Mikel Arteta said Friday that Arsenal's impressive consistency should make them "very convinced" they can achieve something special this season.
Former Manchester United and Dutch international striker Ruud van Nistelrooy will rejoin the Netherlands coaching staff in the run-up to the World Cup, the national association announced on Friday.
Arne Slot said he would welcome Mohamed Salah back at Liverpool even if he had 15 attackers as the Egypt forward nears a return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
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Politics
Myanmar on Friday dismissed as "unsubstantiated" allegations that it committed genocide against its Rohingya minority, telling the International Court of Justice that its brutal crackdown was a "counter-terrorism operation."
January 16, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Experts cast doubt on Burkina Faso's 'foiled coup'
Politics
January 16, 2026
- France says parliament approval of budget 'impossible'
- The murky fates of South Korean presidents
- Afghan mothers seek hospital help for malnourished children
- Canada's Carney hails 'strategic partnership' in talks with Xi
A worsening malnutrition crisis is having dire effects on women and girls in Afghanistan who are failed by the international community, the World Food Programme's top official in the country told AFP.
January 16, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Rival 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final coaches in Rabat on Sunday, Walid Regragui of Morocco and Pape Thiaw of Senegal have both experienced the heartbreak of losing a title decider as players.
January 16, 2026
Taiwan vowed Friday to remain the world's "most important" AI chipmaker, after reaching a trade deal with the United States that will reduce tariffs on the island's shipments and increase Taiwanese investment on US soil.
January 16, 2026
A pumped-up Amanda Anisimova said Friday she will use expectation as motivation at the Australian Open after a breakthrough 2025 saw her make back-to-back Grand Slam finals.
January 16, 2026
Politics
Tokyo and Washington agreed Friday to boost joint production of defence equipment including missiles, and expand their military presence in waters southwest of mainland Japan, as China ramps up pressure on its Asian neighbour.
January 16, 2026
RECENT NEWS
China's economy likely grew last year at its weakest rate in three decades, outside of the pandemic, according to an AFP survey of analysts ahead of official data on Monday.
Defending champion Nick Taylor carded eight birdies without a bogey to share the first-round lead with Kevin Roy on Thursday in the US PGA Tour's season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii.
There have been 32 Africa Cup of Nations finals and AFP Sport selects five of the most memorable ahead of the 2025 title decider between hosts Morocco and Senegal in Rabat on Sunday:
Asian markets were mixed Friday after Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC posted a big profit jump, bolstering confidence in the AI sector along with a US trade deal with the island.
January 16, 2026
Sports
World number one Aryna Sabalenka insisted Friday that the race to the Australian Open title was wide open and not just between herself and Iga Swiatek.
January 16, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Mouayed Zabtia shoots most scenes for his latest movie in a studio he built at his Tripoli home. For the filmmaker, it is one way to overcome the obstacles he faces in a country where cinema once nearly vanished.
An Afghan man goes on trial in Germany on Friday accused of ramming a car into a crowd in Munich last year, killing a two-year-old girl and her mother and injuring dozens.
One headspinning year down, three more to go.
Venezuela's interim president on Thursday announced pending legal reforms to the country's critical fossil fuel sector, as she seeks to recalibrate ties with Washington following the US military ouster of her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro.
January 15, 2026
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