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  • UN chief makes rare Cyprus visit to help ease decades-old ethnic division

    UN chief makes rare Cyprus visit to help ease decades-old ethnic division

    In a landmark diplomatic trip that marks the first visit by a sitting United Nations Secretary-General to Cyprus in 16 years, António Guterres arrived on the divided island nation this Tuesday to reignite efforts to resolve a 50-year ethnic split that has shaped regional geopolitics since the mid-1970s. Though long-held political rifts have kept expectations of an immediate breakthrough to a lasting peace accord low, Guterres emphasized his unwavering personal and institutional commitment to facilitating a deal between the island’s two competing communities.

    Following an initial closed-door meeting with Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Guterres told reporters he would spare no effort to support both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leadership at this critical juncture for the peace process. The UN chief later held separate talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, with scheduled joint negotiating sessions planned for the remainder of Tuesday and all of Wednesday.

    This new diplomatic push comes after nearly a decade of stalled formal peace talks. The last high-stakes negotiation effort, which Guterres himself mediated back in 2017, fell apart amid bitter mutual recriminations over which side bore responsibility for the resulting impasse. Now, just months before Guterres’ second UN term comes to an end, the Secretary-General is working to convene a broader high-level meeting that will include top diplomatic representatives from Cyprus’ three international guarantor powers: Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The goal of this gathering is to formally announce the resumption of full peace talks, building momentum that Guterres’ successor can carry forward to a final resolution.

    A successful reunification deal for Cyprus carries far-reaching strategic and economic benefits beyond the island itself. Analysts and diplomats widely agree that a peaceful settlement would unlock massive untapped natural gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, opening a new critical energy supply route for Europe and global markets at a time of widespread energy security uncertainty. A deal would also ease long-simmering regional tensions that stem from competing overlapping claims to energy resources, territorial waters, and regional influence among global and local powers.

    Cyprus’ division dates back to 1974, when a Greek Athens-backed coup aimed at unifying the entire island with Greece prompted a Turkish military invasion. The intervention split the island along ethnic lines, with Turkish Cypriot communities consolidating control over the northern third of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots declared formal independence in 1983, a move that has only received diplomatic recognition from Turkey, which currently stations more than 35,000 troops in the northern territory. The internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government of the south brought the entire island into the European Union in 2004, though only the southern region enjoys the full benefits of EU membership.

    Guterres underscored the far-reaching implications of a peace deal in his remarks after meeting Christodoulides, noting that a resolution would not only transform the lives of Cypriots on both sides of the divide but also bring much-needed stability to a region facing unprecedented geopolitical turmoil.

    Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis framed Guterres’ in-person visit, a rare display of personal commitment from a top UN official, as a positive signal that incremental progress is within reach. Still, significant political hurdles remain that threaten to derail the revived peace process. A UN-endorsed framework for a reunified federal Cyprus, made up of two ethnically based self-governing zones, has existed for decades, but the passage of time has hardened negotiating positions on both sides and widened the political gap between the two communities.

    Turkish Cypriot leaders argue that Greek Cypriots, who make up the island’s overall majority, have consistently refused to agree to equal power-sharing arrangements even under the proposed federal model. Earlier this month, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz reaffirmed Ankara’s longstanding call for a two-state solution that would grant full international recognition to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state. Yilmaz also issued a thinly veiled warning to the Greek Cypriot government against using its EU membership and deepening strategic ties with Israel to gain greater diplomatic leverage over Ankara in upcoming talks.

    For their part, Greek Cypriot leaders have repeatedly ruled out accepting any two-state agreement, saying such a deal would formalize the island’s permanent partition and entrench the Turkish military presence that Greek Cypriots view as an existential threat to their sovereignty.

  • Firefighters say they’ve never seen anything like Spain’s record blaze

    Firefighters say they’ve never seen anything like Spain’s record blaze

    BARCELONA, Spain — For veteran Spanish wildland firefighter Javier García, 20 years of defending rural communities and wooded landscapes have prepared him for nothing that matches the scale of the historic megablaze burning through central Spain, west of the capital Madrid.

    In an interview ahead of another grueling 12-hour shift on the fire line, García described the unprecedented inferno as an event without any parallel in his decades of service. Currently, the out-of-control blaze has already scorched 500 square kilometers of terrain — an area five times larger than the entire city of Barcelona — and forced 25,000 residents to evacuate their villages across the smoldering hills of Ávila.

    The unprecedented ferocity of this wildfire, the largest ever recorded in Spain, has upended longstanding firefighting strategies. Fire commanders have been forced to completely shift operational priorities: evacuating at-risk communities and protecting populated property now take precedence over direct fire suppression, as fast-moving flame walls and extreme heat create deadly conditions that make frontal attacks on the blaze far too dangerous.

