Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter has slammed the football governing body’s plans to create a $20bn subsidiary to run the World Cup, saying the tournament was not a commercial asset that belonged to a few executives. “Football belongs to no individual and to no institution. It belongs to the people,” Blatter told the news agency … Read moreEx-FIFA chief Blatter blasts plan to sell stake in World Cup to investors
Deadly wildfires have spread across Turkiye and Greece after weeks of devastation in Spain, France and Portugal. Two firefighters died battling a forest blaze on the Greek island of Crete on Wednesday, the fire department said, as several fires started around the country fanned by gale-force winds. Another died in a separate fire in the … Read moreWildfires spread in Greece and Turkiye as EU chief urges climate action
Music is a major part of Rayhan Butt’s life. The 18-year-old from the west German city of Bielefeld discovered his passion for the piano a few years ago, and now plays daily, sometimes for 12 hours a day. Picking up singing along the way, he performs regularly across the country. Butt has now found a … Read moreWill Germany bring back mandatory military conscription next year?
FIFA has proposed a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other events to private investors, provoking a furious response from the European football governing body, UEFA. Under the plans announced by FIFA on Tuesday, a $20bn subsidiary would be created to run the World Cup and other events. World football’s governing body … Read moreFIFA proposes plan to sell stakes in the World Cup, angering UEFA
Ukraine’s new military chief has announced plans to expand offensive operations against Russia, including missions behind enemy lines, after being appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mykhailo Drapatyi, named commander of Ukraine’s armed forces on Wednesday, said the military would “continue and intensify offensive operations in all domains” as Kyiv seeks to pressure Russian forces. “Difficult … Read moreUkraine’s new military chief pledges to escalate retaliation against Russia
Andy Burnham, who has replaced Keir Starmer to become the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in a decade, has pledged to end the political instability that has plagued the country, stating that he was “fed up” with the country’s revolving door of leadership. Burnham moved fast after taking office on Monday. He sacked several Starmer … Read moreUK’s Miliband, Streeting: What are their foreign policy, defence records?
Greece’s relations with Ukraine have hit a new hurdle just weeks after clearing the last one, in a sign of how Europeans are trying to balance helping Ukraine with protecting their own economies. The European Commission is trying this week to reconfigure a 21st package of sanctions against Russia, after its original proposal foundered on … Read moreBaulking at shipping sanctions, Greece balances Ukraine aid, fear of Russia
Reuters President Donald Trump has threatened that the US would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant any time its forces attack a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Potential targets would include ones “located next to, or in,” the capital Tehran, he said in a post on Truth Social. The military response would follow … Read moreTrump threatens to target Iran’s bridges and power plants if Hormuz attacks persist
Getty Images The US House of Representatives has voted to make daylight saving time permanent by passing the Sunshine Protection Act on Tuesday. With a 308-117 vote, members of both parties approved the bill, which would remove the need for Americans to change their clocks twice a year and put the US under time currently … Read moreUS Congress takes next step to make daylight saving time permanent
Reuters The fragile “no war, no peace” situation since the US and Iran signed a tentative deal last month now seems to have tipped into war. This on-again off-again truce could again wobble back into life through the efforts of increasingly exasperated Arab and Pakistani mediators, and the preference of both sides to avoid a … Read moreStrait of Hormuz ‘faultline’ exposes weakness of the US-Iran deal