In a tense UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second-leg fixture at Anfield on Tuesday, a 2-0 defeat for Liverpool that secured a 4-0 aggregate win for Paris Saint-Germain was overshadowed by a worrying first-half injury to French striker Hugo Ekitike. The incident occurred in the 27th minute, when Ekitike slipped awkwardly on the Anfield pitch, appearing to sustain damage to his right leg that required immediate medical attention on the field. After quick evaluation by club medical staff, it was determined the forward could not continue the match, and he was stretchered off the pitch to be replaced by veteran Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah. Speaking post-match following Liverpool’s elimination from the competition, Reds head coach Arne Slot offered a grim early assessment of Ekitike’s condition. “It doesn’t look good,” Slot told reporters. “It looks really bad, but it’s difficult for me to say how bad. Tomorrow we will investigate further.” The injury carries major ramifications beyond Liverpool’s domestic and European campaign. Ekitike has emerged as one of the Merseyside club’s most impactful performers this season, netting 19 goals across all club and international competitions. Most recently, he scored the decisive goal for France in a high-profile 2-1 friendly win over Brazil just one month ago. With the men’s FIFA World Cup set to kick off later this year, Ekitike was widely expected to be a key starting attacker for the defending champions, making his fitness a major point of concern for French national team staff. For Liverpool, the potential long-term absence of Ekitike also complicates the club’s ongoing push to secure a top-four finish in the English Premier League, which would grant them qualification to next season’s Champions League. The fixture was not without other injury concerns for both sides. PSG left-back Nuno Mendes was forced to withdraw shortly before halftime with an unspecified health issue, though he was able to walk off the pitch unassisted. Young PSG attacker Desire Doue became the third player to exit early, leaving the match with a leg injury early in the second half.
作者： admin
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Italy suspends defence cooperation deal with Israel
On a Tuesday appearance at a Verona wine industry fair, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed a sweeping policy shift: Rome has moved to suspend the automatic five-year renewal of its bilateral defence cooperation framework with Israel, a decision that marks a notable break from the Italian right-wing government’s previously close alignment with Tel Aviv.
The agreement in question, which first entered into force in April 2016, is structured to auto-renew every five years unless one party intervenes to halt the process. It covers a broad range of military collaboration, including cross-border exchanges of military equipment, joint training programs, and cooperative research and development initiatives for defence technology. According to leading Italian national news agency Ansa, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has already formalized the suspension in an official letter sent to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz.
A source familiar with the internal deliberations confirmed to Reuters that the decision was finalized during a high-level meeting on Monday, which included Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Defence Minister Crosetto, and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. The policy change comes amid a rapidly escalating series of diplomatic spats between the two nations, triggered by recent Israeli military actions targeting positions in Lebanon that have directly impacted Italian interests.
Just one week prior, the Italian government officially condemned an incident where Israeli forces opened fire on a convoy transporting Italian UN peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon. While no peacekeepers were injured in the strike, one Italian military vehicle was significantly damaged, prompting Rome to summon Israel’s top diplomat in Rome to register a formal protest.
The escalation continued this week, with Foreign Minister Tajani undertaking an official visit to Beirut on Monday, where he publicly delivered a sharp rebuke of Israeli military operations in Lebanon. “Lebanon is a brother country that we hold in our hearts. That is why today I came to Beirut to convey to President Aoun Italy’s solidarity following the unacceptable attacks by Israel against the civilian population,” Tajani stated during his trip. “The Government will do everything possible to achieve peace and put an end to the suffering of the Lebanese people. We must avoid at all costs another escalation like the one in Gaza.”
In response to Tajani’s public comments, Israeli officials summoned Italy’s ambassador to Tel Aviv in a reciprocal act of diplomatic protest, further deepening the rift between the two longtime partners. Until recent weeks, Meloni’s right-wing administration had positioned itself as one of Israel’s staunchest allies within the European Union, making this suspension of core defence cooperation one of the most significant public breaks from that alignment to date.
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In Algeria, Pope calls on authorities ‘not to dominate, but serve the people’
On a historic Monday that marked the first papal visit to Algeria in modern history, Pope Leo XIV wove together spiritual reflection and bold political messaging, blending calls for domestic reform with a global rebuke of exploitative power dynamics. The American-born pontiff, who traces his religious roots to the Augustinian Order founded on the teachings of the North African-born Christian thinker Saint Augustine, made history as the first leader of the Catholic Church to set foot on Algerian soil, the birthplace of his order’s namesake.
