MADRID, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Kylian Mbappe stayed calm to roll home a 100th-minute penalty and claim Real Madrid a 2-1 win over nine-man Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in a spicy La Liga derby clash. Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said it would take time before the team could become more consistent, having had six games at the helm since replacing Xabi Alonso. "I'm not Gandalf the White," the Madrid coach told reporters, referring to the Lord of the Rings wizard. "This is Real Madrid, and to beat Rayo Vallecano we need to do more than the rest of the teams in La Liga," he continued. Elsewhere Pablo Fornals grabbed Real Betis a 2-1 win over Valencia to take the Andalucians up to fifth.

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - England completed a convincing six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20 international to wrap up the three-match series with a game to spare at Pallekele on Sunday. The series, a warm-up for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India, underlined why England remain among the contenders for the title. We are gearing up well for the World Cup and couldn't have asked anything better from the lads," said England captain Harry Brook. I don't think we finished off well, but we have learned our lessons and we will keep fighting," Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said. England had also clinched the ODI series in Colombo last week with a come from behind win.

LONDON, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Arsenal scooped the biggest financial prize in women's club football history by beating Corinthians 3-2 after extra time to win the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup on Sunday. The European champions edged out the challenge of the Brazilian underdogs thanks to Caitlin Foord's winner to collect a $2.3 million payout. That is nearly four times the 500,000 euros ($590,000) Arsenal received for winning last season's Champions League. The Gunners were heavy favourites to secure the trophy that pitted the winners of the champions of six continents together in competition for the first time. However, Corinthians shocked US champions Gotham FC in Wednesday's semi-finals and pushed Arsenal all the way in front of over 25,000 at the Emirates Stadium.

SEOUL, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - South Korea football bosses said on Monday they were in talks with players to avert a boycott of next month's Women's Asian Cup and expected the national team to train for the tournament as scheduled. The country's women's side last year complained of poor and "discriminatory conditions" provided by the Korea Football Association (KFA) compared to their male counterparts. It added there were "clear and undeniable differences" from the conditions enjoyed by the men's national team. An internal KFA document seen by AFP showed that the women's team was allocated US$1.28 million in 2025. The 12-team Women's Asian Cup will be held in Australia from March 1 to 21.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman addressed a rally in North Kafrul, Dhaka on Sunday. Photo: BSSDHAKA, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS) - Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman today reaffirmed his party's firm commitment to never misuse public resources, stating that corruption is against the party's principles. Instead, it is our duty to return the wealth that has been looted from the people," he told a rally before a public procession in the Dhaka-15 constituency. Jamaat central committee Executive Member Mobarak Hossain, Central Majlis-e-Shura Member and Nayeb-e-Ameer of Dhaka North Abdur Rahman, Central Vice-President of Bangladesh Sramik Kollan Federation Laskar Md. The procession that followed the rally traversed the local roads as participants chanted slogans calling for a just society and a corruption-free country.

MILAN, Italy, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - One of the world's most famous stadiums is set for a last hurrah on the international stage with the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics at the San Siro on Friday. Long considered one of the temples of football, the San Siro will introduce the Milan-Cortina Games to the world with a ceremony featuring an athletes' parade held in all four "clusters" of a sprawling Olympics being held across a vast area of northern Italy. But the iconic old ground is on course to be replaced by a shiny new arena after a century of hosting Inter Milan and AC Milan matches. Once the new ground is constructed, San Siro will be almost entirely demolished to make way for new parkland, office space and entertainment facilities. The San Siro also doubles up as one of Italy's premier concert venues, where some of the world's biggest pop music stars have strutted their stuff since reggae icon Bob Marley became the first in 1980.

Although the venue and date changed, fans still brought the same energy to watch the women’s gymnastics team compete. Senior Cami Whitaker took a tumble after completing a Yurchenko tuck 1.5, dropping her score to a 9.200. Only two days later, the Red traveled to West Virginia to face off against West Virginia University, Pitt, and Kent State. The team improved its overall score on beam to 48.075. Lastly, Cornell continued to show its dominance on the floor exercise, with an overall score of 48.875.

