Kyrylo Budanov arrives in US heading delegation for further talks on peace proposals. What we know on day 1,425 Russia is taking aim at Ukraine’s nuclear power system, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, as the Kremlin continues to try to freeze Ukraine into submission by crippling its energy grid. “We do not see any willingness on the part of the aggressor to comply with any agreements or end the war,” the Ukrainian president said. “Instead, there is ample information about preparations for further Russian strikes on our energy sector and infrastructure, including facilities and networks that serve our nuclear power plants. Each such Russian strike on the energy sector amid such a harsh winter weakens and undermines the efforts of key states – in particular the United States – to end this war.” Zelenskyy spoke after a briefing from Ukraine’s chief of defence intelligence, Oleh Ivashchenko – the recent replacement for Kyrylo Budanov, who was made head of the president’s office. Budanov on Saturday confirmed his own arrival in the US to discuss peace proposals. He and Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia would meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and the US army secretary, Dan Driscoll, Budanov said. Zelenskyy has tasked his delegation at the Miami talks with finalising proposals about security guarantees and economic recovery. If American officials approve the proposals, the US and Ukraine could sign a deal next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to Zelenskyy. However Russia has given no indication it will accept any peace deal without Ukraine’s entire Donbas region being handed over for a start. Russian attacks left at least two people dead and others injured in Kharkiv oblast on Saturday, regional authorities said. A strike that damaged a critical infrastructure facility in Kharkiv city’s industrial district could seriously affect power and heating, said the mayor, Ihor Terekhov, with the energy system “constantly operating at its limits”. One person was wounded in the attack. An attack on a house in Kharkiv city killed a woman aged 20 and wounded others. In the village of Borivske, a 52-year-old woman was killed when a drone hit a public transport stop, prosecutors said. In the Sumy region, emergency services said an airstrike on a residential neighbourhood wounded three women and a seven-year-old child, and left 15 residential buildings damaged. Russia struck energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Kyiv and Odesa regions overnight into Saturday, the ministry of energy said. More than 20 settlements in the Kyiv region were left without power. Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed to ramp up the importation of electricity and the acquisition of additional equipment from partners. Officials have instructed state energy companies Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz and Ukroboronprom to urgently purchase imported electricity covering at least 50% of their own consumption, according to Denys Shmyhal, the energy minister. Shmyhal announced that Lithuania would be providing Ukraine with more energy generating equipment for Kyiv and the most critically affected regions, after already supplying equipment for emergency repairs on coal and nuclear power plants. “In addition we have received over 2,000 solar panels, various equipment and machinery from our Lithuanian friends,” Shmyhal said. “Lithuania has contributed €5.7m euros to the energy support fund of Ukraine … There is not a single power plant left in Ukraine that has not been hit by Russian strikes. Ukrainian energy workers continue to repair around the clock and return electricity to people.” Continue reading...

Manager barracked by fans after late 2-1 defeat Romero comments add to sense of unease Thomas Frank’s future as the Tottenham manager is in doubt after Saturday’s last-gasp 2-1 home defeat by West Ham, at which the club’s supporters called for him to be “sacked in the morning”. The Spurs hierarchy have been mindful of the difficulties Frank has faced during what was always likely to be a transitional season. The chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, wrote an open letter to fans on Saturday morning, the tone of which was supportive, the overriding message being a call for patience. Continue reading...

Residents near Narrabeen Lagoon told to leave as homes flooded and cars submerged across city Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s east coast is being smashed by summer storms as residents are told to evacuate. An emergency warning was in place for Sydney’s northern beaches on Sunday morning, with residents at Narrabeen Lagoon and surrounds told to leave. Continue reading...