The landmark day was not without shadow: two major events dominated headlines alongside the visit: a high-profile public clash with U.S. President Donald Trump over the pontiff’s opposition to the war on Iran, and a failed double suicide bombing just 50 kilometers outside the capital Algiers that marked the first major extremist attack in the country since 2012.
Beginning his itinerary in the capital Algiers, where he was welcomed with full official honors, Pope Leo XIV first offered prayers at the iconic Martyrs’ Monument, a memorial honoring the thousands who died during Algeria’s 1954–1962 war of independence from French colonial rule. Standing at the site that carries deep national and diplomatic resonance, amid ongoing tensions that continue to strain Franco-Algerian diplomatic relations, he framed lasting peace as a project rooted in reconciliation. “Peace is only possible through forgiveness,” he told assembled guests. “The true struggle for liberation will only be definitively won when peace of hearts has been achieved.”
Moving from the memorial to a formal address before Algeria’s top political leadership, including President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and the international diplomatic corps, the pontiff turned his attention to domestic political reform. Three leading global non-governmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch, had publicly called on Pope Leo XIV in the days leading up to the visit to raise human rights concerns with Algerian officials, who have faced sustained accusations from rights defenders of cracking down on opposition since the 2019 Hirak pro-democracy movement that forced longtime authoritarian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power. Rights groups document widespread arrests, detentions and convictions of activists, journalists and government critics in the years since the movement.
In his address, Pope Leo XIV urged Algerian authorities to embrace greater political openness and empower a free civil society, particularly for the country’s large youth population. “The true strength of a country lies in the cooperation of everyone in achieving the common good. The authorities are called upon not to dominate, but to serve the people and their development,” he said. “I therefore urge those of you who hold authority in this country not to fear this prospect and to promote a vibrant, dynamic and free civil society, in which young people, in particular, are recognised as having the capacity to contribute to broadening the horizon of hope for all.”
The pontiff also used the platform to deliver a veiled rebuke of global power politics, condemning “ongoing violations of international law and neo-colonial tendencies” in an implicit critique of Western foreign policy in the Middle East. The comment came amid an intensifying public feud with Trump, who has launched repeated attacks on Pope Leo XIV over his increasingly vocal opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. On the Sunday before the visit, Trump publicly stated he was “not a fan of Pope Leo” and falsely claimed the pontiff supported nuclear proliferation. On Monday, the U.S. president doubled down, refusing to walk back his comments and labeling the pontiff “weak.”
Speaking to reporters on his flight from Rome to Algiers, Pope Leo XIV pushed back on the conflict without escalating it, saying he had “no intention of entering into a debate” with Trump and was not “afraid” of his administration. “The Church has a moral duty to speak out very clearly against war,” he said. “I don’t think the message of the Gospel should be distorted as some are doing.”
As the pontiff delivered his address in Algiers, news broke of a coordinated attack in Blida, a city located roughly 50 kilometers south of the capital. Two suicide bombers detonated their explosive devices, killing themselves: one outside the city’s central police station, and another roughly 500 meters from the first site. Four additional unexploded bombs targeting police and public spaces were successfully defused by security forces, and an unconfirmed number of civilians were injured in the incident. Algerian authorities had not issued an official statement on the attack as of Monday evening. Security analysts noted that the heavy security deployment around the pope’s visit in Algiers likely pushed attackers to shift their target to the neighboring city.
Despite the unrest, the visit proceeded as scheduled, with Pope Leo XIV traveling to Annaba, the site of ancient Hippo where Saint Augustine served as bishop, for scheduled events on Tuesday. In his welcoming remarks on Monday, Tebboune expressed Algeria’s “immense pride” in hosting the pontiff on the land of Saint Augustine, whom he called “your spiritual father and one of the most luminous minds in the history of human thought.” Catholics make up less than 0.01% of Algeria’s population, where Sunni Islam is the official state religion, with most Catholic residents being European expatriates or sub-Saharan African students. Tebboune also praised the pope’s “courageous stance” against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the humanitarian suffering unfolding across the Gulf region.
The Algeria stop is the first leg of Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural multi-nation trip to Africa, which will continue with visits to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea before the pontiff returns to Rome on April 23.