    García called the fire’s rapid spread alarming, noting a profound shift in how his brigade operates. Where once his team would advance to battle wildfires deep in wilderness areas, they now serve as a last line of defense focused exclusively on saving human lives. To date, no fatalities have been reported across the three active major blazes burning across Spain: the Ávila fire, a second blaze in the Madrid region, and a third in eastern Castellón. Combined, the three fires have forced nearly 79,000 people to leave their homes. “That gives us more work and more stress,” García explained. “Now it is lives first, then homes, and after, the forest.”

    García is part of Spain’s national emergency wildfire brigade, a mobile unit that deploys to support regional fire crews when blazes outgrow local capacity. Based in Ávila, his 40-person team has already spent three consecutive days battling the current inferno, after wrapping up assignments at two other recent major blazes in Guadalajara and near Zaragoza in recent weeks. The Guadalajara fire alone burned 320 square kilometers, making it the third largest wildfire recorded in Spanish history.

    “Until last year, I had never experienced fighting one big fire after another,” the 43-year-old firefighter said.

    Spain’s hot, dry summers have long made large swathes of the country naturally prone to wildfires. But climate experts and Spanish government officials confirm human-caused climate change has dramatically amplified risk: it has increased the frequency and intensity of heat waves and extended multi-year drought periods, stretching the annual high wildfire risk window far beyond historic norms. Once ignited, today’s wildfires grow at speeds and intensities that were rarely seen even a decade ago.

    García notes that where his team once faced roughly 15 days of extreme fire risk annually, that number has jumped to between 30 and 40 days a year. So far in 2025, wildfires across Spain have burned 1,530 square kilometers of land — six times the total area scorched by blazes in the first half of last year, according to Spanish Ecology Minister Sara Aagesen.

    Spain’s wildfire crisis is part of a broader regional emergency across southwestern Europe. A separate megablaze in neighboring France has already forced more than 200,000 people to evacuate their homes, prompting France to order an additional 4,000 evacuations as ongoing heat waves hamper fire suppression efforts.

    For Raúl Guerrero, a 29-year-old firefighter with 10 years of experience in Castilla y León, the autonomous region that includes Ávila, the current blaze is unlike any he has ever fought. Multiple times over the course of the response, his 40-person unit has been forced to retreat to safer ground when the fast-moving fire put them at risk of being trapped.

    He described the blaze as repeatedly exceeding Spain’s wildfire extinguishing capacity. “The fire is so virulent and has such power that no matter what you do, you can’t put it out,” he said. When asked about the emotional weight of that reality, Guerrero responded simply: “above all, impotent.”

    While wildfires are most often ignited by lightning or accidental sparks from agricultural equipment, firefighters and experts point to a second human-caused factor that has made modern blazes far more dangerous: the gradual abandonment of rural land use. For generations, small farms, orchards and local forestry industries created natural buffer zones of cleared land around villages and populated areas that slowed fire spread. As those industries have disappeared and rural populations have declined, unmanaged vegetation now grows right up to the edge of residential areas.

    Guerrero called this unmaintained overgrowth “pure gunpowder” waiting to ignite, and urged local authorities and private property owners to implement year-round brush clearing and forest management to reduce future risk.

    Across the Atlantic, the wildfire crisis is not limited to Europe: a major wildfire in the U.S. state of Oregon has forced the closure of 70 miles of a major interstate highway, demonstrating how extreme wildfire has become a global challenge driven by shifting climate patterns.

  • Drone footage shows burnt trees and scorched earth

    Drone footage shows burnt trees and scorched earth

    Newly released aerial drone footage has laid bare the devastating aftermath of ongoing wildfires tearing through French landscapes, offering a stark visual record of charred tree trunks stretching across thousands of acres and blackened, ash-covered earth where vibrant vegetation once grew. As a second record-breaking heatwave settles over southern Europe, pushing temperatures well above seasonal averages and drying out already parched vegetation, French fire service officials have described the ongoing battle to contain the blazes as a modern-day “David against Goliath.”

    Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed from neighboring regions and across the country to reinforce frontline teams, working around the clock to build containment lines and protect residential communities and protected natural habitats. Unseasonably high temperatures, combined with erratic gusty winds, have turned small spot fires into large, fast-moving infernos that are extremely difficult to predict or control. Fire service spokespersons note that under current climate conditions, the deck is stacked heavily against containment efforts, with dry underbrush and overheated air acting as constant fuel for new outbreaks.