Pool 1: Toulouse 77-7 Sale Both clubs are through to Champions Cup last 16 They are box office, of course. The team anyone would pay good money to watch. A collection of youngsters from Manchester were given the best seats in the house, as their magisterial hosts ran rings round them. This is Sale’s record defeat. This is Toulouse avenging their defeat to Saracens last week. Far older and uglier players than Sale could call on would have suffered similarly. Both teams thus qualify for the last 16. Sale were missing 13 players and had already qualified. Toulouse were missing quite a few too, but there’s an injury-struck squad and there’s a Toulouse squad. Still they were able to send out international after international. Thomas Ramos ended the match with 27 points, a try in the second half and 11 conversions out of 11, the last from the wrong touchline, just to show off. He is the deadliest goal-kicker in the world, possibly in history. Continue reading...

Despite high-quality matches, Senegal’s meeting with hosts Morocco may pale with the World Cup looming Sometimes a tournament’s greatest strength can be its greatest weakness. In part because of the excellent playing conditions, this has been an Africa Cup of Nations devoid of shocks. The better teams keep winning. There has been a lot of good football, but not a huge amount of memorable football. And the consequence is that, in the final, we have the two best teams, or certainly the best team in north Africa against the best team in sub-Saharan Africa: the hosts and World Cup semi-finalists Morocco against Senegal, who have reached three of the past four Afcon finals. Continue reading...

This game was summed up neatly in the 82nd minute when two Nottingham Forest players hunted down Gabriel Jesus as the Arsenal substitute tried to see the ball out for a throw-in. Elliot Anderson was not settling for that, crashing into the tackle that actually won his team the restart. Sixty yards down the touchline, Sean Dyche’s hands went clapping above his head; Mikel Arteta reached his out to either side, palms raised to the skies in incredulity. Yet such is the way of this season. Just as the opportunity knocked, with Manchester City losing to Manchester United earlier in the day, for Arsenal to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points, with Nottingham Forest seemingly on the ropes with only one win in six previous games, up comes the underdog with a performance to sum up this manager. Continue reading...

Prime minister and opposition politicians condemn threat to impose 10% tariff unless deal reached to buy the Arctic island Keir Starmer has said Donald Trump’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries over Greenland was “completely wrong”. The US president said the levies would apply from 1 February to Nato members – including the UK, France and Germany – who have deployed troops to the territory in response to growing uncertainty over its future. Continue reading...

Israel says some appointments to the board, which will oversee the administration and reconstruction of Gaza, are ‘contrary to policy’ Israel has objected to the White House’s pick of world leaders who will join the so-called Gaza “board of peace”, meant to temporarily oversee governance and reconstruction in the strip. The White House and other sources announced a flurry of appointments and invitations to the organisation over the last two days, including Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, former UK prime minister Tony Blair and the president of Argentina, Javier Milei. Continue reading...

After traumatic events we look for reminders of humanity’s good, and flashes of courage from ordinary people become symbols of hope. But it can be hard to wear the hero’s crown Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The smell of burning flesh and pulverised concrete is seared into the psyche of Anneke Weemaes-Sutcliffe. On 22 March 2016, the Australian expat was due to check in for a flight when Islamic State suicide bombers detonated two nailbombs inside Brussels airport. Miraculously unharmed, she sprinted to the exit after the second blast exploded metres away from her – but then, risking her life, decided to turn back. Screams, wailing alarms and a thick blanket of dust choked the air. The ceiling had caved in. “It turned from buzzing with life to a war zone. It’s horrific, absolutely horrific,” Weemaes-Sutcliffe says. Continue reading...

Some regions of the continent have enough ice to push up sea levels by 15 metres if they all melt, but researchers don’t yet fully understand the consequences On one side of Dr Ben Galton-Fenzi’s view across the vast Totten ice shelf, the sun sat low on the Antarctic horizon. On the other, a full moon. The ice shelf is “flat and white”, says Galton-Fenzi. “If there’s cloud around, you lose the horizon.” Continue reading...

