Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel on John Madden's death: 'Messages of encouragement' helped after losses

Reuters
In Davos, European executives join Trump's call for action on deregulation
Business leaders in Davos joined calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for the European Union to speed up efforts to reduce regulation and increase competition to prevent the bloc from falling further behind other developed markets. Trump told the world's business elite at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, via video conference on Thursday that the European Union treated the U.S. badly and made it difficult to get products into Europe.
Associated Press
Kremlin scoffs at Trump's claim that a drop in oil prices will help end Ukraine conflict
The Kremlin insisted Friday that a settlement in Ukraine couldn’t be facilitated by a drop in global oil prices as U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested. Speaking by video from the White House to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said on Thursday that the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries shares responsibility for the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine because it has kept oil prices too high. Energy sales form a large part of Russia's earnings.
Reuters
Maersk not returning to the Gulf of Aden for now
Maersk will continue to divert vessels away from the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea and toward the southern tip of Africa despite Yemen's Houthis announcing they will curb their attacks on ships, the container shipping giant said on Friday. The Danish shipping company said the announcement by the Iran-backed militant group was "a very welcome step in the right direction towards stability and eventual normality for the global shipping industry". However, it said the security risk for commercial vessels transition the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb strait remains high.
Associated Press
Indonesia agrees to repatriate ailing French national who has spent almost 20 years on death row
Indonesia signed a deal on Friday to repatriate an ailing French national who has been on death row since 2007 for alleged drug offenses. In 2015 Serge Atlaoui won a last-minute reprieve from being executed by a 13-member firing squad. The transfer agreement was signed remotely by Indonesia’s senior minister of law Yusril Ihza Mahendra and France’s Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, and was witnessed by delegations from both countries in Jakarta and Paris.
Associated Press
Israelis await names of next 4 hostages to be released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire
Relatives of hostages still being held by militants in Gaza called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday to ensure all remaining captives are freed, while also appealing to U.S. President Donald Trump to continue pressing for their release. As a fragile six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas entered its sixth day, Israelis waited anxiously for the names of the next four hostages who will be released from among the more than 90 still held in Gaza. In the Palestinian enclave, civilians in the central and southern part of the Gaza Strip hoping to return to the remnants of their home in the battered north faced an agonizing wait.
Reuters
Fossil reveals Cretaceous drama of a croc attack on a flying reptile
About 76 million years ago, a juvenile of one of the largest flying creatures in Earth's history, called Cryodrakon boreas, walked along a riverbank on a lush coastal plain and lowered its toothless beak to take a drink, unaware of danger lurking at the water's edge. Suddenly, a large croc surged out of the water in an ambush and sank its teeth into the Cryodrakon's neck. That was life - and death - in the Cretaceous Period in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Reuters
Some migrants turn to pricey smugglers or riskier routes after Trump clampdown
After Honduran migrant Alex Diaz' U.S. asylum appointment was canceled following Donald Trump's immigration and border crackdown, the 23-year-old former bus driver began considering what he had been determined to avoid: entering the United States illegally. Since Trump ended former President Joe Biden's legal entry program at the border and is ramping up border security, Diaz is considering using smugglers who would bring him deeper into the United States, along isolated pathways.
Yahoo Finance
The twin economic disparities Trump needs to manage: Morning Brief
President Trump faces a gap between the rich and poor, one that helped him get elected. But he also faces another one: the gap between a winning US and a losing Europe and China. Which may be a problem.
Associated Press
Hungary wants the EU to intervene in a gas dispute with Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday said he wants the European Union to intervene in a gas dispute his country has with Ukraine, a potential sign of friction in the bloc's upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia. Speaking on state radio, Orbán said that Ukraine's decision to cease transiting Russian gas into Central Europe through the Brotherhood pipeline had forced Hungary to turn to alternative routes, which raised energy prices. Meanwhile, he claimed EU sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine had cost Hungary 19 billion euros ($20 billion) since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Associated Press
Thais send smuggled tortoises home to Tanzania as evidence against suspected wildlife traffickers
More than a hundred baby tortoises, most of them dead, have been returned to Tanzania from Thailand as evidence in a case against a wildlife smuggling network, the international police organization Interpol said Friday. Of the total, 98 have since died, but all were handed over Thursday for use in criminal proceedings in a ceremony attended by Thai and Tanzanian officials, Interpol said. The smuggler fled Thailand but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bulgaria, Interpol said.
