Category: World

Video assistant referees will have wider authority at the 2026 World Cup after football’s lawmakers approved a clarification allowing intervention for clear attacking fouls committed before the ball is put into play at corners and free kicks. The change means a goal, penalty decision or disciplinary sanction can be reviewed if an attacking player blocks, holds, impedes or otherwise fouls an opponent before the set-piece is taken, provided the offence has a direct impact on what follows. It closes a gap

French police detained 780 people after celebrations over Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph turned violent across Paris and several other cities, leaving officers injured, shops damaged and vehicles set on fire during a night of disorder that overshadowed the club’s second successive European title. The unrest broke out after PSG defeated Arsenal 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest on Saturday, retaining the Champions League trophy and confirming their status as Europe’s dominant club side.

Millions of Ethiopians began voting on Monday in the country’s 7th General Election, a high-stakes parliamentary and regional contest expected to consolidate Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ruling Prosperity Party while testing public confidence in the electoral process. More than 50 million people are registered to vote across Africa’s second most populous country, where polling stations opened after months of voter registration, candidate nominations, political campaigns, public debates and logistical preparations led by the National Election Board of Ethiopia. The vote will

Copper prices advanced in New York and London as traders moved into a decisive month for the US tariff review that could reshape global flows of the metal used across power grids, construction, electronics and defence manufacturing. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.4 per cent to $13,687.50 a tonne on Monday morning in Shanghai trading, while the US Comex contract climbed 1 per cent to $6.45 a pound, putting it on course for its highest close since mid-May.

Paris Hilton and journalist Laurie Segall have launched a 14-part TikTok investigation that names a Canadian pharmacist linked to MrDeepFakes, the shuttered website that became one of the world’s largest hubs for non-consensual AI-generated explicit videos. The series, Searching for Mr. Deepfakes, began streaming on Hilton’s TikTok channel on 27 May and follows Segall’s multi-year effort to identify the people behind the site. It places fresh public attention on David Do, a former pharmacist in the Greater Toronto Area who was

Congo has widened Ebola testing in its eastern provinces after laboratory results showed about 260 positive samples, sharpening concern that the outbreak’s true scale remains unclear despite intensified surveillance. Health authorities are working through expanded diagnostics, case tracing and community screening after suspected infections crossed 1,000, with more than 220 deaths still under investigation. The outbreak, declared on 15 May in Ituri province, has spread into North Kivu and South Kivu, while Uganda has confirmed linked cases, underscoring the risk posed

Thousands of households across southeast England were left without water or struggling with low pressure after record-breaking temperatures collided with a dry spring, placing renewed scrutiny on the resilience of Britain’s ageing water network and the performance of South East Water. The disruption reached more than 20,000 people at its height, with about 8,000 affected in Whitstable, Kent, where residents queued for bottled water and some businesses shut their doors during a busy holiday period. Areas of Kent and Sussex also

Authorities in northern Italy have barred two July concerts by Kanye West and Travis Scott in Reggio Emilia, citing risks to public order and security after objections from civic and Jewish community groups over the planned appearances. The decision by Reggio Emilia prefect Salvatore Angieri halts two of the most prominent events planned for the Pulse of Gaia Festival at the RCF Arena, one of Europe’s largest open-air concert venues. Scott had been scheduled to perform on 17 July, with West,

Global energy markets face mounting strain heading into the northern hemisphere summer as the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatens fuel availability, price stability and wider economic resilience across oil-importing economies. Warnings from the International Monetary Fund, the International Energy Agency and the World Bank have sharpened concern that emergency inventories are being depleted at an unusually rapid pace after weeks of disruption to one of the world’s most important maritime energy corridors. The strait normally carries about a

Washington has sharply criticised a United Nations decision to place Israel’s armed and security forces on a blacklist linked to conflict-related sexual violence, calling the move “ridiculous” as the report deepened tensions between Israel, the UN leadership and Western capitals over the conduct of the Gaza war. The annual report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres added Israeli forces to a list of parties “credibly suspected” of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in

Portugal’s economy expanded 2.3 per cent year on year in the first quarter, accelerating from 1.9 per cent at the end of last year as domestic demand offset pressure from trade and weather-related disruption. The first-quarter reading confirmed that the economy entered 2026 with firmer underlying demand than much of the euro area, even though output was flat compared with the previous quarter. The annual pace matched the preliminary estimate released at the end of April and marked the strongest yearly

Australia’s Fair Work Commission is overhauling its procedures after generative AI tools helped fuel a sharp rise in workplace claims, adding pressure to a tribunal already dealing with record demand across dismissal and general protections matters. The national workplace tribunal has moved to review how applications are filed, screened and managed as self-represented workers increasingly use AI systems to prepare claims, submissions, witness statements and appeal notices. The shift has widened access to the legal process, but it has also increased

