Champions Cup, with Quins’ away win over La Rochelle booking a home last-16 game.
“Big players have to step up away in Europe, especially in France, you have to show if you have got it or not,” Care added.
“From the off, Lucas looked so comfortable and it looked like he had been playing at that level for years.
“My first few professional games had way more mistakes. Lucas looked so controlled and measured, it was like Morgan Parra was out there in terms of the left-footed nine with dominance, who will run the game.
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‘Marcus Smith gives me so much confidence’
Friday’s first top-flight start came against England scrum-half Alex Mitchell, where he saw up close how to deal with calmness in pressure situations – another skill he is looking to perfect.
He started four games in a row alongside England fly-half Marcus Smith, with one of those games coming against another England scrum-half in Jack van Poortvliet.
Whoever he plays against, Smith wants Friday to express himself.
“Marcus gives me so much confidence on the pitch as he says he’ll back whatever decision I want to make,” he added.
“It gives me the chance to do what I want to do.”
Last month Friday linked back up with England for his second Under-20 Six Nations, but this time as one of the team’s experienced stars.
A sharp break and kick through helped set up the opening try against Scotland – the game he tore his ACL in last year – as he continues to be a stand-out performer.
Defeat by Ireland ended a potential Grand Slam but championship hopes remain alive with games against Italy and France to come.
Friday says he has been inspired by playing alongside senior internationals Henry Pollock and Asher Opoku-Fordjour, who he played with at Under-20 level.
As one of a number of exciting young England scrum-halves, Friday will next be aiming to emulate Care and Ben Youngs, who dominated the international shirt for well over a decade.
“There is five or six scrum-halves in England who could be battling it out for years,” Care added.
“I would love that to be Lucas purely because of the Quins connection and what his father did for me.
Russia and China, Tehran’s two most powerful diplomatic partners, have labelled the US-Israeli war on Iran that has killed more than 1,000 people a clear violation of international law.
President Vladimir Putin called the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday a “cynical violation of all norms of human morals”.
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China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi told his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, that “force cannot truly solve problems” as he urged all sides to avoid further escalation.
Russia and China jointly requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
The reaction reflects the close relationship between Iran, Russia, and China. Moscow and Beijing have signed bilateral deals and expanded coordination through joint naval drills, projecting a united front against what they describe as a US-led international order that has long sought to isolate them.
Yet despite their sharp rhetoric, neither has indicated a willingness to intervene militarily to support Iran.
Russia-Iran: Strategic partners, not military allies
In January 2025, Russia and Iran signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty covering areas from trade and military cooperation to science, culture, and education.
The agreement deepened defence and intelligence coordination and supported projects such as transport corridors, linking Russia to the Gulf through Iran.
The pair carried out joint military drills in the Indian Ocean as recently as late February, the week before the US and Israel attacked Iran.
However, when the war began, Moscow was not obliged to respond as the treaty did not include a mutual defence clause, meaning it stopped short of forming a formal military alliance.
Andrey Kortunov, the former director general of the Russian International Affairs Council and a member of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Russian foreign policy think tank, told Al Jazeera via videolink from Moscow, that Russia’s 2024 mutual defence treaty with North Korea is an example of a “more binding” agreement on military support.
He said that, under that agreement, Russia would be obliged to join North Korea “in any conflict the country might get involved in”, whereas with Iran, “it just mentioned that both sides agreed to abstain from any hostile actions in case the other side is engaged in conflict”.
Kortunov said Russia is unlikely to take direct military action in support of Iran because the risks would be too high.
He added that Moscow appears to be “prioritising the United States mediation in the conflict with Ukraine”, and noted that Russia has previously taken a similar approach by criticising US actions in places like Venezuela after the US military attack and arrest of its President, Nicolas Maduro, in January.
Although the treaty clearly states that Russia is not obliged to intervene, he said some of his contacts in Tehran have expressed a “degree of frustration”, and there had been an “expectation that Russia should somehow do more than just diplomatic moves in the United Nations Security Council or in other multilateral forums”.
Members of the Iranian Army attend the joint Navy exercise of Iran and Russia in southern Iran [Handout via Iranian Armed Forces/WANA/Reuters]
China–Iran ties and their limits
In 2021, China and Iran signed a 25-year cooperation agreement aimed at expanding ties in areas such as energy, while also drawing Iran into China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Jodie Wen, a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University in China, who has travelled frequently to Iran, told Al Jazeera that the relationship is widely viewed in Beijing as pragmatic and stable.
