Saturday, January 31, 2026
Arsenal go seven points clear with statement win at Leeds
LEEDS, England
Arsenal got back to winning ways in the Premier League, opening up a seven-point lead at the top of the table with a 4-0 win over Leeds United.
Last week, Manchester City and Aston Villa took advantage of Arsenal’s three-game winless streak to close the gap at the top, but the Gunners regained some control at Elland Road.
Noni Madueke – brought in after Bukayo Saka was injured in the warm-up – starred in the first half, setting up Martin Zubimendi’s opener before forcing a Karl Darlow own goal from a corner.
Viktor Gyokeres then ended a run of six Premier League games without a goal with a finish midway through the second half, before Gabriel Jesus slotted in to add more gloss to the scoreline late on.
Leeds struggled to test the league leaders and remain 16th, six points above the relegation zone.
The hosts started brightly, with Ethan Ampadu skipping to the edge of the box before taking aim, but his rising shot sailed over the crossbar.
Arsenal grew into the game and, after recycling a corner, Madueke’s wonderful right-sided cross was turned past Darlow by Zubimendi's glancing header 27 minutes in.
Darlow then had a moment to forget 11 minutes later; Madueke swung a corner into the near post and the goalkeeper, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin in front of him, punched the ball off the woodwork and into his own net.
Arsenal made sure of the three points in the 69th minute. Gabriel Martinelli wrongfooted Pascal Struijk to curl a delightful cross in from the right, and Gyokeres got in front of Jayden Bogle to guide his first-time finish past Darlow.
Jesus caused problems off the bench, seeing a thumping header parried over by Darlow at point-blank range before he held off Struijk to turn and guide his shot into the bottom-right corner with four minutes remaining.
Arsenal put their recent Premier League wobble behind them in midweek by finishing the league phase of the UEFA Champions League with a perfect record thanks to their 3-2 win over Kairat Almaty.
Mikel Arteta will have been keen to get back on track in the top flight, too, though he was forced into a late change to the line-up through Saka’s injury, and it took them some time to settle.
Despite failing to trouble Darlow early on, Arsenal's set-piece prowess was at the heart of their first-half display.
Declan Rice – on his 300th Premier League appearance – recycled a corner to pick out Madueke in the build-up to the first goal before they benefited from an own goal for the fifth time this season for their second.
Gyokeres could have scored more, too, after being played in behind by Leandro Trossard’s flick shortly after the break, only for a stunning Joe Rodon block to deny him.
Jesus led Arsenal’s late charge, also seeing a low strike dribble wide before a header was cleared off the line from yet another corner in the closing stages, but the visitors had already done enough.
Back-to-back wins in all competitions set Arsenal up for another busy week, as they host Chelsea in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final before facing Sunderland in the Premier League.
Dieng atones as Al Ahly hold Young Africans to stay top of Group B
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania
Al Ahly maintained their grip on the top of Group B of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League after holding Tanzania’s Young Africans to a 1–1 draw in a tense Matchday 4 encounter on Saturday.
The Egyptian giants were forced to come from behind at the Amani Stadium on Saturday evening, with Aliou Dieng redeeming an earlier defensive lapse to secure a point that keeps Al Ahly three clear at the summit with two rounds remaining.
Young Africans struck first on the stroke of half-time, capitalising on rare confusion in the Al Ahly back line. A low delivery into the penalty area was not dealt with, allowing Ibrahim Hamad to pounce and steer the ball past Mostafa Shobeir in first-half stoppage time, sparking loud celebrations among the home supporters.
That breakthrough capped a disciplined opening period from the Tanzanian side, who absorbed long spells of Al Ahly possession and threatened on the break.
Shobeir had already been called into action earlier in the half, denying Okello and reacting sharply to crosses that tested Ahly’s defensive shape.
Al Ahly, who had beaten Young Africans 2–0 in the reverse fixture in Alexandria a week earlier, emerged with greater urgency after the interval. Their pressure finally told just after the hour mark from a set piece.
Ahmed Mustafa “Zizo” delivered a corner into the heart of the area, where Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet helped the ball into the path of Dieng, who drove a powerful finish beyond Djigui Diarra to make amends for his earlier mistake.