About one quarter of our bones are in our feet. How can you keep them strong and pain free for longer? Dentists have trained us well to visit them on a regular basis for a check-up, rather than waiting until things start to hurt. Hylton Menz, a professor of podiatry at La Trobe University in Melbourne, wishes we’d do the same for our feet. “We probably ignore our feet relative to other parts of our body, because we stick them in shoes and they’re a long way away, so we tend to forget about feet,” he says. “It’s only really when they don’t actually function properly – so when they become painful, they don’t do what we want them to do – that we really think about them.” Continue reading...

Nostalgic knick-knacks will always have a place on my shelf – and in my heart. There’s something magical about being able to access the past in tangible, physical ways It’s important to state that I am the most insufferably sentimental person I know. There are old birthday cards collecting dust in my jam-packed cupboards, stuffed toys – their colours long-faded – sitting in my bedroom despite their prime cuddling years over, while gifts handmade by friends I no longer talk to take up real estate on my cluttered shelves. You couldn’t pay me to part with any of them. Continue reading...

Dating in New York City wasn’t easy for comedian Mel McGlensey. Then she fell hard for Doug Find more stories from the moment I knew series In 2015 I was in my early 20s and living in New York City, working as a journalist and moonlighting as a comedian.
My dating life was not going well, and my poor little heart had taken a beating. Dating in the city had set the bar very low. But even if it hadn’t, Douglas would’ve stepped right over it. On our first date, something felt different. For one thing, I spent the entire time talking, rather than smiling and nodding when appropriate. Instead of knocking back a series of drinks just to get through it, I found myself nursing a single cocktail the entire evening as I fielded his questions about my opinions and aspirations. Compared with the self-indulgent jerks I usually suffered through dates with, Doug’s common decency was a revelation. I even phoned my mum on the way home to gush about him. Continue reading...

Manager makes outburst after 2-1 defeat at Sunderland Austrian angry club sold captain one day before game Oliver Glasner accused Crystal Palace’s board of “abandoning” his team in the course of a scathing post-match deconstruction after the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland. At times the Austrian, who on Friday announced he would be leaving Selhurst Park at the end of this season, sounded as if he was talking himself out of the remaining few months of his contract. Continue reading...

Higgins wins three consecutive frames in 6-5 victory 50-year-old Scot becomes oldest triple crown finalist John Higgins reeled off three straight frames as he came from behind to earn a 6-5 semi-final victory over Judd Trump in the Masters at Alexandra Palace. Things were looking ominous for the Scot early on as Trump ensured he took a three-frame lead with a neat break of 60, which ended with Higgins conceding. Higgins gave Trump something to think about before the mid-session interval by clawing it back to 3-2, including a century break, but breaks of 70 and 57 by the world No 1 helped him move to within a frame of victory at 5-3. This story will be updated Continue reading...

Fashion elder compères his own celebration of designs revived from his archive by design director Sam Cotton This January marks the first menswear fashion week in Milan without a familiar constant in Giorgio Armani, after the designer died aged 91 in September. But the brand will still show on Monday, and there are other elder statesmen on the schedule in the shape of Ralph Lauren, 86, and Paul Smith, who will be 80 this year. Paul Smith showed his collection on Saturday evening at the brand’s Italian HQ. Its playful nature was evident from the format as Smith himself compèred, with descriptions of the designs and inspirations over a microphone. The clothes demonstrated all the hallmarks that fans have come to love – bold prints, great suiting (this time oversized) and bright colours on sweaters and shirts. Continue reading...

Frenetic derby was just the place for the interim manager to roll out Ferguson’s old ‘use the energy of the people’ dictum For Manchester United’s executives, City are the best-in-class runaway train they wish to emulate and aspire to. Coveted talent like Antoine Semenyo and now Marc Guéhi opt for blue when a generation ago, Old Trafford was the destination of dreams. United’s myth and legend becomes increasingly sepia-tinged but there may be life in it yet. The list of Sir Alex Ferguson’s boys able to take the reins in times of emergency is being exhausted but Michael Carrick, on his second turn, found a way to feed off it. He has just 17 games though there is a tantalising prize on offer. A return to the Champions League looks possible. Rather than embracing the void, Carrick’s United reminded that sporting directors, analytic departments and strategic reviews may have their place in the eventual restoration of power, but dogged spirit, wanting it more, can win the day. Continue reading...

