Over-by-over updates from Sydney Cricket Ground
Play starts at 10am local at the SCG/11pm GMT
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It’s another early start today, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The players are getting ready to take the field.

They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi ­atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.

• Resolution has been delayed by packed fixture schedule

• Manager says defender may be sold for the right price

Oliver Glasner expects to decide in the coming weeks whether he will sign a new contract at Crystal Palace and has said Marc Guéhi could be sold this month if his “threshold” is met.

Glasner is the bookmakers’ early favourite to be the permanent replacement for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. The Austrian’s contract expires this summer and the ambitious 51-year-old is understood to be open then to joining United or another big club.

For a while it seemed the only thing that Nottingham Forest were going to get right was show safe hands when West Ham passed them the Premier League’s crisis baton. Sean Dyche’s side were jeered off after an awful first half but an unlikely turnaround earned them their first win since 14 December thanks to an equaliser from Nicolás Domínguez and a controversial late penalty from Morgan Gibbs-White.

It was a goal that stopped the mood of the relegation fight shifting away from Forest. This was the night when it had to change for West Ham. A first win in 10 games would have had them closing in on 17th-placed Forest, who were looking at a fifth consecutive defeat after conceding a poor early goal, but there is no respite for Nuno Espírito Santo at the moment. His side simply cannot defend – West Ham are yet to keep a clean sheet since hiring the Portuguese manager in September – and slipped seven points below Forest after a VAR review led to Alphonse Areola being penalised for catching Gibbs-White when he tried to punch a cross away.

• Last 16: Côte d’Ivoire 3-0 Burkina Faso

• Heavyweight quarter-final meeting with Egypt awaits

Amad Diallo scored one goal and created another to continue his excellent form in Morocco as the defending champions Côte d’Ivoire eased past Burkina Faso 3-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations last-16 game in Marrakech on Tuesday.

Côte d’Ivoire will face the seven-time winners Egypt in a heavyweight quarter-final in Agadir on Saturday, a repeat of the 2006 decider where the north African side triumphed on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

American Federation of Teachers sues over what it says are unconstitutional investigations into social media comments

A major Texas teachers’ union filed a federal lawsuit against the state on Tuesday challenging what it describes as unconstitutional investigations into hundreds of educators who posted comments on social media following the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers, which represents approximately 66,000 public school employees, is asking a federal court to block the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath, from continuing investigations that the union argues violate teachers’ free speech protections.

Trilateral declaration of intent signed after ‘coalition of the willing’ summit in Paris with plan to establish military hubs

Britain and France have declared they are ready to deploy troops to Ukraine in the aftermath of a peace deal, a major new commitment that has been under discussion for months, although one which Russia is likely to block forcefully.

The announcement came after a summit in Paris hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and attended by more than two dozen leaders of the states that make up the “coalition of the willing” of Ukrainian allies, plus the US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said the US president “strongly stands” behind the security protocols.

Justices rule 4-1 that laws, including a ban on abortion pills, violate a state amendment protecting healthcare choices

Abortion will stay legal in Wyoming after the state’s supreme court struck down two near-total abortion bans on Tuesday, ruling that the laws violate the constitution of the profoundly conservative state.

In a 4-1 decision, the justices decided that the two bans – which include the nation’s first exclusive ban on abortion pills – violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment. That amendment affirmed competent adults’ right to make their own healthcare decisions and was originally passed as part of Wyoming’s response to the Affordable Care Act.

The next 12 months promise blockbuster surveys of noted greats and introductions to intriguing lesser-known artists

From old masters to pop artists, contemporary greats and even a major Mexican film-maker, art museums and galleries across the US have some dazzling shows coming up in 2026.

Late-night hosts react to Trump’s shocking attack on Venezuela and surprise capture of Nicolás Maduro

Late-night hosts tore into the Trump administration’s surprise military attack on Caracas, capture of president Nicolás Maduro and vague plans to “run” Venezuela.

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off
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West Ham get the ball rolling!

The teams are on their way out of the London Stadium tunnel. It’s slightly above freezing and rain, probably not snow, is forecast a bit later this evening. Kick-off is next.

Another 2,000 ICE and homeland security agents will reportedly head to the state, targeting immigrant populations

The Trump administration has sent more immigration agents to Minnesota, part of escalating attacks and rhetoric against the state and its immigrant populations in what immigration officials are saying is the agency’s “largest operation to date”.

“A 100% chance of ICE in the Twin Cities — our largest operation to date,” the official Immigration and Customs Enforcement account on X wrote on Tuesday afternoon. “If you’re a criminal illegal alien and/or you are engaged in fraud, expect a visit from ICE.”

The seizure of Venezuelan leader was induced by the prize of petroleum, but driven by spectacle, geopolitics and domestic politics

It’s all about oil. That was the reason Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader illegally abducted by US forces at the weekend, had given for Donald Trump’s fixation with his country. A better way to think about Venezuela is that oil was necessary but not sufficient. The presence of vast reserves made Mr Trump’s interest understandable – if Venezuela’s main export was bananas this would not have happened. But oil alone cannot explain the timing or scale of the move.