    The ongoing heatwave has exacerbated already strained wildfire response resources, with emergency teams facing extended shift hours and limited downtime between outbreaks. Ecologists warn that this event is the latest in a growing pattern of more intense and frequent wildfire seasons across southern Europe, linked directly to long-term global climate change trends. Local authorities have urged residents to follow evacuation orders immediately and avoid unnecessary travel through high-risk fire zones, as response teams continue their uphill battle against the spreading blazes.

  • Zelensky to press Trump on air defences while in Washington

    Zelensky to press Trump on air defences while in Washington

    As Volodymyr Zelenskyy touches down in Washington for high-stakes talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, the Ukrainian leader is prioritizing one urgent, long-sought goal: locking in firm commitments to strengthen Kyiv’s air and ballistic missile defense capabilities amid a sharp escalation of Russian long-range attacks.

    The visit comes at a pivotal moment in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with both sides ramping up cross-border drone and missile strikes. In overnight operations this week, Moscow reported that more than 390 Ukrainian drones targeted the Russian capital and surrounding regions between 8:30 p.m. Monday and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday local time. Russian air defense systems intercepted most of the unmanned aerial vehicles, but verified footage from BBC Confirm shows damage to a high-rise residential building in Chekhov, south of Moscow, and a large fire at a warehouse in the western Moscow suburb of Berezhki. Local authorities confirmed no fatalities or serious injuries from the strikes.

    Since Zelenskyy’s last conversation with Trump in early July, Ukrainian forces have increasingly targeted Russian logistics infrastructure, including four warehouses belonging to major Russian e-commerce retailer Wildberries. The strikes have worsened operational disruptions for small and medium-sized businesses across multiple regions of Russia.

    Zelenskyy’s top ask at this week’s White House meeting is moving forward on a previously floated plan to grant Ukraine a license to domestically produce Patriot air defense interceptors. Russian forces have dramatically stepped up deadly ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, and Zelenskyy has repeatedly emphasized that Kyiv faces a critical shortage of interceptors to protect civilian infrastructure. While Patriot systems have topped Ukraine’s military assistance wishlist for years, global stockpiles of the U.S.-made interceptors have been depleted by ongoing conflicts in both Ukraine and the Middle East, leaving very limited supplies available for transfer.

    Turning a license agreement into full co-production of the advanced PAC-2 and PAC-3 Patriot variants on Ukrainian territory will require navigating a complex web of political, legal and technical hurdles, a process that could take many months to complete. Still, there are early signs of movement: a delegation from Raytheon, the U.S. defense manufacturer that produces Patriot systems, traveled to Kyiv last week, and Zelenskyy said the company has expressed readiness to deepen bilateral defense cooperation.

    The Washington visit is not limited to talks between Zelenskyy and Trump. Both Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in the U.S. capital to attend the funeral of longtime Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 71. After meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump will hold his first in-person meeting with Netanyahu since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran in late February.

    Tensions between the two conflict zones spilled over over the weekend, when Ukrainian forces struck an Iranian cargo vessel operating in the Caspian Sea. Kyiv has labeled Iran a direct accomplice to Russia’s invasion, claiming it has evidence that Russia has shared classified satellite intelligence with Tehran that has enabled Iranian attacks on U.S. military installations and Gulf Arab states. When asked about the allegation last week, Trump said he would question Russian President Vladimir Putin to verify the claim, but added that even if it proved true, it would not change U.S. policy at this time.

    On the Russian side, President Putin struck a defiant tone during remarks to the Russian State Duma on Monday, framing recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory as “terrorist methods” targeting civilians that would never break the spirit of the Russian people. “We will achieve our objectives and will together do everything for victory, for Russia,” Putin told lawmakers.

    The war took an unexpected diplomatic turn over the weekend, when Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a longstanding Russian ally, publicly questioned Moscow’s war aims. Tokayev said that the roots of the full-scale invasion remained “not understandable” to him, and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities to open the door for peace negotiations. He proposed revisiting the 2022 Istanbul negotiation framework, labeled “Istanbul formula 2.0,” as a starting point for talks. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the proposal on Monday, saying that a freeze in hostilities was impossible under current conditions “given Kyiv’s position.”

  • NATO member Romania shoots down stray drones from Ukraine war after years of incursions

    NATO member Romania shoots down stray drones from Ukraine war after years of incursions

    For nearly two and a half years, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has created a persistent, dangerous headache for one of its closest neighbors: Romania, an Eastern European member of both the European Union and NATO. Repeated incursions by stray drones originating from cross-border attacks on Ukraine have violated Romanian sovereignty, damaged property, and even injured civilians, forcing a long-controversial policy shift: Bucharest has formally approved shooting down unauthorized drones entering its airspace, and has already made good on this new strategy.