US health department’s new food pyramid places red meat and cheese high in saturated fats over plant-based proteins The new food pyramid rolled out in US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) places animal-based proteins, including cheese and red meats high in saturated fats, above plant-based proteins, which has raised alarm bells among health and environmental experts. This rejiggered food pyramid is in line with Kennedy’s previous signals that he will recommend increasing saturated fat in US diets as part of the “Make America healthy again” movement. Continue reading...

Eight children have died of hypothermia this winter, says health ministry, amid reports maternal and newborn care in territory has been dismantled A 27-day-old baby died in Gaza on Saturday from severe cold, bringing the number of children in the region who have died of hypothermia since the start of the current winter season to eight, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Medical sources confirmed to the news agency Anadolu that the newborn, named Aisha Ayesh al-Agha, died as a result of freezing temperatures, and that when she was brought to Nasser hospital in Khan Younis it was already too late to save her. Continue reading...

It was the chant that had simmered for many weeks and there was an inevitability when it was belted out by the Tottenham support at the very last. “Sacked in the morning,” they yelled at Thomas Frank, the frustration unbearable. They have seen enough. In their opinion, the manager has to go. Whether the club’s board agree is unclear. They know the problems that Frank has faced and continues to face during a season of turmoil and transition. The acid test of nerve is upon them. Continue reading...

When, on Friday, it became clear that Crystal Palace were selling Marc Guéhi to Manchester City and Oliver Glasner announced he would be leaving Selhurst Park at the end of the season, Sunderland supporters turned a little nervous. They fretted that Palace might react to not merely the loss of their best defender and the impending departure of a much-admired manager but the ignominy of last weekend’s FA Cup calamity at non-league Macclesfield by demonstrating that they are not so shabby after all. Continue reading...

Warner Bros is also being pursued by Paramount Skydance, helmed by David Ellison, son of president’s ally Donald Trump bought at least $1m worth of bonds in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), according to a financial disclosure form, days after he said would “be involved” in a proposed merger between the two companies. The White House released a financial disclosure report on Friday which showed that Trump made two purchases from Netflix and two purchases from WBD, each amounting to at least $502,000. Continue reading...

Arne Slot had made his wishes clear before kick-off. “We want to do better in making more chances from all the ball possession we have. I am waiting for the moment it really clicks,” he had said. Thirty two shots on goal with 11 on target would suggest Liverpool obliged against Burnley, but Anfield still waits for Slot’s side to click. Liverpool were held to a fourth consecutive Premier League draw as Marcus Edwards stunned the champions by cancelling out Florian Wirtz’s first half opener. Scott Parker’s visitors were far more enterprising after the interval but Edwards’ fine equaliser came from their only shot on target while Liverpool were left to rue a procession of missed opportunities and careless final balls. Boos greeted the final whistle as Liverpool dropped points yet again. Continue reading...

Museveni’s opponent, Bobi Wine, alleges that members of polling staff were kidnapped and called for peaceful protests Yoweri Museveni, has won the Ugandan election and his seventh term with more than 70% of the vote, state election authorities have said, amid an internet shutdown and claims of fraud by his opponent. His opponent, a youthful musician known as Bobi Wine, condemned what he called “fake results” and alleged that members of polling staff were kidnapped, among other election irregularities. He called for peaceful protests to pressure the authorities to release what he called the “rightful results”. Continue reading...

As he watched Cole Palmer smash a penalty past Caoimhín Kelleher to secure his first three points at Chelsea, Liam Rosenior may have briefly wondered why such a fuss is made about Premier League management. The 41-year-old calmly exchanged low fives on the bench with members of his coaching staff before springing to his feet and pointing to his temple, imploring his players to keep their heads and close out the remaining 15 minutes, which they achieved with minimal trouble. Continue reading...