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New Mossad chief backs Gaza occupation and once ‘used’ a teenager in operation
Israel’s advisory committee for senior public appointments has given the green light to Roman Gofman, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to take the helm of the country’s iconic intelligence agency Mossad, capping a rapid military rise that has been overshadowed by bitter controversy over his past conduct, hardline political views, and allegations of power abuse. Gofman, 49, will assume a five-year term starting in June, succeeding outgoing director David Barnea, who has publicly opposed his appointment.
Born in the Soviet Union’s Belarus, Gofman immigrated to Israel with his family in 1990 at age 14. Five years after arriving, he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces’ armored corps, climbing steadily through the ranks to earn a promotion to major general in early 2024. His career has spanned combat deployments across southern Lebanon, the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and he has long been associated with far-right ideological circles: as a young pre-military trainee, he studied at the Bnei David yeshiva in Eli, an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, an institution notorious for promoting extremist Jewish supremacist views. Gofman himself has publicly credited the yeshiva with shaping his core ideological beliefs about Israel.
Gofman’s most high-profile military experience came during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, when he was wounded in a firefight with Palestinian fighters near his home in Ashdod. Surveillance footage captured him exchanging fire before sustaining a leg injury and pulling back, but he returned to duty shortly after recovering. Reflecting on the surprise attack, he argued that even the most formidable military forces face unexpected breaches, and that proactive initiative is the only way to prevent future surprises.
As the Israeli military campaign in Gaza unfolded after October 7, Gofman emerged as one of the most outspoken hardliners in Israeli security circles. He drafted an official plan calling for the full reoccupation of the entire Gaza Strip, and has argued that Israel should maintain permanent control over the enclave at the end of the current conflict. He has previously criticized the Israeli military for what he frames as excessive caution in deploying ground forces across multiple fronts, from Gaza to Lebanon to Syria, and has publicly praised Orde Wingate, a British Mandate-era officer famous for developing brutal counterinsurgency tactics against Palestinian groups alongside early Zionist militias, framing decisive, reality-altering military action as the core of Israeli strategy. In a 2019 academic proposal, he even controversially suggested that Israel should sell nuclear warheads to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to counter Iran’s nuclear program, a view far outside mainstream Israeli security policy.
Netanyahu tapped Gofman to serve as his personal military secretary in April 2024, marking his entry into the prime minister’s inner circle. But his nomination to lead Mossad has sparked fierce opposition from across Israel’s political and security establishment, centered on two core sets of concerns: his lack of prior intelligence experience, and multiple allegations of professional and ethical misconduct during his military career.
The most explosive controversy surrounds a 2022 intelligence operation, when Gofman commanded the 210th Bashan Regional Division on the Golan Heights. According to investigative reports, Gofman instructed military intelligence personnel to provide 17-year-old Israeli civilian Ori Elmakayes with classified information to publish on social media as part of a covert influence campaign targeting Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. After Elmakayes published the material, Israeli police arrested him on charges of leaking state secrets, and he spent 18 months in pre-trial detention.
Gofman initially denied to military investigators that he knew of Elmakayes’ involvement, but the case against the teenager collapsed when evidence confirmed he had been acting on direct military orders approved by Gofman. Gofman has since denied authorizing the release of truly sensitive material and claims he did not know Elmakayes was a minor. Elmakayes, however, has slammed Gofman for throwing him aside to protect his own career.
“Roman Gofman used me illegally and immediately afterwards disowned me, abandoned me and did not put an end to the ongoing nightmare I went through,” Elmakayes wrote on the social platform X following Sunday’s approval vote. “Someone who abandoned a 17-year-old boy will also abandon Mossad agents.”
Committee chair Asher Grunis, a former president of Israel’s Supreme Court, was the most prominent official to oppose Gofman’s approval, issuing a scathing rebuke of his conduct in the Elmakayes case. “The use of a minor Israeli civilian constitutes an extremely serious flaw and raises a moral-ethical concern. It amounts to a breach of integrity,” Grunis argued, though he was outvoted by the committee’s three other pro-appointment members. Outgoing Mossad chief Barnea has also joined the opposition, labeling Gofman’s actions in the case as an abuse of power.
Additional allegations of misconduct date back to Gofman’s tenure as a West Bank regional commander between 2015 and 2017, when he reportedly ordered the recruitment of Palestinian informants near Beit Ummar without following mandatory legal authorization processes; his directive was later overturned by military leadership.
