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Highly effective prevention drug arrives in South Africa, which has world’s highest HIV burden

In the South African township of Secunda, 19-year-old Olwam Plaatjie carries a personal motivation for embracing a revolutionary new tool in the global fight against HIV. Growing up surrounded by the havoc the virus wreaked on her family and neighbors—watching loved ones lose weight, battle repeated illness, and rely on daily antiretroviral pills to survive—she made the decision to start on pre-exposure prophylaxis three years ago, eager to avoid the same fate.

Today, Plaatjie is among the thousands of South Africans who participated in clinical trials for lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable HIV prevention medication that solves one of the biggest drawbacks of standard daily oral prevention pills: consistent adherence. Even after experiencing mild side effects including night sweats, she has continued her participation, and this month, her country made global health history as one of the first nations in the world to roll out the new drug broadly.

South Africa bears the world’s heaviest HIV burden, with more than 8 million people currently living with the virus and between 140,000 and 170,000 new infections recorded every year. At the official launch of the national rollout, President Cyril Ramaphosa told a stadium crowd that lenacapavir marks a long-awaited turning point for the country’s decades-long HIV public health response.

Developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences, lenacapavir’s efficacy was validated through large-scale clinical trials conducted across South Africa and Uganda. A landmark study based in Johannesburg found that the six-monthly injection delivers 100% protection against HIV, a result senior clinician Dr. Nkosi Ndlovu of the Wits RHI research institute called “groundbreaking.”

Right now, the South African government has secured enough doses to treat 456,000 people for one full year, supported by a $29 million grant from the Global Fund. After this initial phase, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi confirmed the country plans to transition to independent domestic funding for the program, with continued backing from international donors. Ramaphosa has set an ambitious target to reach 3 million at-risk South Africans with the drug over the next three years, though he has not released detailed funding or implementation plans to meet that goal.

Despite the historic milestone, public health advocates and civil society organizations argue the current rollout is far too small to move the needle on national infection rates. Groups estimate South Africa needs at least 2 million doses annually to generate a meaningful reduction in new HIV cases. Advocates also point out that South Africa’s central role in developing the drug—from hosting trials to enrolling thousands of community participants and generating the critical efficacy data—should guarantee the country broader, faster access than it has received so far.

“Our communities participated in the research, our clinics hosted the trials and our scientists helped produce the data,” explained Tian Johnson, health strategist for Johannesburg-based advocacy group African Alliance. “Yet we are still waiting for Gilead to determine how much of the product we receive, when it arrives and how quickly access can expand.”

On the manufacturing front, progress is underway to expand access and lower costs for low- and middle-income nations. Gilead has already committed to granting a voluntary manufacturing license to a South African drugmaker, following six similar licenses issued to firms in other countries last year. Once a national committee selects the local manufacturer, lenacapavir will be produced domestically as a low-cost generic, priced at just $40 per person annually—a dramatic drop from the original list price of $28,000 per year.

For the initial rollout phase, South Africa is prioritizing distribution to six provinces with the country’s highest HIV prevalence, with the first batch of 37,920 doses already sent to 360 local health facilities. Doses are being directed first to the groups at highest risk of infection: people who inject drugs, sex workers, transgender people, adolescent women aged 15 to 24, and pregnant or nursing people.

Reaching these vulnerable key populations presents unique challenges, however. Years ago, sweeping cuts to U.S. global health aid under the Trump administration forced the closure of 12 specialized clinics that were the primary safe, confidential care sites for many at-risk groups. These groups often avoid standard public clinics due to stigma, long wait times, and negative interactions with staff, leaving many at risk of being left out of the new program.

“Key populations, sex workers, people who use drugs, they don’t normally use public clinics,” noted Bellinda Thibela, international policy and advocacy coordinator for the Health Global Access Project. “So it means that we’re going to lose them unless the government acts fast and ensures that they put the resources to reach those people.”

Minister Motsoaledi confirmed that patients from the closed U.S.-supported clinics have been transferred to existing public health facilities, and the government is currently working to train staff and create private, stigma-free spaces for vulnerable patients. Even so, he acknowledged that the unique safe environment the specialized clinics provided has not yet been fully replaced.

“What we have lost is that confidentiality, where they were going to these clinics that are very special to them, where they feel very safe,” Motsoaledi said. “So we are trying to train our doctors to take over.”

