Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has turned off its image creation feature for non-paying users following backlash over its use to create sexualized deepfakes of women and children.
Two-time Olympic champion skier Marcel Hirscher announced on Friday that he was pulling out of the rest of the season, including the upcoming Winter Games, due to a lack of form.
Russian strikes cut heating to half of the Ukrainian capital on Friday, prompting the mayor to issue an exceptional call for residents to temporarily leave the city with temperatures at -8C and set to drop further.
- 'War is back in vogue,' Pope Leo says
- Storms pummel northern Europe causing travel mayhem and power cuts
Politics
France has the right to say "no" to its historical ally the United States when it acts in a way deemed unacceptable, the foreign minister said on Friday, warning that the European political order was "in danger".
January 09, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Stocks rise ahead of US jobs data and key tariffs ruling
Economy
January 09, 2026
US President Donald Trump said Friday the world’s biggest oil companies pledged to invest $100 billion to revive Venezuela's oil sector as he prepared for a meeting with top industry executives.
January 09, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Fierce winds battered France and Britain on Friday as storms barrelled through northern Europe, snarling train travel, shutting schools and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes in plunging winter temperatures.
January 09, 2026
Manchester City added to their attacking arsenal on Friday with the signing of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth for a reported £65 million ($87 million).
January 09, 2026
The world's oceans absorbed a record amount of heat in 2025, an international team of scientists said Friday, further priming conditions for sea level rise, violent storms, and coral death.
January 09, 2026
Sports
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner teased Friday the prospect of teaming up for doubles as the world's top two prepare to open their seasons with a lucrative exhibition match in South Korea, a week before the Australian Open.
January 09, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Manchester City added to their attacking arsenal on Friday with the signing of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth for a reported £65 million ($87 million).
Shares in Chinese AI startup MiniMax soared 109 percent as it went public in Hong Kong on Friday, raising US$619 million in a sign that strong investor demand is rewarding the country's rapidly developing sector.
Iranians staged their biggest protests yet of an almost two week movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, chanting slogans including "death to the dictator" and setting fire to official buildings, videos showed Friday.
Stock markets were mixed Friday after a two-day stutter as traders look ahead to the release of crucial US jobs data and a possible Supreme Court ruling on Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs.
January 09, 2026
Sports
World number two Iga Swiatek defied a partisan crowd to thrash Australian Maya Joint in Sydney on Friday and give Poland the lead in their United Cup quarter-final.
January 09, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Tens of thousands of Philippine Catholics twirled white cloths and chanted "Viva, viva" as a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ was paraded through the streets of Manila on Friday in the nation's biggest annual religious event.
Kazuyoshi Miura vowed Friday to show he still has what it takes aged 58 as the former Japan international striker gets set for his 41st professional football season.
Syria's defence ministry announced a ceasefire in Aleppo on Friday after days of deadly clashes between the army and Kurdish fighters forced thousands of civilians to flee.
Russia hit Ukraine with its hypersonic Oreshnik missile overnight after rejecting the latest post-war peacekeeping plan, as part of a massive attack that set apartment blocks ablaze and killed at least four people in the capital Kyiv.
January 09, 2026
- Hundreds of thousands without power as Storm Goretti pummels Europe
- Asian stocks mixed ahead of US jobs, Supreme Court ruling
- Scores without power as Storm Goretti pummels Europe
- Sabalenka gets revenge over Keys in repeat of Australian Open final
- Fresh from China, South Korea president to visit Japan
- Injured Kimmich to miss icy Bundesliga return for Bayern
- Rybakina has little hope of change to tennis schedule
- Osimhen, Nigeria seek harmony with Algeria up next at AFCON