Beyond the personal misconduct claims, many current and former Israeli security and political figures argue Gofman’s appointment is part of a deliberate effort by Netanyahu to politicize Israel’s independent intelligence and security establishment by installing loyalists to top posts. Gofman has become a trusted confidant of Netanyahu over the past two years of repeated Israeli military campaigns across the region, and Israeli media reports confirm the prime minister has full confidence in him, even assigning him sensitive behind-the-scenes diplomatic missions, including unannounced visits to Russia to maintain ties with President Vladimir Putin. He also played a central role in secret Israeli-Syrian talks in January 2025.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to appoint his military secretary, Major General Roman Gofman, as head of the Mossad is a continuation of his politicization and takeover of the intelligence community and the security establishment,” veteran military commentator Yossi Melman warned in December, noting that the appointment would mark another key institution brought under Netanyahu’s direct political control. Former Israeli army chief and opposition MP Gadi Eisenkot has echoed these criticisms, arguing top security posts are now being handed out as rewards for loyalty to the prime minister’s political agenda, rather than on the basis of professional merit. Former senior Mossad official Rami Eigra called the nomination politically motivated, warning it will likely erode the agency’s operational effectiveness and increase the risk of major failures.
The battle over Gofman’s appointment is far from over. Elmakayes and multiple Israeli human rights and pro-democracy NGOs are preparing to petition the Supreme Court to block the nomination, according to reports from Haaretz. Some Israeli defense establishment insiders told Ma’ariv they believe the court could strike down the appointment, which would force Netanyahu to ask Barnea to extend his term for several weeks or months while a new candidate is selected.
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Slovaks rally against populist Prime Minister Fico’s plan to scrap mail voting from abroad
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered across Slovakia — and in major European cities outside the country — on Tuesday to push back against a contentious electoral proposal from populist Prime Minister Robert Fico that would eliminate postal voting for Slovak citizens residing abroad. The largest demonstration, held directly outside Slovakia’s parliament building in the capital Bratislava, opened with a warm round of applause for the shocking outcome of neighboring Hungary’s weekend general election, where long-time authoritarian populist Viktor Orbán was ousted from power by a pro-European opposition candidate.
Fico, who returned to the office of prime minister in 2023 following parliamentary elections, has emerged as a deeply polarizing figure both within Slovakia and across the European Union. His consistently pro-Russia policy stances and perceived authoritarian power grabs have already sparked waves of mass public demonstrations since his administration took office. Critics have repeatedly drawn parallels between Fico’s governing style and Orbán’s 12-year illiberal rule in Hungary, noting that Fico has openly drawn inspiration from Orbán’s approach to politics. Tuesday’s protests mark just the latest in a months-long string of public outcry against the Fico administration’s policy agenda.
The protest initiative was organized by a coalition of four opposition political groups: the Progressive Slovakia party, Freedom and Solidarity, the Christian Democrats, and the Democrats. Speaking to the assembled crowd in Bratislava, Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Šimečka framed the fight over overseas voting as an existential battle for Slovak democracy, echoing the stakes Hungarians faced just days earlier.
Šimečka argued that Fico’s proposed legislation would effectively disenfranchise tens of thousands of Slovak citizens who have settled outside the country’s borders. Under the new plan, the only option for overseas voters would be to cast ballots in person at Slovak embassies and consulates — a requirement that creates major logistical barriers for many citizens living far from diplomatic outposts. As he spoke, the crowd chanted repeatedly: “Shame, shame.”
“It is obvious the government is pushing this change because they are afraid,” Šimečka told demonstrators. “They are afraid of the people, they are afraid of free elections, they are afraid of losing power.” The draft legislation is scheduled to go under formal debate during the current sitting of the Slovak parliament, leaving the window open for urgent political pushback from opposition lawmakers.
Data from the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election underscores why Fico’s party has targeted overseas postal voting. In that election, nearly 59,000 Slovaks living abroad cast mail-in ballots. Fico’s Smer (Direction) party captured just 6.1 percent of that overseas vote, while the unified opposition won more than 80 percent of support from citizens voting from outside the country. Fico has defended the policy change by claiming it is necessary to “prevent electoral fraud and manipulations,” a framing opposition leaders dismiss as a baseless pretext to suppress anti-government votes.