Leila Mansoor, a senior scientist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa, said equitable large-scale access to lenacapavir could reshape the country’s HIV epidemic. “If South Africa can deliver it equitably and at scale, it could make a meaningful contribution to reducing new HIV infections,” she said.

8 6 月, 2026
Congo’s Ebola outbreak rises to 100 deaths out of 550 cases after a month

BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo – A devastating Ebola outbreak, declared less than a month ago in the eastern region of the country, has already claimed at least 100 lives, local health authorities confirmed. The crisis is being compounded by a series of interconnected obstacles that continue to hamper efforts to curb transmission and save lives. As of Monday evening, the latest official situation report documents 550 confirmed cases of the virus, with 101 recorded fatalities and only 19 people who have recovered so far. Public health officials warn that the true scope of the outbreak is likely far higher than documented, because the spread of the virus went undetected for weeks before the outbreak was formally declared. Complicating response efforts even further, the outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola – an uncommon variant that, unlike the Zaire strain which caused most of Congo’s previous 16 Ebola outbreaks, has no currently approved vaccine or targeted treatment available. Local unrest has also become a major barrier: armed conflict is raging in key transmission hotspots, and angry resident attacks on frontline health workers have disrupted critical vaccination, testing and contact tracing operations. Widespread skepticism about the disease among local communities has further slowed public health interventions, creating additional gaps in efforts to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

8 6 月, 2026
Business, unions unite against Swiss immigration cap push

As Switzerland prepares for a high-stakes public referendum this Sunday, an unusual coalition of top business leaders and major trade unions has mobilized in force to defeat a controversial proposal to cap national immigration and cap the country’s total population below 10 million by 2050. The initiative, spearheaded by the hard-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s largest political party — has sparked widespread fears of severe damage to the country’s employment market, economic prosperity, and critical trade ties with the European Union. Dubbed “No to a Switzerland of 10 million!”, the proposal frames current immigration levels as “out of control”, claiming unchecked population growth is responsible for a raft of national issues, from overcrowded public transit and soaring rental costs to unregulated urban expansion. While the initiative faces broad, unified pushback from the Swiss federal government, national parliament, and the entire business community, recent public opinion polls indicate the final vote result could be extremely close, leaving both sides bracing for a tight outcome. Leading employer associations and trade unions have jointly labeled the plan the “chaos initiative”, warning it threatens to erode the foundations of Switzerland’s decades-long economic prosperity. Much of the country’s core economic sectors — from cutting-edge medical research and large-scale construction to public healthcare — rely heavily on foreign labor, the vast majority of which comes from neighboring European Union member states. Martin von Moos, head of the national hospitality industry group HotellerieSuisse, emphasized that more than half of all employees in Switzerland’s hotel and tourism sector are foreign workers. He warned the cap would dramatically worsen the chronic labor shortages already plaguing the industry. Beyond domestic labor market disruptions, critics warn the initiative puts at grave risk the sweeping bilateral agreements that bind Switzerland to the EU, its largest trading partner by far. Most critically, the proposal would violate the 1999 Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, a cornerstone of Swiss-EU trade relations. In 2023 alone, more than half of all Swiss exports — totaling more than 147 billion Swiss francs, equal to roughly $185 billion — were shipped to EU markets. For export-focused Swiss firms, maintaining unimpeded access to the European single market and a flexible cross-border labor pool is non-negotiable. Pierre-Yves Bonvin, chief executive of Vionnaz-based textile machinery manufacturer Steiger, which exports 100 percent of its production to the EU, told reporters that his firm simply could not operate without foreign specialist workers. While the company has moved low-value manufacturing to China, it retains all high-value-added production at its Swiss facility, where more than a third of its 40 local employees are foreign nationals. “In Switzerland, we can find engineers to design and assemble our machines, but we lack the specialized expertise to test and calibrate them,” Bonvin explained. “There is no longer any vocational training for this skill set in Switzerland, so we have to recruit these specialists from France and Germany. Without that expertise, we could not continue producing these machines here.” The SVP has dismissed widespread criticism of the plan, noting that the proposal includes annual immigration quotas that would allow roughly 40,000 new foreign residents to enter the country each year. But industry leaders reject that defense, arguing the proposed quotas are far too small to meet Swiss labor demand and would prioritize social sectors over manufacturing, leaving business stranded. Simon Michel, CEO of leading medical technology firm Ypsomed — based near Bern and a producer of diabetes injection systems — and a right-wing Liberal legislator, warned that the quotas would prioritize hospital care and elder care, leaving industrial recruitment at the back of the line. Facing growing global demand for obesity and diabetes treatments, Ypsomed plans to hire 100 new precision mechanics over the next three years for its Solothurn factory. Even with a robust domestic apprenticeship program, Michel said the company cannot train enough qualified workers locally, and will need to recruit from France, Germany, and Poland to fill roles. Trade unions echo business concerns, adding that the cap could push struggling export firms to relocate production entirely abroad, leading to widespread domestic job losses. Switzerland’s largest union, Unia, also warned the initiative would weaken longstanding national labor protections, eliminate anti-discrimination rules that guarantee equal treatment for resident and foreign workers, and open the door to widespread wage dumping that would drag down pay for all Swiss workers. In a statement, the union cautioned that the SVP’s xenophobic campaign around the initiative would put downward salary pressure on every working person in the country, regardless of their origin.

8 6 月, 2026
Seven Georgians tried in France over theft of rare Russian books

A high-stakes trial centered on one of the most brazen cultural theft rings in recent European history opens Tuesday in Paris, where seven Georgian nationals will answer for charges connected to the systematic theft of rare 19th-century Russian literary classics valued at more than 1.25 million euros from leading institutional libraries across the continent.

The case is the culmination of a multi-year cross-border investigation into a string of identical heists that targeted rare collections across Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and France. Law enforcement and judicial officials have linked the thefts to a sophisticated organized criminal network that operated across European borders for years, outwitting library security protocols through carefully planned deception.

Targeted works included first and early editions from iconic Russian literary figures Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol, with the total collective value of all stolen volumes across Europe estimated in the millions of euros. All seven defendants facing the Paris tribunal have been charged with criminal conspiracy and intent to commit theft; several also face additional charges for stealing cultural items on public display. If convicted, they could receive prison sentences of up to 10 years.

Two of the accused are being tried in absentia, and international arrest warrants remain active for their detention. Two other defendants, identified only as 50-year-old Mikheil Z. and 49-year-old Beqa T. by French judicial procedure, are already serving prison sentences for identical theft convictions in Lithuania and Estonia respectively, and have been temporarily extradited to France to stand trial for their alleged roles in the French heists. Last year, Mikheil Z. was sentenced to three years and four months in a Lithuanian prison for stealing 19th-century publications worth 606,000 euros, while Beqa T. received a three-year-and-six-month sentence in Estonia for similar crimes.

French investigating judges who reviewed the case file shared with Agence France-Presse confirm the network’s operational method was consistent across all targeted institutions. Thieves would first pose as academic researchers to gain access to the rare reading rooms of major libraries, where they would photograph, measure, and document the target volumes before leaving. They would later return to swap the authentic rare books with near-identical high-quality forgeries that evaded detection for months.

In France, the heists unfolded in 2023 across three major cultural institutions: the Diderot Library at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Lyon, the National Library of France (BnF) in Paris, and the University Library of Languages and Civilisations (BULAC), also in Paris. Court records show that between March and October 2023, Mikheil Z. visited the BnF 40 times, requesting access to rare Pushkin manuscripts under the pretense of writing academic research on democratic themes in 19th-century Russian literature. It was not until November 2023 that library staff discovered nine authentic rare works had been swapped for fakes, with the BnF alone suffering an estimated loss of 650,000 euros.

When questioned by investigators, Mikheil Z. confessed to stealing the volumes but claimed he acted alone, stating his motive was purely financial greed and that he had sold all stolen books to buyers in Russia. A curious development in the case came in June 2024, when Russia’s Litfond auction house listed a second edition of Pushkin’s *The Prisoner of the Caucasus* — a volume matching the description of one stolen from the BnF — in its public auction catalogue. Litfond representatives provided French authorities with documentation claiming the book had been acquired from a private Russian owner between 2014 and 2015, years before the French heist.

Investigative judges have put forward two competing working theories for the network’s motive: beyond simple financial profit, the thefts may be connected to a broader push to “repatriate” Russia’s cultural heritage at a time of unprecedentedly strained relations between Moscow and Western Europe following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. To date, none of the stolen volumes have been recovered.

Despite the loss, the BnF remains committed to its core public mission, according to the institution’s lawyer Alexandre de Konn. “The National Library of France has not given up hope of recovering these works,” de Konn told Agence France-Presse. “It remains true to its mission: to continue making heritage open to the public while constantly strengthening its protection.”

The cross-border investigation that led to the 2024 arrests and this week’s trial was made possible by a joint investigation team launched under the auspices of Europol and Eurojust, the European Union’s law enforcement and judicial coordination agencies, formed specifically to dismantle the theft ring after heists were reported across multiple member states.

8 6 月, 2026
Wembanyama stars as Spurs trim Knicks’ Finals lead

The 202X NBA Finals took another dramatic twist on Monday, as the San Antonio Spurs secured a nail-biting 115-111 road victory over the New York Knicks at the world-famous Madison Square Garden, cutting the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1.

At the center of the win was 7-foot-4 generational talent Victor Wembanyama, who bounced back from a costly error-ridden performance in Game 2 to deliver a dominant 32-point outing. The young star added eight rebounds and six assists to his stat line, anchoring the Spurs’ comeback after a slow first half.

The sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, which hosted its first NBA Finals game since 1999, also got a surprising political spotlight: sitting US President Donald Trump, who made history as the first sitting US president to attend an NBA Finals championship series, was loudly booed by attendees when his image appeared on the arena’s big screen during the pre-game national anthem.

Wembanyama was not alone in securing the critical win for San Antonio. Guard Stephon Castle chipped in 23 crucial points, while reserve Dylan Harper added 13 points off the bench to shore up the Spurs’ second unit. The win was far more than just a single game victory: it kept the Spurs from falling into a 0-3 series deficit, a hole no NBA franchise has ever climbed out of in Finals history.

For the Knicks, the defeat snapped a 13-game overall winning streak that had carried them through the early rounds of the playoffs, leaving them two wins short of the Golden State Warriors’ all-time playoff winning streak record set in 2017. The Knicks have not claimed an NBA championship since 1973, and their quest to end the 50-plus-year drought now heads to a pivotal Game 4.

The game unfolded as a back-and-forth battle: New York held a 64-57 lead at halftime, but the Spurs rallied with a 35-point third quarter to flip the score in their favor. With just under two minutes remaining, Castle drained a three-pointer to push San Antonio’s advantage to 111-104. Unlike Game 1, where the Spurs collapsed under a late New York surge, this time San Antonio held firm under pressure. Even after OG Anunoby knocked down a late three-pointer to cut the lead to two points, Castle iced the game with two clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds.

Anunoby finished the game with 28 points for the Knicks, while point guard Jalen Brunson matched Wembanyama’s output with 32 points of his own.

Speaking after the game, Wembanyama kept his team grounded despite the much-needed win. “We’ve done what we were supposed to do but the job is absolutely not done,” he said. “We’re not even halfway. The hardest is yet to come.”

The best-of-seven series will remain at Madison Square Garden for Game 4 on Wednesday, with tipoff scheduled for 01:30 BST on Thursday. After that, the series will travel back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday, scheduled to tip off at 01:30 BST on Sunday.

8 6 月, 2026
All 24 Indian crew rescued from tanker set ablaze off Oman after US strike

In an incident that underscores the escalating dangers to commercial maritime traffic in the Gulf region, all 24 Indian crew members aboard the stricken tanker MT Marivex have been successfully evacuated to safety following a strike by United States military forces off the coast of Oman. The event, which unfolded on Monday 8 June local time, is the latest in a growing string of disruptions to global shipping linked to rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S., Iran and Israel.

According to official confirmation from India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways spokesperson Opesh Kumar Sharma, the fire broke out on board the unladen Palau-flagged tanker at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time. Immediately after the blaze ignited, crew members transmitted urgent distress signals, reporting that the vessel was both on fire and at risk of sinking. Sharma confirmed that initial assessments confirmed all seafarers were unharmed, and Indian authorities had launched a cross-agency coordination effort to secure the crew’s safe return. The Indian government declined to offer immediate further details on the incident’s root cause at the time of the announcement.

Local Omani authorities led the evacuation operation, with helicopter crews extracting all 24 sailors from the burning tanker and transferring them to safety on Masirah Island, according to multiple Indian media reports. The Reuters news agency later confirmed that the MT Marivex had been previously targeted with U.S. sanctions over its alleged ties to Iranian oil networks.

U.S. Central Command later issued an official statement acknowledging the operation, saying that American military forces disabled the empty tanker after it violated the U.S.-led blockade on Iran by attempting to sail to an Iranian port. The statement detailed that an F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier fired a precision-guided munition at the tanker’s engineering and steering compartments after the crew refused to comply with U.S. military orders. The statement concluded that the vessel was no longer en route to Iran. The strike occurred south of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical global maritime chokepoint that carries approximately 20% of the world’s daily energy supplies during normal operations.

Two major Indian seafarers’ unions, the All India Seafarers Union and the Forward Seamen’s Union of India, monitored the incident from its onset. The All India Seafarers Union reported that it received the first distress alert from a crew member just moments after the fire started, and maintained constant communication with both the crew and responding authorities throughout the rescue. The Forward Seamen’s Union of India labeled the incident a “matter of serious concern,” calling for rapid action to protect the crew, provide support to their families back in India, and prioritize the safety of all commercial seafarers operating in the high-risk region. Both unions ultimately confirmed the safe evacuation of all 24 crew members.

The incident comes amid a months-long period of heightened risk for commercial shipping in Gulf waters, where rising geopolitical friction linked to the ongoing Iran conflict and U.S.-led enforcement actions have drastically increased security hazards for civilian vessels. Tensions between the U.S., Iran and Israel have already disrupted key shipping routes and driven a sharp increase in military activity across the Gulf of Oman and the surrounding Strait of Hormuz, leaving civilian seafarers caught in the crossfire of geopolitical competition.

8 6 月, 2026
Why super-sized and politicised World Cup comes at a cost

As the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca – the first venue ever to host three World Cup opening games – the global football community is gearing up for what FIFA President Gianni Infantino calls “the greatest event humanity has ever seen.” This summer’s tournament, the first 48-team, tri-nation World Cup spread across 16 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, is already making history for far more than just its groundbreaking size. From political polarization to exorbitant ticket prices, unresolved security gaps and environmental concerns, this expanded showcase of the world’s most popular sport carries with it a level of contention unseen in any previous World Cup.

Infantino has framed the first pan-continental iteration of the tournament as the most inclusive, welcoming and unifying edition in the event’s 96-year history. But critics say those superlatives mask deep flaws that have undermined the tournament before a ball is even kicked: it is the most politicized, the most expensive, the most carbon-intensive, and the most commercially lucrative for FIFA itself, which is projected to pull in a record-breaking $9 billion in revenue this year alone.

The current state of play began eight years ago, when FIFA awarded the 2026 hosting rights to the North American bid, a move crafted to help the governing body rebuild its reputation after crippling 2010 corruption scandals tied to the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar World Cups. With most stadium infrastructure already in place across the three countries, the bid was seen as a low-risk, high-reward proposition that would leverage the world’s most valuable commercial sports market to unlock unprecedented broadcasting and sponsorship revenue. That windfall will let FIFA distribute $2.7 billion to global member associations over the next four years, a boost widely viewed as strengthening Infantino’s odds of securing a third term as president in 2027.

But the first major controversy to erupt has centered on ticket pricing, which has sparked public backlash and even official investigations. Ahead of the 2018 bid, organizers promised final tickets would cost no more than $1,550. When tickets went on sale last December, the most expensive premium seats hit $8,680, with dynamic pricing – a first for World Cup, where ticket costs fluctuate based on demand – pushing costs even higher for popular matches. Leading supporters’ groups called the pricing a “monumental betrayal,” and while FIFA released a limited batch of $60 entry-level tickets, New York and New Jersey officials have launched a formal probe into allegations that FIFA artificially inflated prices and misled fans. Thousands of tickets for matches featuring lower-ranked nations are currently selling below face value on official and secondary platforms, suggesting the governing body overestimated demand for high-priced inventory.

Off the pitch, other costs have also sparked anger. Regular train fares from New York City to MetLife Stadium, host of the 2026 final, jumped from $12.90 to as high as $150, with New Jersey’s governor blaming FIFA for refusing to subsidize public transport costs. A late policy change that initially banned reusable water bottles from stadiums drew widespread condemnation over public health risks, with 14 of 16 host venues expected to see dangerous summer heat; FIFA walked back the ban days later under intense pressure from fans and politicians, though scientists still warn the governing body’s heat safety protocols remain inadequate to protect players and spectators.

The tournament’s most intractable challenges, however, stem from its unprecedented entanglement in global politics, amplified by the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second administration. Never before has a host country been engaged in ongoing military conflict with a participating nation: after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February, with a ceasefire holding only nominally since April, Trump initially questioned whether Iran should be allowed to participate, suggesting unqualified Italy should replace the four-time World Cup qualifier. Iran ultimately secured its place in the draw, but the country has accused the U.S. of denying visas to dozens of its backroom staff, imposing harsh entry requirements for matches hosted in the U.S., and revoking all fan ticket allocations for its group stage matches. FIFA has also moved to ban Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag from stadiums, turning Iran’s opening two matches in Los Angeles – home to one of the world’s largest Iranian diaspora communities – into inherently politically charged events. The team relocated its training base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, to avoid ongoing political and travel friction.

Immigration policies have created even broader barriers to entry. Back in 2017, during Trump’s first term, Infantino warned that a U.S. travel ban on majority-Muslim nations violated FIFA rules and could disqualify the U.S. from hosting. Today, four participating nations – Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast – face full or partial travel bans on their fans under second-term Trump administration policies, with the White House citing security concerns. BBC analysis found fans from more than a quarter of the 48 participating teams face either travel bans, tightened visa restrictions, or extremely high visa rejection rates. Most recently, FIFA confirmed that Omar Artan, set to become the first Somali referee at a men’s World Cup, was dropped from the officials’ roster after U.S. immigration denied his entry visa. The International Sports Press Association has also complained that dozens of accredited journalists have been denied entry visas to cover the tournament.

Infantino’s close public relationship with Trump has drawn further criticism: last year, he awarded the U.S. president a controversial FIFA Peace Prize during the World Cup draw, drawing condemnation from human rights groups that label the tournament a “bonanza of sportswashing” as Trump leverages the event to boost his political standing, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. Amnesty International has warned the World Cup risks becoming “a stage for repression,” highlighting abusive U.S. immigration enforcement and the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the tournament’s security apparatus, coming off a high-profile fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens during an ICE immigration crackdown earlier this year. The White House World Cup Task Force has pushed back, vowing the tournament will be “the safest, most welcoming sporting event in history,” though a recent partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security – the agency leading tournament security – exposed critical planning gaps that officials admit are still being addressed just weeks ahead of kickoff. The recent Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose team will play group matches in Houston, Atlanta and Guadalajara, has added an additional public health layer to security planning.

Even environmental pledges have come under fire. While the use of existing stadiums aligns with FIFA’s goal to cut carbon emissions 50% by 2030, the expanded 104-match tournament spread across three countries has forced teams, fans and media to rely heavily on air travel, leading environmental groups to label it the most climate-damaging World Cup in history. It is projected to generate more than nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, almost double the average of the past four World Cups – far exceeding the 3.6 million ton estimate included in the original 2018 bid, which promised the tournament would set new sustainability standards for global sport.

In host co-host Mexico, challenges are already playing out in plain view: high ticket prices have priced out local fans, ongoing cartel violence has raised security concerns, and teacher protests demanding higher wages have toppled World Cup player statues and threatened to disrupt match play. In the U.S., polls show a majority of average Americans say the tournament is too expensive to attend, and hotel bookings across almost all host cities are well below initial projections, suggesting high costs and political tensions have deterred casual fans. Even for international visiting supporters, turnout is lower than expected: the Football Supporters’ Association projects just 12,000 to 15,000 England fans will attend each of the team’s group matches, a figure leaders call disappointing given pre-tournament excitement.

As the world turns its attention to Estadio Azteca for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, the tournament stands at a crossroads. Proponents argue the expanded 48-team format will be a transformative moment for football in the U.S., which last hosted the tournament in 1994, when the event helped propel the sport into the American mainstream. Today, with a thriving domestic MLS and massive U.S. investment in European football, supporters see an opportunity to unlock a trillion-dollar growth market for the global game. But critics warn that the unbridled expansion, commercialization and politicization of this World Cup has created a perfect storm of controversy that could overshadow the on-pitch action. The next five weeks will answer one burning question: will this unprecedented tournament cement football’s place as the world’s most popular sport, or will it collapse under the weight of its own unaddressed challenges?

8 6 月, 2026
Round 15 team lists: Souths name Jai Arrow in touching act as Ezra Mam remains on the Broncos bench

The National Rugby League community is coming together to celebrate the career of beloved player Jai Arrow, who was forced into early medical retirement earlier this year after a devastating motor neurone disease diagnosis, as Round 15 of the competition opens Thursday with a series of touching tributes planned by both his former and current clubs.

Arrow’s current club, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, have pulled off one of the most emotional gestures in recent rugby league history, naming the retired forward to their extended bench for Thursday’s clash against the Brisbane Broncos — Arrow’s first professional club. He will wear jersey number 23 for the match, and the club has invited all fans and members to join in honoring his legacy ahead of kickoff.

The tributes do not end with South Sydney, either. The Broncos, where Arrow launched his NRL career across two seasons before moving to the Gold Coast Titans and ultimately signing with the Rabbitohs in 2021, will also honor the former representative star, with every Broncos player set to display Arrow’s name and original club number on their game jerseys for the matchup.

The pre-game ceremony will include one particularly poignant moment: Arrow will have the honor of ringing the iconic Rabbitohs Legacy Bell before the match, while players from both the Rabbitohs and Broncos will form a guard of honor to welcome him as he takes the field. The Rabbitohs confirmed the plans in an official statement, calling on supporters to turn out to celebrate Arrow’s career alongside him.

Beyond the emotional tributes, Round 15 brings a host of team selection changes across the league, largely driven by State of Origin representative commitments and injury updates. For the Rabbitohs, the club will be missing all their Origin-selected stars, plus starting center Campbell Graham who sidelined by a calf injury. Tallis Duncan will shift to the backline to pair with Latrell Siegwalt in Graham’s absence.

For the Broncos, standout playmaker Ezra Mam will remain on the bench after missing a match-winning opportunity in the final minute against the Titans last week and subsequently being dropped from Queensland’s squad for State of Origin II. Hayze Perham will step into the fullback position to replace Reece Walsh, while backrower Jordan Riki returns to the starting side after recovering from an injury layoff.

Across other Round 15 fixtures, the Cronulla Sharks will again be without star halfback Nicho Hynes, who remains sidelined by a calf injury for their cross-Tasman trip, with Luke Metcalf held over on the extended bench. For the Dolphins, Trai Fuller will step in at fullback for Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, while playmaker Isaiya Katoa is set to be released from New South Wales Blues Origin camp to take the field against the Sydney Roosters.

The Roosters will have Cody Ramsey in at fullback to replace the Origin-bound James Tedesco, with Hugo Savala moving to his preferred halves position to partner Daly Cherry-Evans. Tommy Talau will make his club debut on the wing, filling in for Mark Nawaqanitawase who is with the NSW Origin camp. The Wests Tigers have received a major boost, with winger Taylan May returning to the side after recovering from a shoulder injury as the club chases a much-needed win at Leichhardt Oval.

8 6 月, 2026
Hundreds of aftershocks jolt Philippines as officials say death toll could rise

A powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the southern Philippine island of Mindanao early Monday has left at least 37 people dead and 487 others injured, with disaster officials warning the casualty count is likely to climb as emergency teams reach cut-off coastal communities. Hundreds of aftershocks have continued to rattle the disaster zone, hampering rescue and recovery efforts across the region.

The seismic event left a trail of catastrophic destruction in its wake: multi-story buildings have collapsed, paved roads have split open or been swallowed by landslides, and large portions of Mindanao remain completely cut off from power and communications infrastructure. The initial quake also triggered widespread tsunami warnings across regions as far as southern Indonesia and Japan’s Pacific coastline, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes for higher ground.

As search operations entered their first full day, disaster response officials confirmed that priority remains focused on pulling survivors from rubble and reaching isolated communities. “We hope the death toll does not increase further, but we are expecting it to move. Our priority today is search and rescue,” Bernardo Alejandro, assistant secretary of the Philippines’ disaster response oversight agency, told local radio station DZMM. As of initial assessments, close to 2,000 residential structures and more than 6,000 public schools have sustained damage across the affected region.

The Philippines sits along the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire, making it highly prone to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Monday’s temblor originated from tectonic movement along the Cotabato Trench, a fault zone off the country’s southern tip that has produced some of the deadliest seismic events in the nation’s recorded history. In 1976, a magnitude 7.9 quake from the same trench generated a devastating tsunami that killed an estimated 5,000 people.

On-the-ground accounts from survivors capture the chaos and terror of the two-minute-long quake. In Lebak town, public school teacher Cesar Sundo described the shaking as feeling like being violently rocked in a hammock, with the intensity building by the second. Thousands of young students, most under 10 years old, panicked and cried as the ground bucked beneath them. By chance, the entire school was gathered outside for their weekly Monday morning flag ceremony when the quake hit, a circumstance that likely saved countless lives.

“They were lucky to be outside. They were able to stay put and sit down,” explained Renato Solidum, the Philippines’ science minister and a veteran seismologist, confirming that the outdoor assembly saved many students from injury or death when structures collapsed around them. “These areas have experienced strong earthquakes before. This is one of the strongest.”

Viral footage captured from the scene shows a branch of popular local fast-food chain Jollibee in General Santos City crumble to the ground as onlookers scream and retreat to safety. The chain released an official statement Monday night confirming that all its employees across earthquake-impacted areas are unharmed.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has mobilized the full capacity of the national government to coordinate disaster response. Both the transportation and health secretaries have traveled from the capital Manila to Mindanao to oversee relief efforts on the ground. Health secretary Teodoro Herbosa noted that medical teams treating injured survivors have been interrupted repeatedly by strong aftershocks even as they work.

Access to many hard-hit communities remains severely limited. In Jose Abad Santos, a coastal town on Mindanao’s eastern Davao Occidental province, landslides have buried the region’s only paved highway, cutting off half the town from overland access. “Relief goods have to be flown in to far-flung barangays (villages),” Mayor Jason John Joyce told DZMM.

8 6 月, 2026
Ecuadorian artisans working to preserve the traditional craft of weaving horsehair strainers

Nestled in the highlands east of Ecuador’s capital Quito, the small village of Guangopolo holds a 200-year-old Indigenous craft tradition that is quietly slipping into history: the hand-weaving of cedazos, traditional horsehair sieves that once defined the community’s identity and economic life.

Inside 76-year-old artisan Ligia Ipiales’ modest family home, she moves with deliberate care, separating individual strands from raw horse tails to weave an intricate mesh as fine as medical gauze — the signature texture that made Guangopolo’s cedazos prized across Ecuador for generations. Today, only nine practicing cedacero artisans remain in the entire village, a dramatic collapse from the thriving trade that supported hundreds of households just half a century ago.

Among the remaining craftspeople is 51-year-old Guido Paucar, the youngest and only man in the group. He remembers a very different Guangopolo from his childhood: 50 years ago, roughly 500 Indigenous families in the village made their full or partial living crafting and selling cedazos, shipping up to 600 finished sieves to markets across the country every month, priced between $6 and $30 depending on size. “This is our village’s identity. If it disappears, Guangopolo loses a part of who we are,” Paucar said. “We are the last generation making these sieves.”

What doomed the centuries-old trade? The mass production of cheap plastic kitchen sieves and synthetic alternatives pushed handcrafted horsehair cedazos out of everyday Ecuadorian households, reducing them to decorative display pieces for tourists rather than functional kitchen tools. “Now we only sell up to 10 each week,” Paucar added. Compounding the decline is a growing scarcity of the traditional raw materials required for authentic cedazos. The craft relies on two key local resources: horsehair from working farm horses, and wood from the native Pumamaqui tree used to craft the 15-centimeter drum-shaped wooden rims that hold the mesh in place.

Where working horses once populated every Andean farm in the region, modern agricultural mechanization has replaced equine labor with motorcycles and tractors, eliminating the local supply of horsehair. Artisans are now forced to import horsehair from distant regions of southern Colombia and central Ecuador, paying a steep premium: 45 kilograms of raw horsehair costs roughly $1,000, a major expense for small-batch producers.

The process of crafting a single sieve remains labor-intensive, unchanged for two centuries. After harvesting, horsehair is washed, sun-dried, and sorted by length before being stretched onto a simple handcrafted wooden frame called a guanga. Seated cross-legged on the floor, artisans sort, stretch, and knot individual strands at a speed that makes their fingers blur, resulting in a fine, durable mesh that was once indispensable for sifting flour in Ecuadorian homes.

For decades, the craft also played a critical social role: it provided rural women with independent extra income, often enough to cover school fees and other expenses for their children. Today, efforts to pass the tradition to younger generations at Guangopolo’s El Cedacero craft center — through free workshops and targeted training programs — have repeatedly failed.

Leaving the village for higher-paying professional careers has become the norm for young people, turning traditional craft work into an unappealing option. “From the age of 6 or 7 our mothers taught us how to weave sieves,” explained 57-year-old artisan Leonor Cuje, gesturing to a table lined with finished sieves and smaller horsehair goods like bracelets and brushes. “Now they are professionals and they don’t want to do this anymore.”

8 6 月, 2026