NEW YORK, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - United Airlines offered a sunny outlook on travel demand Tuesday as it reported higher quarterly profits despite a hit from the US government shutdown. The big US carrier scored fourth-quarter profits of $1 billion, up six percent from the year-ago period. "Strong revenue momentum has continued into 2026," said United, which projected higher first-quarter profits than in the 2025 period. While United's international planes saw an increase in customer occupancy related to capacity, the domestic percentage declined from the year-ago period. Major US carriers trimmed some capacity in the first half of 2025 amid a glut of tickets for the domestic market, but airlines have described the market as being in better balance in recent months.

MELBOURNE, Jan 21, 2026 (AFP) - A "super-happy" Aryna Sabalenka surged past China's Bai Zhuoxuan into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday ahead of fellow world number one Carlos Alcaraz resuming his quest for tennis history. "Super-happy to close the (first) set, it gives me confidence that my game is there, my focus is there," said the Belarusian, who is bidding for a third Australian Open title in four years. Alcaraz started his bid for a career Grand Slam with a three-set defeat of home hope Adam Walton and faces hard-hitting German Yannick Hanfmann later Wednesday. If he does complete the career Grand Slam of all four majors he will be the youngest man to do it. Zverev is in action in an evening match against France's Alexandre Muller, the latest challenge in the German's decade-long quest for a first Grand Slam title.

Families often turn instead to forest "prayer camps" and spiritual healers, driven by beliefs that mental illness is rooted in curses, witchcraft or possession. Meanwhile, at the Pure Power Prayer Camp in Adeiso, attendant Augustina Twumasi argued that faith-based centres help keep Ghana's weak health system together. "If not for prayer camps, the hospitals would collapse under the numbers," she told AFP. But "people don't know the law, so they don't use it", said Lady-Ann Essuman, an attorney and mental health advocate. Stigma remains a key barrier to treatment: a 2022 Afrobarometer survey revealed 60 percent of Ghanaians believe mental health conditions are caused by witchcraft or curses.

The death toll between 2015 and 2025 reached 305,156, down from 354,428 in the previous decade, the analysis showed. It is "very clear" that extreme heat is becoming deadlier, said Theodore Keeping, researcher at Imperial College London. He said that for extreme heat events, there are robust scientific studies and models that can attribute additional deaths to the specific increase in temperature caused by climate change. The death toll from storms totalled 36,652 in 2015-2025 compared to 184,237 in the preceding decade. Thousands of deaths from major earthquakes in Myanmar and Afghanistan caused the death toll to spike year-on-year.

WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump's plane was forced to return to an air base late Tuesday due to a "minor electrical issue" shortly after departing for Switzerland, the White House said. Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews out of an abundance of caution, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably the world's most iconic plane and an instantly recognizable symbol of the US presidency. Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets -- two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W. In May, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accepted a Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to Trump for use as Air Force One.

WELLINGTON, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called general elections for November 7 on Wednesday, touting his government's record on the economy and crime. Luxon said the election date, which lands a month after the All Blacks play at home against Australia, was swayed in part by the sports-mad country's fixtures. "When we took office the country was going in the wrong direction, and it's taken a lot of hard work in the last two years to start turning things around," the prime minister told reporters. The prime minister said inflation had dropped from seven percent under the previous government to less than three percent. The New Zealand leader commended his government's efforts to combat crime.

MADRID, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Kylian Mbappe struck twice against his former side Monaco as Real Madrid romped to an emphatic 6-1 Champions League victory on Tuesday to ease tensions around the club. "I loved their attitude and their quality, this mentality and ambition is what all Madrid fans want to see." There were still a few boos for Vinicius at the start but they dried as he reminded Madrid's fans how good he can be. - 'This is my Vinicius' -After 55 minutes Madrid had four, with Kehrer turning Vinicius's raking low cross into his own net as Monaco crumbled. Teze pulled one back for Monaco after a mistake by Dani Ceballos, before Madrid struck again to round off the rout.