Beyond the capital Bratislava, demonstrations were also held in major Slovak cities including Košice and Banská Bystrica. Solidarity rallies were also organized by Slovak expats outside the country, including in the EU capital Brussels and Prague, the capital of neighboring Czech Republic. Slovakia, a Central European nation with a total population of 5.4 million, is not scheduled to hold its next general election until 2027 — but the fight over electoral rules has already reignited a tense political standoff between Fico’s populist government and pro-Western, pro-European opposition forces.
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Smotrich refers to Nazis as he brands Germany ‘hypocrites’ over Israeli settler criticism
A sharp diplomatic clash has erupted between a senior far-right Israeli cabinet minister and Germany’s chancellor ahead of Israel’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, centered on escalating Israeli settler activity and violence in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent advocate for full Israeli annexation of the West Bank, launched a blistering attack on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after Merz publicly raised concerns about rampant settler attacks and stated he had made clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recent phone call that any de facto annexation of the West Bank is unacceptable.
Writing on the social platform X on April 13, 2026, just ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Smotrich weaponized the memory of the Nazi Holocaust that killed six million European Jews to accuse Merz and Germany of rank hypocrisy. Instead of lecturing Israel on moral conduct, Smotrich argued, the German chancellor should “bow his head and apologise a thousand times on behalf of Germany” for the atrocities of the Holocaust. He doubled down on his criticism of European leadership, claiming “the days when Germans dictated to Jews where they were permitted or forbidden to live are over and shall not return. You will not force us into ghettos again, certainly not in our own land.” Smotrich, who has previously labeled Palestinians “the Nazis of our generation,” added that Israel’s presence in its historical and biblical homeland is a rebuke to all who have sought to destroy the Jewish people, and “we do not apologise for it for a single moment.”
Merz’s comments reflected growing international alarm over the unprecedented acceleration of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, a trend that has sharpened dramatically since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in 2023. Data from the Israeli anti-settlement advocacy group Peace Now shows that the Israeli government approved 54 new and existing settlements in 2025 — a staggering all-time high that shattered the previous record of nine approvals set just one year earlier. Of these 54 expansions, 26 were retroactively legalized outposts that had originally been built without official government authorization. The group also recorded a 40% surge in new unauthorised outposts, reaching 86 in 2025, which works out to an average of one to two new outposts established every week across the territory.
United Nations data further underscores the human cost of rising settler activity. A UN report released in mid-March 2026 documented that between November 2024 and October 2025 alone, more than 36,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes in the West Bank amid consistent and escalating settler attacks. Over that same 12-month period, researchers recorded 1,732 separate incidents of settler violence that resulted in casualties or property damage — a 25% increase compared to the previous year.
Smotrich has long been one of the most outspoken and hardline supporters of full Israeli annexation of the West Bank, and has publicly pushed for policies that would encourage Palestinians to leave the territory. In a February 2026 address to his Religious Zionism party and West Bank settlement leaders, Smotrich called for the full cancellation of the 1993 Oslo Accords, the framework that established the Palestinian Authority to govern Palestinian populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. “Destroy the idea of an Arab terror state; finally, formally and practically cancel the cursed Oslo Accords and get on the path of sovereignty, while encouraging migration both from Gaza and from Judea and Samaria,” he stated, using the Israeli nationalist term for the West Bank. “There is no other long-term solution.”
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7-Eleven expects to close hundreds of its stores in North America this year
Global convenience retail leader 7-Eleven is set to undergo a major restructuring of its North American footprint, with plans to shutter hundreds of underperforming locations while shifting strategy toward wholesale fuel-focused outlets amid ongoing economic headwinds.
Newly released earnings filings from parent company Seven & i Holdings Co., a Japan-based retail conglomerate, show that 7-Eleven’s North American operating subsidiary has approved the closure of 645 brick-and-mortar stores during the 2026 fiscal year. This net reduction of locations comes even as the brand opens 205 new stores across the U.S. and Canada in the same period, marking the first time in recent years that closures will far outpace new openings in the region.
Seven & i’s official filings confirm that a portion of the planned closures will involve converting existing traditional convenience stores to stand-alone wholesale fuel outlets. The company has steadily built out this alternative store format in North America over the past half-decade, with the wholesale fuel network already topping 900 locations as of December 2025. As of press time, 7-Eleven has not released a full list of locations targeted for closure or shared additional details on the specific reasoning behind the restructuring plan; the Associated Press has requested further comment that has not yet been returned.