Associated Press
Afghan refugees urge Pakistan to ease visa regime after Trump’s pause on US resettlement programs
Afghan refugees on Friday appealed to Pakistan's premier to ease a visa regime on humanitarian grounds after President Donald Trump paused the U.S. refugee programs. “We don’t know exactly when the pause of the U.S. refugee program will be lifted, but we request Pakistan to extend our stay for at least six months after the expiry of our visas,” said Ahmad Shah, a member of the Afghan USRAP Refugees advocacy group. An estimated 20,000 Afghans are currently waiting in Pakistan to be approved for resettlement in the U.S. via an American government program.
Reuters
Russians could face jail for divulging logistics of sanctioned goods
A Russian draft law proposes punishment of up to seven years in prison and heavy fines for the public disclosure of information about the supply chains of sanctioned goods imported into Russia and about payment systems. Russia still relies on many high-tech goods produced in the West, such as microchips, which are banned for export to Russia. To bypass Western sanctions, including those imposed over the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has established complex logistical schemes through intermediaries in third countries and an international transactions infrastructure.
Reuters
Thailand and China to set up coordination centre to combat scam call networks
Thailand and China will work together to combat fast-growing networks of illegal call centres along the Thai border with Myanmar and Cambodia, often staffed by trafficked workers, that aim to defraud people in phone and online scams. Southeast Asia - especially border areas between Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia - has become a hub for telecom and other online fraud since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the United Nations, which says hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to work in scam centres. Thai police said on Friday that a coordination centre would be set up at the national police headquarters in Bangkok and Chinese authorities plan to set up another one in Thailand's Mae Sot district, which borders Myanmar's Myawaddy, a major hub for the scam call centres.
Associated Press
China's Lunar New Year travel rush kicks into high gear with 9 billion trips expected
China’s Lunar New Year travel rush has kicked into high gear, with billions of trips expected in coming days for the peak of the 40-day annual mass migration — the world's biggest annual movement of humanity. The actual new year holiday, which marks the start of the year of the snake in the 12-month lunar calendar, comes on Wednesday, while New Year’s Eve on Tuesday is reserved for family gatherings and traditionally fireworks displays. In total, 9 billion trips — mostly by car — are expected over the 40-day travel rush.
CNN
Fears that the world’s biggest iceberg could hit island in the South Atlantic
The world’s largest iceberg is still on the move and there are fears that it could be headed north from Antarctica towards the island of South Georgia.
AFP
Troubled Burberry shows sign of recovery despite sales drop
British fashion house Burberry announced Friday a further decline in sales, hit by weak demand in China, but the troubled group is showing signs of recovery under new leadership. Burberry exited London's top-tier FTSE 100 index in September after 15 years, with analysts citing strategic mistakes and weak demand from China.
AFP
Meta guru urges Europe to gamble more on AI
Europe should take greater risks and plough more money into artificial intelligence, Meta's chief AI scientist Yann LeCun told AFP at the World Economic Forum.LeCun pointed to Meta's plans to invest around $60 billion this year, while its rivals plan to plough billions of dollars too.
Associated Press
Middle East latest: UK warns of Iranian attempts to force ships into its waters
A warning has gone out to seafarers in the Persian Gulf over what appear to be attempts by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to compel ships to enter Iranian waters. While Iran has a history of harassing and impounding vessels, it hasn’t directly launched many such attacks recently. Instead, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking ships since November 2023, a campaign that now appears to be winding down after the ceasefire in Gaza.
USA TODAY
See Bao Li and Qing Bao: New giant pandas spark excitement, gather fans at National Zoo
As the National Zoo unveils its latest giant pandas to the public, adoring fans are embracing the newcomers from China.
USA TODAY
Trump embarks on first presidential trip for look at unprecedented damage
President Donald Trump will visit areas devastated by floods in North Carolina and fires in California, as debates rage about recovery and funding.

Latest Stories