Two US federal agents involved in the fatal shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti during an immigration raid in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, as fallout from the most recent killing of a US citizen continues to cause outrage. Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo explains.
Great Britain’s Neal Skupski and new American partner Christian Harrison are through to the final of the men’s doubles at the Australian Open.
Skupski and Harrison, who are the sixth seeds and are playing together at a Grand Slam for the first time, defeated third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3 7-6 (9-7).
Skupski, 36, played alongside fellow Briton Joe Salisbury in all four Grand Slams in 2025. The Spanish-Argentine pair ended their hopes of success in the French Open final, Wimbledon quarter-finals and US Open final.
Salisbury announced at the end of last season that he was taking a break from tennis because of anxiety and Skupski’s new partnership has immediately yielded another Grand Slam final appearance.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “There weren’t really many players around because a lot of doubles guys stick together.
“I landed on Christian, who I actually thought played the same side as me but he actually wanted to play on the deuce side, so that worked out.
“We’re very happy with how it’s going so far. No matter what happens on Saturday, we’ll take a lot of confidence and it would be nice to walk away with a trophy.”
Skupski said he had been in recent contact with Salisbury, adding: “He’s definitely been travelling quite a bit, he’s been to South Africa and he’s been skiing for a couple of weeks.
“He got engaged so that’s incredible news.
“He’s feeling great and he said he was thinking of coming back around Monte Carlo time [in April].
“We speak a little bit but not too much. I didn’t want to keep pestering him and just wanted to make sure he is taking time away and not thinking too much about tennis at the moment.
As the United States pushes its ‘America First’ agenda, its partners are edging towards China and new alliances are being formed.
It was built on democracy, open markets and cooperation – with America at the helm.
But the rules-based global order created after World War II is now under strain. Conflicts are rising. International rules are being tested. Trade tensions are escalating. And alliances are shifting.
At the centre of it all is US President Donald Trump.
In just a few short weeks, he’s captured Venezuela’s president, vowed to take control of Greenland, and threatened to slap tariffs on those who oppose him.
Meanwhile, China is presenting itself as a stable partner.
Syria’s Ministry of Interior has ordered the immediate implementation of a new decree granting citizenship to Kurdish minorities, as government forces continue to consolidate control of the country after a rapid offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the north of the country.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab issued the decision on Wednesday, mandating that the decree applies to all Kurds residing in Syria and explicitly includes those listed as stateless, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing the Syrian television station Alikhbariah.
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The ministry has set a February 5 deadline for finalising the measures and their rollout, the report said.
Two weeks ago, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had declared the recognition of Kurdish as one of the country’s national languages and the restoration of citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians, as he announced a ceasefire between Syrian and Kurdish forces.
The rapid advance of Syrian forces forced the SDF to withdraw from more cities, including Raqqa and Deir Az Zor, allowing the government in Damascus to unite the country after a nearly 14-year-long ruinous civil war.
The development has drawn praise from United States President Donald Trump, who told al-Sharaa that he was “very happy” about the Syrian army offensive despite the previous US backing of the SDF.
Still, there have been reports of Kurdish civilians facing a shortage of food and displacement as a standoff between Syrian forces and the SDF continues in the country’s northern region.
According to the Anadolu report, the authorities in charge of rolling out al-Sharaa’s order have been asked to draft instructions and guidelines for the decree’s implementation at once.
Under al-Sharaa’s decree, the state has also been instructed to safeguard the culture and language of Syrian Kurds, as well as the teaching of the Kurdish language in public and private schools in Kurdish-majority areas.
The decree has also designated March 21 as the date of the Newroz festival, a nationwide celebration welcoming spring that is widely observed, not just in Syria.
On Wednesday, al-Sharaa met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the future of Syria and the presence of Russian troops in the country.
At the meeting, Putin praised his Syrian counterpart’s ongoing efforts to stabilise his country.
Serena Williams declined the opportunity to rule out returning to professional tennis after recently filing the necessary paperwork.
Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, retired after the 2022 US Open.
In December, the International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed to BBC Sport that the 44-year-old was back on the list of players registered for the drug testing pool.
At the time, the American said she was “not coming back” but during an interview on the Today Show on Wednesday, Williams did not rule out stepping back on to the court.
“I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens,” Williams said.
Williams – a mother of two – said she recently put stay-at-home mum and housewife as her occupation on a form.
Asked whether she had re-entered the drug testing pool, Williams said: “I don’t know if I was out. Listen, I can’t discuss this.
“If I want to put it [rumours] to bed… listen, I want to go to bed.”
Players are only eligible to return to competition once they have spent six months in the testing pool.
Williams’ name appeared on a document published by the the International Tennis Integrity Agency on 6 October.