Today, 7-Eleven boasts a global footprint of more than 86,000 stores spread across 19 countries, with the Texas-based North American subsidiary overseeing more than 13,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada. The planned cuts represent a continuation of the brand’s longstanding practice of culling low-performing stores on a regular basis, but the 2026 plan is far larger than previous rounds of cuts, coming amid a broader period of economic pressure on consumers worldwide.
Persistent inflation that began before recent geopolitical unrest has already squeezed household budgets, particularly for low-income shoppers who make up a large share of 7-Eleven’s core customer base. In its April 9 financial report, Seven & i noted that even with overall moderate economic growth in North America during the 2025 fiscal year, personal consumption has softened noticeably, with inflation continuing to drag down discretionary spending among lower-income groups.
The recent outbreak of conflict between the U.S.-Israel coalition and Iran has exacerbated these pressures, roiling global energy markets and driving a sharp spike in retail gasoline prices that cuts directly into both consumer disposable income and 7-Eleven’s fuel retail margins.
Unlike the North American market, Seven & i’s international operations will see net growth in store counts over the coming fiscal year. Even the brand’s home market of Japan will follow this pattern: Seven-Eleven Japan plans to close 350 underperforming locations while opening 550 new stores, resulting in a net gain of 200 outlets.
Parent company Seven & i projects that group-wide revenue will decline by 9.4% in the current fiscal year, hitting a projected total of roughly 9.45 trillion Japanese yen, equal to approximately $59.5 billion. The restructuring of the North American footprint comes as part of a broader corporate transformation launched under new leadership last year. Stephen Hayes Dacus took over as CEO of Seven & i in spring 2025, and has since outlined a new growth strategy focused on updating 7-Eleven’s core convenience offerings. Key priorities of the turnaround plan include expanding fresh food selections at existing stores and scaling up the brand’s 7NOW on-demand delivery service to capture new revenue streams in a shifting retail landscape.
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China’s Beinao-1 brain-computer interface used in livestreamed surgery
On a Monday in April 2026, a landmark medical event unfolded in Beijing’s Fengtai District, bringing cutting-edge domestic neurotechnology into the global spotlight. Hundreds of neurological and medical experts from across the country tuned into a public livestream broadcast from Beijing Tiantan Hospital, where surgeons successfully deployed Beinao-1 — China’s independently developed high-performance semi-invasive implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) system — during a live surgical procedure.
The livestream delivered crisp, high-definition footage of every critical stage of the operation, allowing the gathered observing experts to track and deliberate on key technical decisions in real time. Core points of discussion among the professional audience included the nuanced selection of surgical access routes tailored to the patient’s anatomy, the precise calibration of electrode implantation depth to maximize signal capture, and targeted strategies for debugging and stabilizing neural signal output after implantation.
This public demonstration marks a major milestone for China’s domestic BCI development, showcasing the maturity of locally built neurotechnology that can be integrated into routine clinical surgical practice. Unlike fully invasive BCI systems that require penetrating deep brain tissue, or non-invasive options that often suffer from weak, distorted signal quality, Beinao-1’s semi-invasive design strikes a carefully balanced middle ground, lowering surgical risk while maintaining high-fidelity neural signal capture — a key advantage for widespread clinical adoption. The livestreamed procedure also created an unprecedented opportunity for cross-institutional knowledge sharing, allowing hundreds of experts nationwide to observe and engage with the implementation of a new domestic BCI system without travel, accelerating the dissemination of cutting-edge neurotech surgical techniques across China’s medical community.
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‘Pipe dream’: Turkey’s plan to redraw Middle East energy routes after Iran
Nearly a month into the Israel-Hamas conflict, Iran’s strategic control over the Strait of Hormuz has sent global energy markets into extreme volatility, prompting regional players to scramble for alternative supply routes to bypass the critical chokepoint. Turkey, a longstanding regional energy crossroads, is positioning the ongoing crisis as a pivotal opportunity to advance a slate of long-proposed energy infrastructure projects that would redirect Middle Eastern oil and gas to European and global markets away from the Strait of Hormuz.
