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Bucks don’t rule out Antetokounmpo return for NBA Finals

AFP/Editor

The Milwaukee Bucks are still hoping two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo could return from injury in time to boost their championship series bid against the Phoenix Suns.

The Greek star missed the last two games of the Bucks’ Eastern Conference Finals victory over the Atlanta Hawks after hyperextending his left knee in game four.

With game one of the of the NBA Finals set for Tuesday, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo was “day-to-day” with the injury.

“You have to listen to the player and then you have to listen to the sports performance group, and at some point (Bucks general manager) Jon Horst and myself are part of the conversations, but it’s just a day-to-day thing,” Budenholzer said after the Bucks beat the Hawks 118-107 in Atlanta on Saturday night for a 4-2 series victory.

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“We’ll update it when appropriate. The conversations between he and myself, it’s kind of private and we’ll see where he is each day.”

Khris Middleton came up big in Antetokounmpo’s absence, scoring 32 points in the series-clinching win that sent the Bucks to their first NBA Finals since 1974.

Budenholzer said he wouldn’t expect any less from all the Bucks players if Antetokounmpo remains sidelined.

“If he’s on the bench for whatever reason, we need to be able to play,” said Budenholzer, who added that he was impressed with Antetokounmpo’s enthusiasm and leadership from the sidelines during the final two games against Atlanta.

“I think he almost got a delay of game,” he said of Antetokounmpo’s enthusiastic in-game conversations with teammates during Saturday’s game.

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“To see that kind of leadership, that kind of connection and that kind of committment from a player you know would be dying to be out there — I just loved his energy on the bench.”

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Trump: ‘We Think It’s True’ Amid Claims Iran’s Supreme Leader Was Killed

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he believes multiple reports claiming the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the U.S. and Israeli offensive against the Islamic Republic are likely true, though he stopped short of confirming the news.

“We have a feeling that the information is correct,” he said, according to NBC News. “I don’t want to say anything definitive until I see it, but we think that’s the case. And many of their leaders have disappeared,” he added.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “many indications” that Khamenei had died in an attack on his residential compound.

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Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol Sentenced to Life for Insurrection

A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former president Yoon Suk-yeol to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection by declaring martial law in late 2024.

“The declaration of martial law resulted in enormous social costs, and it is difficult to find any indication that the defendant has shown remorse,” said Judge Ji Gwi-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court. “We sentence him to life in prison,” the judge stated.

Yoon declared martial law in a nationally televised address in December 2024, arguing that drastic measures were necessary to eliminate what he described as “anti-state forces.”

The 65-year-old conservative former leader was removed from office, arrested, and charged with multiple offenses, including insurrection and obstruction of justice.

Judge Ji noted that Yoon ordered military forces to the National Assembly in an attempt to silence political opponents.

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“The court determined that the intention was to paralyze the assembly for a considerable period of time,” the judge said.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the crisis.

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Eight Killed in Series of Armed Attacks in Ecuador’s Manabí Province

At least eight people were killed in four separate armed attacks reported Sunday night in the cities of Manta and Montecristi, in Ecuador’s coastal province of Manabí, one of the areas hardest hit by the country’s escalating wave of criminal violence, local media reported on Monday.

The shootings occurred between 7:50 p.m. and 10:50 p.m. local time and affected several neighborhoods, as well as a family gathering, according to press reports. Police are investigating the incidents.

The first attack took place in the Los Artesanos sector of Montecristi, where a couple was shot dead in a public street.

Minutes later, in Manta’s 12 de Octubre neighborhood, a man was killed while sitting down. Police arrested a suspect at the scene and seized a 9mm magazine, authorities said.

A third incident occurred in the Bellavista area of Manta, when an armed assailant entered a home and shot a man during a family celebration. The attacker was captured by neighbors and sustained injuries.

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The deadliest attack was reported at 10:50 p.m. in the Leonidas Proaño parish of Montecristi, where gunmen opened fire from two vehicles on a group of people, leaving four dead and five wounded.

According to Jaime Salgado, acting chief of the Manta Police District, officers recovered seven 7.62mm shell casings, consistent with rifle ammunition, and 14 .40-caliber casings at the scene.

With these killings, the Manta police district, a port and tourist area on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, has recorded 51 violent deaths so far in January 2026, according to official figures.

The attacks occurred amid a state of emergency declared by the government in December due to serious internal unrest in Manabí, where military operations have been intensified this month, particularly in high-conflict zones.