Venezuelan crude is extra-heavy as well as expensive and slow to bring online; it will not immediately transform US energy systems, nor rescue refineries that have already adapted to years without it. Instead, oil is the “prize” around which other agendas cohere. These include future profits for US firms; modest downward pressure on oil prices; depriving China of a meaningful ally in America’s backyard; putting pressure on Cuba; and US domestic political signalling in Florida. Each gain is small. But collectively Mr Trump could justify a high‑profile, theatrical – and unlawful – intervention even if the economic returns are incremental.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Paramilitary groups known as colectivos patrol streets with assault rifles, stop and search cars and people’s phones

• US politics live – latest updates

Venezuela’s rulers have deployed armed militias to patrol streets, operate checkpoints and check people’s phones in a crackdown to consolidate authority after the US attack on Caracas.

Paramilitary groups known as colectivos criss-crossed the capital with motorbikes and assault rifles on Tuesday in a show of force to stifle any dissent or perception of a power vacuum.

• IIHF president says seating at arenas may be reduced

• NHL concerned about ice quality and dimensions

The head of the International Ice Hockey Federation said parts of the main hockey rink for the Milan Cortina Olympics might not be fully finished on time, but the playing surface, practice facilities and dressing rooms will be ready when the puck drops for the men’s event on 11 February.

“We can be confident on that,” IIHF President Luc Tardif told reporters Monday at the world junior championship. “You’re not going to go to Milano for nothing.”

Industry insiders say US oil firms want to ‘avoid getting screwed’ and will proceed with extreme caution in region

• Analysis: Trump’s focus on Venezuelan oil reinforces claim action was never about ‘war on drugs’

Industry experts have expressed skepticism over Donald Trump’s bullish prediction that US big oil firms will rapidly invest tens of billions of dollars to fix Venezuelan infrastructure and ramp up production after the rendition of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

Without an “iron-clad guarantee” that the US federal government will fully reimburse them for the cost of rebuilding the country’s oil market, analysts expect global energy giants to proceed with extreme caution.

Exclusive: Morgan McSweeney says Labour needs emotion, empathy and evidence, sources say

UK politics live – latest updates

The government must find ways to reconnect emotionally with voters, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, is said to have warned cabinet ministers, in a meeting where the prime minister said they were in “the fight of our lives”.

The prime minister sought to rally his cabinet on Tuesday, telling them to ignore the polls and to prepare to take on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

In Manchester United’s brave new world coaches are more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still to blame if it arrives cold

Turns out he could survive losing against Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994‑95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

Democrats and ‘make America healthy again’ movement pushed back on the rider in a funding bill led by Bayer

In a setback for the pesticide industry, Democrats have succeeded in removing a rider from a congressional appropriations bill that would have helped protect pesticide makers from being sued and could have hindered state efforts to warn about pesticide risks.

Chellie Pingree, a Democratic representative from Maine and ranking member of the House appropriations interior, environment, and related agencies subcommittee, said Monday that the controversial measure pushed by the agrochemical giant Bayer and industry allies has been stripped from the 2026 funding bill.

New leadership claims former allies are trying to repurpose $160m in NRA Foundation donations for personal gain

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is suing its own charitable arm, the NRA Foundation, claiming that its leaders are trying to seize control of the gun rights organization and illegally “repurposing” $160m in donations to support their “thirst for power”.

The allegations come in a lawsuit filed on Monday in federal court in Washington DC laying bare the turmoil that has plagued the NRA since its disgraced longtime chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, was ousted in 2024 alongside other senior figures after a financial corruption scandal.

LaMalfa’s death cuts the House Republican majority to 218-213, tightening GOP control for passing bills

Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican who represented the state’s rural northern region in the House of Representatives and was known for his work on water and forestry policy, has died at age 65, according to statements from Republican officials.

LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer who previously served in the California state legislature, was in his seventh term representing California’s first congressional district. He sat on the House agriculture, natural resources, and transportation and infrastructure committees.

Pushback from Susan Collins and Thom Tillis is striking amid tepid response from most other Republican senators

Two senior Republican senators on Monday openly opposed Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to punish their fellow Senator Mark Kelly by demoting him and cutting his pension after he released a video telling active-duty military to follow the law.

Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the Senate appropriations committee with jurisdiction over the Pentagon’s budget, said she believed it was wrong to target Kelly’s military benefits because of a political video.

Grok still being used to digitally undress women and children, while US takes TikTok approach to drones

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Happy new year! I hope your 2026 is off to a great start. Today in tech, we are examining the output of Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, and the US’s ban on foreign drones.

What happened after Tesla opened a diner in Los Angeles?

China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s biggest electric car seller

Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z

Flores, Nicolás Maduro’s wife, wielded far more power than just being a first lady and played a front line role in politics

Before pleading “not guilty” at her first court hearing after she and her husband, Nicolás Maduro, were captured by US special forces, Cilia Flores made a point of adding, in Spanish: “I am first lady of the Republic of Venezuela.”

But Maduro himself and others close to the couple agree that she was always far more than that. Before her rendition to New York, Flores wielded power comparable with – and at times greater than – that of other figures from the regime, including Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice-president who is now the country’s acting leader.