“From the political side, we have regular exchange,” she said over the phone from Beijing, adding, “on the economic side, the cooperation is very deep; many enterprises have investments in Iran.”
Yet she stressed that Beijing has long drawn clear limits around the partnership, particularly regarding military involvement.
“The Chinese government always adheres to not interfering in other countries’ issues … I do not think the Chinese government would send weapons to Iran,” she said.
Instead, Beijing’s role is more likely to focus on diplomacy and crisis management.
“I think China is trying its way to talk with the US side and Gulf countries to keep calm,” she said.
That clarity about the relationship, she added, has helped build trust in Tehran.
Even so, she noted the relationship is not symmetrical.
Vessel-tracking service Kpler estimates that 87.2 percent of Iran’s annual crude oil exports go to China, underscoring how economically significant China is for Tehran, while Iran remains a relatively small partner in China’s global trade.
Dylan Loh, an associate professor in the Public Policy and Global Affairs programme at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told Al Jazeera that he believes China’s role regarding Iran “has evolved into a protective one, accelerating its mediation effort to prevent a regional collapse that would threaten its own regional economic and security interests”.
Iraqi forces have shot down a drone that attempted to attack a United States military base near Baghdad International Airport, local media have reported, as Iran continues to strike US assets in Arab countries, with the region plunging deeper into war after six days.
The drone attempted to target Victoria airbase overnight on Wednesday and was intercepted before it reached its target, according to the reports.
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Videos that emerged early on Thursday showed a drone crash in the Al-Bu’aitha area of Baghdad in the presence of security personnel.
The attack occurred as tensions in the Middle East are soaring due to the ongoing conflict set off by the US and Israel launching a war on Iran.
Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that its air defence systems were intercepting a missile attack.
Authorities in Qatar sent out an “elevated” emergency alert to residents as multiple explosions were heard in the skies above Doha.
Air defences intercept a new wave of missiles and drones fired by Iran towards Qatar, on the 6th day since the US-Israeli war on Tehran started, March 5, 2026, Doha, Qatar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
New explosions were also heard in Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force said it destroyed 75 missiles and 123 drones “targeting the Kingdom since the start of the brutal Iranian aggression”, in a post on its Instagram account.
The reverberating violence has spread across the region, with attacks also reported in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.
The Saudi Ministry of Defence said the latest drone sent into its territory was shot down near the al-Jawf region, in the north of the country. This came after the ministry announced intercepting three drones east of al-Kharj governorate.
Oman’s Oil Marketing Company said one of its storage tanks was damaged in an “incident”, which preliminary assessments said was only minor. The company said operations at the affected site were taken offline, according to the Reuters news agency.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called for an end to the war in a post on X. “Oman reaffirms its call for an immediate ceasefire and a return to responsible regional diplomacy,” he wrote. “There are off ramps available. Let’s use them.”
Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior said an explosion on board an oil tanker occurred outside its territorial waters, more than 60km (37 miles) from the Mubarak al-Kabeer port.
It said all crew were safe, but that the vessel had taken on water and that an oil spill could potentially cause environmental damage.
As tensions across the Middle East remain high, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior on Thursday ordered the evacuation of residents living near the US Embassy in Doha as a precautionary measure.
Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from the Qatari capital, said the US Embassy compound occupies a “very large area” that is located “in the heart of the city”.
“The area is home to so many families, there is a gas station, a shopping mall, it’s close to a highway,” he said.
Basravi added that the US embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and the US consulate in Dubai, have all been targeted by drones this week.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired 230 drones at several facilities hosting US troops in the Middle East, including a base in Erbil in northern Iraq and the Ali Al Salem airbase and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
The IRGC said the attacks were among its “first powerful steps” in the war, despite Iran having attacked Gulf Arab states for days since Israel and the US launched their coordinated offensive on Saturday.
President Masoud Pezeshkian directly addressed Iran’s neighbouring countries on Wednesday, saying Iran sought to avert war through diplomacy, but US-Israel attacks left it “with no choice” but to retaliate.
“We respect your sovereignty,” the president said in two separate posts in Arabic and Persian on X.
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![Air defenses intercept a new wave of missiles and drones firend by Iran towards Qatar, on the 6th day since US-Israeli strikes on Tehran started , 05 Mar, 2026, Doha, Qatar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SOR06604-1772702287.jpg?w=696&ssl=1)