Bayern held at Hamburg to open door for DortmundBERLIN, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Bayern Munich dropped points for the second straight week in the Bundesliga as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Hamburg on Saturday. Hamburg had chance to win it late with Manuel Neuer well outside his box, but Alphonso Davies denied Vieira and saved Bayern with a desperation clearance. It was the first time Hamburg avoided defeat against Bayern since 2014, a run of nine straight defeats with 39 goals conceded. Arsenal loanee Vieira tucked a penalty under Neuer's outstretched hand to give Hamburg the lead, their first goal against Bayern in seven matches dating back to 2016. Half-time substitute Diaz gave Bayern the lead 90 seconds into the second period, guiding a Michael Olise pass in from close range.

New head of US mission in Venezuela arrives as ties warmCARACAS, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The new head of the US diplomatic mission to Venezuela arrived in the country on Saturday as relations gradually resume after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro in a US military raid. A charge d'affaires is the head of a diplomatic mission in the absence of a full ambassador. The United States has already sent a mission to assess the embassy, which has been largely unoccupied for the past six years. US forces attacked Venezuela on January 3, capturing Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and taking them to New York for trial on US-issued drug trafficking charges. Trump has said he was working "really well" with Rodriguez, and a US official has said Rodriguez would visit the United States soon.

LONDON, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Arsenal settled any fears of a collapse in their pursuit of a first Premier League title in 22 years by thrashing Leeds 4-0 on Saturday as Chelsea came from two goals down to beat West Ham 3-2. But his replacement Noni Madueke played a major part in inflicting just a second defeat in 12 games on Leeds. A third consecutive league win would have taken Nuno Espirito Santo's side to within two points of safety. But they wilted under the weight of Chelsea pressure after Rosenior's triple half-time substitution inspired a transformed second-half performance. Chelsea move above Manchester United into fourth and open up a four-point lead over Liverpool, who host Newcastle later, in the battle for a place in next season's Champions League.

LONDON, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - London police on Saturday arrested prominent rights activist Peter Tatchell at a pro-Palestinian march after he displayed a placard featuring the slogan "globalise the intifada", his foundation said. Tatchell, a veteran human rights campaigner best known for his LGBTQ advocacy, was detained as he attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration which featured attendees marching through central London, according to his foundation. "The police claimed the word intifada is unlawful. The word intifada is not a crime in law. Tatchell had posted on X a photograph of himself on the protest route carrying a placard with several different slogans on them including "Globalise the intifada".

WASHINGTON, United States, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US envoy Steve Witkoff said Saturday he had held constructive talks with a Russian envoy in Florida as part of the US drive to end the war in Ukraine. "We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine," he added. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and White House Senior Advisor Josh Gruenbaum also attended the talks, he said. Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's top economic envoy, met Witkoff and Kushner in January on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He also held talks with US negotiators on Ukraine in a visit to Miami in December.

KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's power grid experienced mass outages for several hours on Saturday after a "technical malfunction" caused electrical lines between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine to fail, Ukraine's energy minister said. By Saturday evening, the power companies had restored power to all regions of Kyiv, said Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmygal. Shmygal said on Telegram that a "technical malfunction" caused "a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750-kilovolt line between western and central Ukraine" had caused the shutdown. Moldova produces its own power but also imports some, mainly from Romania, as well as Ukraine. The incident piles further pressure on Ukraine's energy grid, which was already in a fragile state due to weeks of intense Russian bombardment.

Kishan, Arshdeep star as India down New Zealand in T20 finaleTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Ishan Kishan hit his maiden T20 international century and Arshdeep Singh took five wickets as India thrashed New Zealand by 46 runs to seal the series 4-1 on Saturday. India, who are number one in the T20 rankings, bowled out New Zealand for 225 despite a 38-ball 80 by opener Finn Allen. India will begin their T20 World Cup title defence next Saturday when they play the United States in Mumbai. Left-arm quick Arshdeep picked up his first five-wicket haul in T20 matches for India, taking 5-51. Kishan took on leg-spinner Sodhi as he blasted four fours and two sixes in a 29-run 12th over.