The equaliser shifted the momentum, with the visitors enjoying their best spell of the match. Trezeguet forced another save from Diarra moments earlier, while Al Ahly’s bench responded by introducing fresh legs in search of a winning goal.
Young Africans, however, remained dangerous. Nzingli went close with a late header that flashed wide, while the hosts continued to push numbers forward, buoyed by the energy of the crowd and the belief that a famous home victory was within reach.
In the closing stages, both sides showed caution, aware of the significance of the result in a finely balanced group. The final whistle confirmed a share of the spoils that suited Al Ahly more than their hosts.
The draw lifts Al Ahly to eight points at the top of Group B, preserving their unbeaten record and keeping qualification firmly in their hands.
Young Africans move to five points in second place, still well positioned in the race for the quarter-finals ahead of back-to-back fixtures against FAR Rabat.
US rejects Uganda's CDF apology
WASHINGTON, United States
The United States has rejected a public apology offered by Uganda's Chief of Defense Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, following his controversial remarks against the US embassy.
The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, said the apology was meaningless and inadequate, insisting that General Muhoozi had crossed a red line despite deleting his social media posts.
In a statement on January 30, Risch warned that the US would reassess its security cooperation with Uganda, a move that could include sanctions and reduced military cooperation.
“The president's son, and likely successor, cannot just delete tweets and issue hollow apologies. The U.S. will not tolerate this level of instability and recklessness when American personnel, U.S. interests, and innocent lives in the region are at stake.”
General Muhoozi, who is the son of uganda President, Yoweri Museveni and the president's top adviser on special military operations, previously alleged that the US embassy was involved in helping opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi flee his home during a military operation on January 16, 2026.
Following the degree of accusations, Muhoozi apologized to the US, but his apology has been rejected by Washington officials.
More than 200 dead in landslides at rebel-controlled mine in DR Congo
KIVU, DR Congo
At least 200 people were killed earlier this week when heavy rains triggered a series of catastrophic landslides at the Rubaya coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The site has been under the control of the M23 rebel group since 2024.
"It rained, a landslide followed, and it swept people away. Some were swallowed up, others died in the wells. Many are still trapped inside," said miner Franck Bolingo.
A spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu province, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, said the victims include “miners, children and market women”.
He added that at least 20 injured people are being treated, some in local health facilities, while others will be transferred to Goma, the nearest city around 50 kilometres away.
With search and rescue operations still continuing, officials say the death toll is expected to rise.
Muyisa said the governor has temporarily halted artisanal mining on the site and ordered the relocation of residents who had built shelters near the mine.
Rubaya produces about 15 per cent of the world’s coltan which is processed into a hard metal used notably to make smartphones, computers, and aircraft engines.
The United Nations says M23 has plundered the mine’s riches to help fund its insurgency.
Rubaya lies in the heart of mineral-rich eastern DRC which for decades has been ripped apart by violence between government forces and different armed groups.
Since its resurgence in 2021, the M23 group has taken vast tracts of the eastern DRC.
Despite a US-brokered deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments and Kinshasa’s ongoing negotiations with the rebels, fighting continues on several fronts in the region.
Friday, January 30, 2026
South Africa and Israel expel each other's envoys in diplomatic row
By Khanyisile Ngcobo JOHANNESBURG South Africa
South Africa has expelled Israel's top diplomat in the country for "violating diplomatic norms", a move that prompted Israel to kick out a South African envoy in retaliation.
The diplomatic row started when South Africa's foreign affairs ministry declared Ariel Seidman, chargé d'affaires at the Israeli embassy, persona non grata and gave him 72 hours to leave the country.
Hours later, Israel announced similar action against South Africa's ambassador to Palestine Shaun Edward Byneveldt.
Relations between South Africa and Israel have been frosty since South Africa accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a charge Israel has rejected.
South Africa accused Seidman of using official social media platforms to attack Ramaphosa and inviting Israeli officials to the country without permission.
The two expelled diplomats were their respective country's highest-ranking representatives as there is no Israeli ambassador in South Africa and likewise no South African ambassador in Israel.
Announcing Seidman's expulsion, South Africa's foreign affairs ministry said his actions "represent a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege".
Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hit back and announced that "following South Africa's false attacks against Israel in the international arena and the unilateral, baseless step taken" against [Seidman], Byneveldt is also persona non grata and would have to leave Israel within 72 hours.
"Additional steps will be considered in due course," the Israeli government told the BBC.
In a tweet, South Africa's foreign affairs ministry spokesperson accused Israel of using a "farcical arrangement where he is accredited through the very state that occupies his host country" to expel Byneveldt.
South Africa withdrew its ambassador to Israel in 2018, accusing Israel of an indiscriminate deadly attack on civilians in Gaza. Israel recalled its ambassador to South Africa in 2023 after South Africa took Israel to the ICJ.
Seidman was appointed chargé d'affaires at Israel's embassy in South Africa last year and his role also extends to the neighbouring countries of Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius and Namibia.
Since then his close ties with Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, a controversial South African king who is also Nelson Mandela's nephew, have come in for criticism from Ramaphosa's government.
Dalindyebo visited Israel in December - and met high-ranking officials, without the knowledge of the South African government. On his return home, an Israeli delegation visited the monarch's home province of the Eastern Cape with the promise of aid.
Israeli officials recently posted videos and images on X of their trip, which they said was to discuss "concrete assistance in water, health and agriculture".
South Africa has several recognised monarchs representing different ethnic groups and clans, but they have no formal political power.
Uganda Army chief apologises to US over Bobi Wine claims
KAMPALA, Uganda
Uganda’s army chief has apologised to the United States after accusing its embassy in Kampala of helping opposition leader Bobi Wine evade authorities.
A salute of apology, General Kainerugaba
Posting on social media on Friday, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that the army was suspending all cooperation with the US embassy in Kampala.
But an hour later, he deleted the post and said he’d been “fed with wrong information.”
Bobi Wine has been in hiding since the presidential election earlier this month when he lost to Kainerugaba’s father, Yoweri Museveni.
Museveni was re-elected to a seventh term, a result Wine called “blatant theft.”
Last week, Kainerugaba threatened to hunt down and kill Wine, boasting that his forces had killed 30 of his supporters, and arrested 2,000 more since the election.
The opposition leader's wife says she was assaulted by soldiers during a raid on their home last week. Kainerugaba has taken responsibility for the raid but denies that Kyagulanyi was attacked.
But Wine remains defiant. In his own post on social media on Monday, Wine said: “the whole army is looking for one person but they have failed to find me. That means they’re not as strong as they tell you.”
He urged his supporters to do “whatever is possible without breaking the law. They call us outlaws, but we do not break the law.”
The hunt for Wine is being led by Kainerugaba — the president’s presumptive heir — who has responded to Wine's taunts by calling him a coward, a “baboon” and a “terrorist.” He has a longstanding habit of posting offensive tweets, which he often deletes later.
The exchanges between Wine and Kainerugaba have raised tensions after the election, with many Ugandans worried that an attack on Wine could trigger unrest.
Burkina Faso military government dissolves 100 political parties
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's military government dissolved all political parties on Thursday, whose activities had been suspended since the military rulers seized power in 2022.
Captain Ibrahim Traore took over in a September 2022 coup after toppling another junta and has since sharply muzzled dissenting voices.
Parties were previously banned from holding public gatherings but still allowed to operate internally.
"The government believes that the proliferation of political parties has led to abuses, fuelled divisions among citizens and weakened the social fabric," the presidency said in a readout of a cabinet meeting.
A draft law dissolving political parties will now be "sent to the Transitional Legislative Assembly as soon as possible" said territorial administration minister Emile Zerbo.
The assets of dissolved parties would be transferred to the state, he added.
The decision, he continued, aims to "preserve national unity, strengthen the coherence of government action and pave the way for reforming political governance".
The decision has phased out 100 political parties, 15 of which have representatives in the parliament.
Traore's 2022 coup ousted Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had taken power only nine months earlier.
After going into exile in Togo, Damiba was regularly accused by Burkina's military rulers of planning coup plots and assassination attempts -- the latest earlier this month.
Togo extradited him this month back to Burkina Faso.
Thursday, January 29, 2026
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