During a live interview with Anadolu Agency last week, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar laid out his full vision for these alternative routes, highlighting multiple projects that have sat dormant for years for political and economic reasons. Top of his list is connecting Iraq’s oil-rich southern Basra region to the existing underutilized Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which currently carries 1.5 million barrels of crude per day from Iraq’s northern Kirkuk field to Turkey’s Mediterranean export terminal at Ceyhan. Bayraktar also revived plans for a massive overland gas pipeline that would link Qatar’s giant North Field to Turkey, transiting Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, before sending supplies onward to European markets. He also pushed for progress on the long-discussed Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, which would carry 80 billion cubic meters annually of Turkmen natural gas across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, then through Georgia to Turkey and European markets. Additional proposals include connecting Syrian oil fields to the existing Iraq-Turkey pipeline network and building a high-voltage electricity interconnector linking Saudi Arabia to Turkey via Jordan and Syria, aligning with a broader Saudi plan to connect Gulf power grids to Europe.
Bayraktar emphasized that these projects would create stable alternative export routes for producers struggling with Hormuz-related disruptions, noting that the ongoing crisis has underscored the urgent need for diversified supply chains. “We are opening an alternative export route for you,” he said, adding that he hopes the current market volatility will push global and regional stakeholders to take the long-stalled proposals seriously. “But unfortunately, what we have been saying has not found a response up to now. Hopefully, this crisis will lead everyone into a process where they pause, think more seriously, and we can implement these projects.”
Already, neighboring producer Saudi Arabia has leveraged its domestic East-West Pipeline to move crude through the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz entirely, while Iraq has begun exploring overland export options. The urgency for alternative routes grew after QatarEnergy declared force majeure on multiple long-term LNG supply contracts to customers across Europe and Asia last month, following Iranian targeting of Qatari energy facilities near the strait.
However, energy experts have cast doubt on the feasibility of many of Turkey’s proposed projects, painting a mixed outlook that sees some schemes as relatively actionable while others face steep political, economic and security barriers. The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, for example, is now more politically viable than it has been in decades following improved relations between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, but it still faces significant unresolved hurdles. The project requires a 300-kilometer subsea pipeline across the Caspian Sea, connecting the Turkmen port of Turkmenbashi to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, where it could link to existing export infrastructure including the South Caucasus Pipeline and Trans-Anatolian Pipeline. Experts estimate the subsea segment alone would cost roughly $2 billion, and scaling the pipeline to a commercially viable 20-30 billion cubic meters per year would require billions more in upstream development, compression upgrades and downstream expansion. Securing financing has also proven difficult, as European markets are increasingly shifting to LNG imports, and the project lacks long-term purchase commitments that would de-risk investment. While Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have improved ties, both have yet to formally ratify the 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, which would clear legal barriers for the pipeline and reduce opportunities for Russia and Iran to block the project.
The proposed Qatar-Turkey gas pipeline, first floated as early as 2009, faces even steeper challenges. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which blocked the project for years under Russian pressure, Turkey has pushed to revive it, but Qatar has repeatedly signaled it has no interest in moving forward. A Qatari foreign ministry statement in January 2025 confirmed the country remains committed to its existing LNG export model, which offers greater market flexibility than a fixed pipeline route. Justin Dargin, a senior fellow at the Doha-based Middle East Council on Global Affairs, noted that the project was originally estimated to cost $10-12 billion, but current inflation, security risks and political uncertainty would push the total price tag to $15 billion or more. The 1,500-kilometer pipeline crosses multiple national borders, requiring decades of sustained political alignment between Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey – a high bar in the volatile current regional environment. It would also expose Qatar to political transit risks that the country has spent decades avoiding, while its existing LNG infrastructure allows it to sell to global spot markets and diversify its customer base. “A multi-country pipeline would expose Qatar to exactly the kind of political leverage it has spent decades minimising,” Dargin explained. He added that while Gulf producers are increasingly expanding domestic bypass capacity like Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline and the UAE’s Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, the Qatar-Tur project would not operate within a single country, leaving it vulnerable to disruption from state and non-state actors aligned with Iran.
Some of Turkey’s smaller proposals, however, are viewed as far more feasible. The plan to connect Syrian oil fields to the existing Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which currently has massive unused capacity, is seen as a relatively achievable near-term fix. Syria currently produces 100,000 to 120,000 barrels of crude per day, down from nearly 400,000 bpd before the 2011 civil war, so connecting existing output to the Turkey route would require relatively modest infrastructure investment. Wael Alzayat, executive director of the US-Syria Business Council, noted that while both Syrian and Turkish officials back the idea, obstacles remain: key oil producing areas are still controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, with no complete handover to the new Damascus government, and armed groups including PKK elements and remaining Islamic State cells pose ongoing security threats. Alzayat added that developing Syrian production to increase output would require a few billion dollars in outside investment, which Damascus cannot currently afford, but connecting existing fields to the pipeline is technically straightforward. “It is more feasible and realistic than a Qatar-Turkey pipeline crossing Syria,” he said.