    Starting last Friday, Romanian pilots flying F-16 fighter jets intercepted and shot down three unidentified drones in three consecutive days, as Russia ramped up missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure near the shared border. After military forensics confirmed the downed aircraft were of Russian origin, Romanian officials took swift diplomatic action: on Monday, they summoned Russia’s ambassador to Bucharest to deliver a formal protest, and ordered one Russian diplomatic staff member expelled from the country, giving the individual five days to depart.

    This marks a sharp break from Romania’s previous approach to drone incursions. For years after the full invasion began in February 2022, Romanian authorities responded to intrusions by scrambling jet fighters to intercept aircraft, collecting downed debris and fragments, constructing emergency fallout shelters along the border, and issuing repeated diplomatic reprimands to Moscow. Late last year, following a wave of incursions across NATO’s eastern flank, Romania and neighboring Poland jointly acquired the MEROPS counter-drone system, a short-range defensive tool designed to disable or destroy incoming stray unmanned aircraft. Even after passing legislation authorizing the military to shoot down incursive drones last year – a move that faced fierce opposition from nationalist domestic political parties – Bucharest held off on implementing the policy until recently.

    Drones and drone fragments have crossed into the territory of multiple European Union nations since the war began, but the issue has been uniquely persistent for Romania. Official data from Romania’s Ministry of National Defense shows that at least 19 drones have violated Romanian airspace in 2024 alone, and a total of 50 confirmed incidents of drones or drone debris ending up on Romanian territory have been recorded since the war launched in February 2022. The most high-profile prior incident came in May 2024, when a stray drone crashed into an apartment block in the eastern Danube River port town of Galati, leaving a mother and her child injured.

    Military analysts say that Galati incident acted as a critical psychological turning point for Romanian authorities. Speaking to reporters, Romanian military analyst Radu Tudor explained that the civilian injuries changed the government’s long-standing approach, adding, “This was somehow a kind of psychological trigger, in order to say: ‘OK, enough is enough.’” Tudor also noted that the policy shift likely reflects a broader change across NATO, rather than just a unilateral Romanian decision. “Until now, it probably was an Allied decision in NATO not to respond with firepower, because it was somehow a danger of escalation,” he said. “I think it’s not only a change of attitude of Romania, I think it’s a change of attitude in NATO.”

    This is not the first time Romanian forces have shot down a stray drone in the region. Back in May, Romanian pilots, who rotate through deployments in Lithuania as part of NATO’s collective eastern flank defense capabilities, shot down a stray Ukrainian drone over Estonian airspace. That interception provided critical tactical experience that the Romanian military used to refine its procedures for downing incursive drones. “We recorded more than 100 attacks with drones near our border with Ukraine, and many of them resulted in debris or even drones that penetrated our airspace,” Cristian Popovici, head of public relations for the Romanian defense ministry and a former air defense officer, told the Associated Press. “Our pilots and our air force, we developed the tactics, procedures, and now we can face and we can eliminate this threat.” Popovici added that after the Estonian interception, the military applied the lessons learned, resulting in a 100 percent success rate for the three intercepts carried out last week.

    Romanian President Nicusor Dan publicly praised the pilots following the interceptions, and firmly placed blame for the incursions on Moscow. “It is unacceptable and intolerable for the Russian Federation to continue violating Romanian airspace,” Dan said. To date, Romania has become the only NATO member on the eastern flank to shoot down four incursive drones: three on its own territory and one over Estonia. The tough stance from Bucharest aligns with a recent message from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte during the alliance’s summit in Ankara, Turkey earlier this month: “Don’t play with us.”

    Moscow has rejected all accusations of responsibility for the incursions. In a statement posted to its official Facebook page, the Russian embassy in Bucharest denied the claims, saying Russia “has never directed and does not direct combat drones” to Romanian territory, and called the allegations “completely unfounded.” The embassy also warned that the unprovoked expulsion of a Russian diplomatic staff member “will not go unanswered.”

    Despite its new hardline approach to stopping incursions, Romanian officials have emphasized that the country has no intention of being drawn directly into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. “We are in a peacetime, we are not involved in this fight,” Popovici said. “If Russia wants to escalate with NATO, it’s up to them. I’m not sure it’s a wise move now.”

  • US walks out of UN Security Council meeting during France’s remarks

    US walks out of UN Security Council meeting during France’s remarks

    A sharp diplomatic dispute erupted between the United States and France at the United Nations this week, culminating in a full walkout by the US delegation during an emergency Security Council session focused on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war. The confrontation traces its roots back to a General Assembly vote late last week that renewed the term of Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    During that vote, the United States broke ranks with most of the international community, joining a small bloc of opposing states that included North Korea and Russia. Just 10 nations voted against extending Turk’s tenure, while 144 supported his reappointment and 13 abstained. