Mohamed Salah was left out of Liverpool's starting lineup by manager Arne Slot on Wednesday for the second straight Premier League match, in what could be a sign of the Egypt winger's fading status in his ninth season at the club.

Salah was named on the bench for the home game against Sunderland, only entering as a halftime substitute — and failing to score — in a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

President Donald Trump has long praised tariffs as key to increasing wealth in the United States, idealizing Gilded Age policies that preceded the implementation of a modern federal income tax.

Among the potential benefits, Trump claims, is the ability to replace revenue from federal income taxes with money the U.S. is taking in from tariffs — a concept he has touted since his 2024 presidential campaign, most recently at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

Turkey's energy minister issued a call for the supply of oil and gas in the Black Sea to be protected after three Russian tankers were targeted off the Turkish coast.

Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey was concerned not just by the threat to shipping but also to two undersea pipelines, Blue Stream and Turk Stream, that carry natural gas from Russia to Turkey.

A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Wednesday at an emotional hearing over the "Friends" star's overdose death.

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence that included two years of probation and a $5,600 fine to 44-year-old Dr. Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.

The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to "work, work, work, work and work" for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year, recognizing the effort Japan's first female leader had to make to reach the top.

The ultraconservative Takaichi uttered the phrase in October when she was elected as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Many were initially as worried about her work ethic as supportive of her enthusiasm.

When it comes to financial security for Iran's jittery public after the 12-day war with Israel, all that glitters is gold — and for many, it remains the most trusted hedge against inflation, sanctions and a weakening rial currency.

Traders in Tehran's Grand Bazaar say every new headline about United Nations "snapback" sanctions, the rial's fall or renewed regional tensions have sent waves of people into buying so-called "value-preserving assets." Those include dollars, gold, silver, diamonds, cryptocurrencies and, to a lesser extent, equities.

U.S. President Donald Trump will host the leaders of Congo and Rwanda on Thursday for a deal signing aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening access to the region's critical minerals for the U.S. government and American companies.

Lauded by the White House as a "historic" agreement brokered by Trump, the so-called Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity between Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda follows monthslong peace efforts by the U.S. and partners, including the African Union and Qatar, and finalizes an earlier deal signed in June.

London's Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square will be lit up Thursday as part of a British tradition with roots in the Norwegian forest.

The tree symbolizes the friendship between London and Oslo in an annual ceremony that highlights the history of the countries' alliance.

Deaths from last week's catastrophic floods and landslides in parts of Asia surged past 1,500 Thursday as rescue teams raced to reach survivors isolated by the disaster with hundreds of people still unaccounted for across the region.

The tragedy of so much death and destruction was compounded by warnings that decades of deforestation caused by unchecked development, mining and palm oil plantations may have worsened the devastation. Calls grew for the government to act.

Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest, the feel-good pop music gala that draws more than 100 million viewers every year, are meeting Thursday to tackle a bitter and divisive issue: Whether Israel should be allowed to participate in the 2026 competition.