In Iraq, the proposal to extend the existing Iraq-Turkey pipeline from Kirkuk down to Basra has also gained new urgency amid the Hormuz crisis. The Iraqi government needs $6.3 billion in monthly oil revenue to cover public expenditures, and lost more than $5.5 billion in March alone, highlighting the urgent need for additional export capacity. Currently, Iraq exports only 200,000 barrels per day through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan route, far less than the 3.5 million barrels per day it needs to cover monthly costs. Iraqi energy expert Salam Jabbar Shahab noted that political willingness to move forward with the Basra extension has grown substantially since the Hormuz crisis began, as the route would open a new outlet for southern Iraqi crude to European and Asian markets that bypasses the strait entirely. The biggest barriers, he added, are financing and security: the project is estimated to cost between $6 billion and $10 billion, which Iraq cannot cover on its own and would require loans from international financial institutions, and the pipeline would run from southern to northern Iraq through multiple restive regions, leaving it vulnerable to attacks from armed groups and political bargaining amid Iraq’s fragmented political landscape. Still, Shahab noted that the current crisis has given Iraqi policymakers a strong pragmatic incentive to move the project forward quickly.
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Italy to host a Wimbledon tuneup on grass starting in 2028. It could be played on the San Siro field
Italian tennis is experiencing an unprecedented period of expansion and ambition, with a series of high-profile developments signaling the country’s growing influence on the global tennis landscape.
In the latest announcement Tuesday, Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, confirmed the federation has acquired the hosting rights to a 250-level ATP Tour tournament previously held in Brussels each October. Relocated to Italy, the new event will launch in June 2028, positioning it as a key pre-Wimbledon warm-up tournament on grass courts. Binaghi noted that while a final venue is still to be confirmed, climate conditions point to northern Italy as the most likely location. One standout potential option under consideration is the iconic San Siro soccer stadium in Milan, following the lead of Madrid Open organizers who are set to add practice courts inside Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. “For once, we wouldn’t be the first to do it,” Binaghi pointed out.
This new grass-court event is just the latest addition to Italy’s packed portfolio of top-tier tennis competitions. The country already hosts the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin through 2030, and the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna through 2025. From 2022 to 2024, Italy also staged a WTA grass-court tournament in Gaiba, building valuable experience in hosting outdoor grass events ahead of the new ATP addition.
Attention now turns to the upcoming Italian Open, scheduled to begin next month at Rome’s Foro Italico. Organizers are riding a wave of momentum after world No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s straight-sets victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo Masters final Sunday, a win that reclaimed the top ranking for the Italian star. The tournament is already abuzz with speculation that Sinner could become the first Italian man to lift the Italian Open men’s singles trophy in 50 years, since Adriano Panatta’s iconic win in 1975. Binaghi expressed confidence in the host nation’s prospects at the tournament presentation, noting that Italy has three additional top-25 ranked players: Lorenzo Musetti at No. 9, Flavio Cobolli at No. 16, and Luciano Darderi at No. 21. Last year’s tournament delivered historic home success too: Jasmine Paolini claimed both the women’s singles and doubles titles alongside partner Sara Errani, while Alcaraz defeated Sinner in the men’s final in Sinner’s first competition back after a three-month doping ban.
Major infrastructure upgrades are also underway at the Foro Italico to prepare for the tournament’s growing profile. Construction of a retractable roof for the main Campo Centrale court will kick off immediately after this year’s Italian Open, with completion targeted for the 2028 edition. The renovation will increase seating capacity for the main stadium from 10,500 to 12,400 for tennis, with additional capacity available for other sports such as basketball.
Looking further ahead, Binaghi reiterated the federation’s long-term ambition to elevate the Italian Open to the status of a fifth Grand Slam, joining the existing four major tournaments that have defined top-tier men’s and women’s tennis for a century. First proposed by Binaghi last year, the plan would see the federation acquire the license for the Madrid Open — which currently sits on the calendar immediately before Rome — and merge or restructure the events to create a fifth elite major. “I think about it every day,” Binaghi said. “There’s only a brief window when we can achieve this. … Italy would benefit from it for 100 years. It’s our dream.”