KYIV, Ukraine, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Overnight Russian strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig killed two people and injured a woman, authorities said Wednesday, while officials in Russia said a drone strike by Ukraine had wounded 11. A 53-year-old woman was wounded" in the Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rig, said Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional military administration, in a statement posted on Telegram. Kryvyi Rig, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the frontline and the hometown of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been frequently targeted by Russian strikes since Moscow launched its February 2022 invasion. The region, which sits near the strategically important Black Sea and Sea of Azov, is a frequent target of Ukrainian strikes. Ukraine says its strikes target the oil- and gas-industry infrastructure that Russia depends on to finance its offensive.

Italy’s Undersecretary for Defence (Deputy minister for defence), Matteo Perego di Cremnago, called on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna. Photo : Chief Adviser's Press WingDHAKA, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS) - Italy has expressed its full support for Bangladesh’s democratic transition and the July Charter, which aims to introduce sweeping reforms for the country’s democratic renewal, said Italian deputy minister. Praising the July Charter, the visiting minister said Italy supports the comprehensive reforms outlined in the document. He also reaffirmed Rome’s backing of Bangladesh’s democratic transition through the February 12 vote. He also sought Italy’s support for Bangladesh’s democratic transition and for strengthening cooperation in defence, trade, and investment.

SEOUL, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A South Korean court sentenced former prime minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison on Wednesday for aiding and abetting a declaration of martial law that briefly suspended civilian rule. Judge Lee said the martial law decree -- declared by Han's boss Yoon Suk Yeol in December 2024 -- was intended with the "aim of subverting the constitutional order" and amounted to insurrection. Yoon's stunning imposition of martial law saw armed troops deployed to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission before it was vetoed by the opposition?led parliament. Han is one of many former officials -- including Yoon -- who have stood trial over their roles in the martial law attempt. During the course of the trial, Han denied wrongdoing, insisting he had never supported or helped the martial law declaration.

DHAKA, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS) - Expatriate voters registered through the “Postal Vote BD” app will be able to cast their ballots for the upcoming 13th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) elections and referendum from 5:00 pm today. According to the EC schedule, expatriates must send their completed postal ballots to the office of the Returning Officer of their constituency in Bangladesh by January 25. In a message issued today, the EC informed registered expatriate voters that they may exercise their franchise from January 21 by following the designated process on the mobile app. Another EC message assured that the “Postal Vote BD” app has adequate security measures in place, ensuring that no voter’s ballot can be cast by another person and the secrecy of the vote remains protected. Salim Ahmad Khan, Team Leader of the “OCV-SDI” project on expatriate voter registration, told BSS that the EC has completed the distribution of postal ballots to 767,028 expatriate voters across 121 countries.

One of Densham’s most notable films, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, was close to never being made. “I don’t think we can judge what we create as we create it,” Densham added. Pen Densham and Kevin Costner on the set of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Warner Bros.) Courtesy of Pen Densham. Densham began writing the script for Moll Flanders, starring Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman, after Robin Hood. Densham has continued directing and writing films with The Last Full Measure in 2019, but he has also stepped into photography.

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PARIS, France, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Manchester City were on the wrong side of one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history on Tuesday, while holders Paris Saint-Germain also stumbled but Gabriel Jesus helped keep Arsenal perfect. Pep Guardiola's Man City arrived in chilly Norway for their seventh and penultimate league-phase match against modest Bodo/Glimt as hot favourites. Luis Suarez struck twice for Sporting Lisbon in the second half, sealing victory with a 90th-minute header after substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had equalised for PSG after 79 minutes. Kasper Hogh's first half-brace and a second half strike from Jens Petter Hauge at the ecstatic Aspmyra Stadion triggered a seismic upset. Chelsea's new boss Liam Rosenior's first taste of Champions League football is a home game against Pafos while runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich welcome Union St-Gilloise.

NARA, Japan, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The gunman charged with killing Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe faces a verdict Wednesday, more than three years after the broad-daylight assassination shocked the world. The slaying forced a reckoning in a country with little experience of gun violence, and ignited scrutiny of alleged ties between prominent conservative lawmakers and a secretive sect, the Unification Church. At the trial opening, prosecutors argued that the defendant's motive to kill Abe was rooted in his desire to besmirch the Unification Church. The Unification Church was established in South Korea in 1954, with its members nicknamed "Moonies" after its founder Sun Myung Moon. In a plea for leniency, his defence team stressed his upbringing had been mired in "religious abuse" stemming from his mother's extreme faith in the Unification Church.