"The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war," he said. Asked about the Iranian leader's warning, Trump told reporters on Sunday: "Of course he is going to say that. The president said Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, "will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best". The announcement sent dollar-priced precious metals plunging Friday, with gold losing as much as 12 percent and silver more than 30 percent at one point. The easing of Iran tensions added to the selling pressure on gold and silver, which are also considered go-to havens in times of turmoil and uncertainty.

Photo: BSSKHULNA, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS) - Commercial vessel MV Ultra Bulk, carrying 57,500 tons of wheat imported from the United States, anchored at Mongla Port today. Shamim, manager of the local shipping agent Seven Seas, said the vessel had departed from the Port of Portland, Oregon, USA, on December 21 last year for Mongla Port. Abdus Sobhan Sardar, Assistant Food Controller at Mongla Food Office, said the wheat import is being carried out under the Government-to-Government (G2G) agreement between the United States and Bangladesh. Under this arrangement, a total of 450,000 tons of wheat will be imported through Mongla Port. The imported wheat is initially stored at the government food warehouse, Mongla Silo, before being distributed to various districts across the country.

ANKARA, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - At least 16 people were killed in two road accidents in southern Turkey on Sunday, authorities said. Seven people died and five were injured in a second accident at Burdur, on the highway from Antalya to Isparta, the DHA news agency reported. The bus was carrying 34 people from the western city of Tekirdag to Antalya when it rolled off the highway, the official said, without stating whether foreign nationals were involved. "It's an intersection where you shouldn't drive fast, yet it appears the bus entered it at high speed," he said, adding that rain had made the road slippery. The coastal region around Antalya is a popular resort destination that draws many foreign tourists each year.

KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian drone attack on a bus carrying mine workers in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region Sunday killed at least 12 people, officials said. Preliminarily, 12 people were killed and seven more were wounded," the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Ganzha, said on Telegram. An earlier drone attack in the region overnight killed a man and a woman in the central city of Dnipro, Ganzha said in an earlier post. The attacks came the same day a unilateral reduction in Russian strikes on Ukraine announced by US President Donald Trump was due to end. Earlier Sunday, a Russian drone struck a maternity hospital in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, wounding at least seven people including two women receiving a medical examination, the region's governor said.

PARIS, France, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was hopeful of agreeing a deal with Iran after the country's supreme leader warned that any US attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional war. "The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war," he said, telling Iranians they "should not be scared" of Trump's rhetoric. He said Iran has lost trust in the United States as a negotiating partner, adding that some countries in the region were acting as intermediaries to rebuild trust. The step matched similar classifications enacted by the United States, Canada and Australia. The US president previously said he believed Iran would make a deal over its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face military action.

- Jitters in Frankfurt -The moves are causing jitters at the ECB -- a stronger euro makes imports cheaper, potentially adding to downward pressure on inflation, at a time officials were already worried about too sharp a slowdown. The ECB does not target any particular exchange rate, but officials do monitor currency movements as they could impact inflation. A stronger euro is also problematic for the region's export-driven economies, particularly Germany, as it makes the cost of companies' goods pricier overseas. - 'Global euro' -A stronger euro is not all bad news -- it boosts household spending power, at home and on holidays overseas. Still, ING economist Carsten Breski said the jitters over the stronger euro show that it is "hard to reconcile the ambition of a global euro with an export?orientated economy".

Oil prices plunge after Trump says hopeful over Iran talksHONG KONG, Feb 2, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Oil prices plunged Monday after Donald Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Iran, easing concerns about a conflict between the two in the crude-rich region. West Texas Intermediate sank 3.4 percent to $62.99 while Brent shed 3.2 percent to 67.09 in early Asian trade following the US president's comments.

Reading time: about 3 minutesConvicted child sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein maintained a correspondence in 2016 with then-Cornell undergraduate David Karp ’16, son of Brad Karp, the chairman of powerful law firm Paul Weiss, according to emails released by the Department of Justice on Friday. In the emails, Epstein connected Karp, an aspiring filmmaker, to meet with Woody Allen, the controversial actor-director, through Karp’s father, Brad Karp. On Jan. 3, 2016, David emailed Epstein 20 questions for Woody Allen, who he was to have dinner with on Jan. 7. Epstein and David remained connected through 2018, when Epstein asked Brad, “does your son have time to screen woodys new movie with me today at 2 pm. David Karp co-founded Thrice Cooked Media, a music and film production company, in 2018 and now works as a creative director at the company.