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by about 2% over the past year, marking a sharper shift in the country’s climate trajectory as renewable electricity, lower fossil-fuel generation and faster electric vehicle adoption begin to reshape two of its most carbon-intensive sectors. National emissions were estimated at 436 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in the year to September 2025, down 2.8% from a year earlier. For the year to June 2025, emissions were 28.5% below the 2005 baseline used for

Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old speller from California, won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee after a high-speed tiebreaker that capped one of the competition’s most dramatic finals, correctly spelling 32 words in 90 seconds to defeat 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta of Jersey City, New Jersey. The eighth-grader from Rancho Cucamonga secured the title at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington after the two finalists reached a spell-off following a long run of error-free conventional rounds. His official winning word was “bromocriptine”, a medical

Brussels has warned that Europe’s aviation fuel market could tighten further within weeks if disruption around the Strait of Hormuz continues, raising the prospect of higher fuel costs, pressure on airline schedules and fresh strain across the bloc’s energy supply chain before the peak summer travel season. The warning, issued after meetings of the European Commission’s oil and gas coordination groups, marks a sharper assessment of the risks facing the European Union’s fuel system. Officials said the closure of the Strait

Paris Saint-Germain stand one match from retaining the UEFA Champions League title as they face Arsenal at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna on Saturday in a final that brings together the French champions and the Premier League winners. The 2025/26 European club season reaches its decisive point with PSG attempting to become only the second club of the Champions League era to defend the trophy, after Real Madrid’s run of three successive titles from 2016 to 2018. Arsenal, by contrast, are seeking their

Liberia’s push to link women’s livelihoods with protection from violence has moved into a new phase after UN Women Liberia and its partners convened an inception meeting in Monrovia for the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Women’s Economic Empowerment component. The meeting, held at the One UN House, brought together government representatives, civil society organisations, private sector actors and development partners to align implementation plans for a programme designed to support vulnerable women and girls, including survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, former

Congo’s Ebola outbreak has widened to 1,077 suspected cases and 246 deaths, intensifying pressure on health authorities as responders struggle to contain transmission in conflict-hit eastern provinces. Health officials are treating the outbreak as one of the most serious Ebola emergencies faced by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in years, with cases linked to the Bundibugyo strain, a less common form of the virus for which no licensed vaccine or specific treatment is widely available. The figures mark a sharp

Global investment in oil projects is set to fall for a third consecutive year as the Middle East conflict forces governments and companies to redirect capital towards gas, alternative supply routes and cleaner energy systems. The International Energy Agency’s latest investment assessment points to a sharp reordering of global energy priorities, with upstream oil spending weakening even as overall energy security concerns intensify. The shift reflects both immediate disruption from the war involving Iran and longer-term caution over committing large sums

Italy has placed Rome, Florence, Bologna and Turin under its highest heat warning as an early-season heatwave pushes temperatures well above normal and raises health risks for residents, workers and visitors. The Ministry of Health’s Level 3 red alert applies on Thursday, signalling conditions that can affect not only vulnerable people but also healthy and active adults. The alert marks the first peak of the 2026 heat bulletin season, which began this week and covers 27 urban centres monitored for temperature,

Africa’s top continental body has launched a new humanitarian coordination platform aimed at tightening crisis response across a region facing widening displacement, hunger, conflict and climate-linked disasters. The African Humanitarian Coordination Platform was unveiled by the African Union Commission through its Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development after a continental engagement in Mahé, Seychelles, held from 18 to 19 May 2026. The meeting endorsed the platform’s terms of reference and adopted a draft 2026–2027 Joint Implementation Plan designed to

Brussels faces resistance from Germany and Spain over a proposed EU-wide move to force telecom operators to remove Huawei and ZTE equipment from critical networks, exposing a rift between the European Commission’s security agenda and national concerns over cost, timing and market disruption. Officials in Berlin and Madrid are pushing back against plans that would turn the EU’s existing 5G security guidance into binding law, arguing that member states should retain discretion over how they manage high-risk suppliers in domestic telecom

Jazeera Airways has launched a limited Eid and summer fare campaign, offering one-way tickets from KD15, or about $48.75, as Kuwait’s low-cost carrier moves to capture holiday demand across leisure, family and business routes. Bookings under the Special Eid and beyond sale are open until 31 May 2026, with travel valid from 27 May to 30 September 2026. The campaign covers selected destinations on the airline’s network and is aimed at travellers planning Eid breaks, school-holiday trips and summer visits across

Britain’s May temperature record has been broken for the second time in 24 hours as a powerful spring heatwave tightened its grip on Western Europe, pushing authorities to issue health warnings, restrict outdoor activity in some areas and urge vulnerable people to avoid prolonged exposure. The temperature reached 35.1C at Kew Gardens in London and Heathrow on Tuesday, surpassing the 34.8C recorded at Kew Gardens a day earlier. Both readings exceeded the previous UK May record of 32.8C, set in 1922