Snowstorm barrels into southern US as blast of icy weather widensWASHINGTON, United States, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A powerful snowstorm blasted southern US states on Saturday, snarling travel and bringing subzero temperatures as deadly weather intensified in regions not accustomed to extreme winter conditions. All of North and South Carolina, and portions of Georgia, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as southern Virginia were under a winter storm warning. North Carolina saw 750 car crashes on Saturday, the highway patrol said. Faust, North Carolina recorded 14.5 inches (37 cm) of snow, while West Critz, Virginia got 12.5 inches. Saturday's storm forced more than 1,000 flight cancellations at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, a major hub for American Airlines.

MILAN, Italy, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Mike Maignan signed a new deal with AC Milan that will keep the France goalkeeper at the San Siro until 2031, the Serie A giants confirmed on Saturday. Italian media reported that Milan have almost doubled Maignan's annual salary to five millions euros, ensuring their captain will stay. "AC Milan is pleased to announce the extension of Mike Maignan's contract until June 30, 2031," said Milan, currently second in Serie A.Maignan says he enjoys working with coach Massimiliano Allegri, who joined Milan in May 2025. I don't want to make comparisons, but we get along well and he knows how to handle me," Maignan said in December. But Maignan is back to his best and Milan went into the weekend five points behind league leaders and local rivals Inter Milan in the race for the Scudetto.

SEOUL, Feb 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - South Korea posted its highest-ever exports for the month of January, official data showed on Sunday, fuelled by a global AI boom heavily reliant on chips made in the country. Home to the world's leading memory chip makers, South Korean products have become crucial to AI infrastructure. "Semiconductor exports came in at $20.5 billion, a 102.7 percent increase," the ministry said, the second-highest monthly chips exports. The record was set a month earlier, when the country exported chips worth $20.8 billion. South Korean Trade and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met his US counterpart Howard Lutnick in Washington following the hike announcement and returned to Seoul on Saturday.

At least four people have been killed and 509 others injured in 64 incidents of election-related violence across Bangladesh in January, according to rights group Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF). In December, MSF recorded seven election-related violent incidents nationwide, which left one person dead and 27 injured, bdnews24.com reports. In its monthly human rights situation monitoring report sent to the media on Saturday, the last day of January, MSF said election violence emerged as one of the “most severe” human rights crises during the month. Beyond election-related clashes, the organisation reported 24 incidents of political violence in January, in which 215 people were injured. In comparison, December saw 16 incidents of political violence, leaving 124 people injured and four killed.

"Blocking humanitarian aid trucks carrying basic necessities is unacceptable, both from the point of view of humanitarian law and from the point of view of moral responsibility," said the platform, which brings together several NGOs. Kurdish forces accused the Syrian army of imposing a siege on Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab in Arabic. Turkish authorities have kept the border crossing closed since 2016, while occasionally opening it briefly to allow humanitarian aid to pass through. We want to be sure the aid reaches Kobane and is not redirected elsewhere by Damascus, which has imposed a siege," said Kaya. Kobane is hemmed in by the Turkish border to the north and government forces on all sides, pending the entry into the force of Friday's agreement.

BNP leaders and activists in Tangail are ready to welcome the party’s chief Tarique Rahman, who is en route to the district to deliver his first-ever speech at an election rally. “I came early to sit in the front row, see BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, and listen to him speak,” he said. Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, who is running in the parliamentary polls with a BNP ticket from the Tangail-5 constituency, said: “Tangail is ready to host the biggest rally ever. Leaders and activists have already started arriving at the venue, and it will be packed soon.”Tarique is visiting Tangail after 21 years. Security has been tightened around the rally venue and surrounding areas, with police, RAB, and BGB personnel deployed to maintain order.

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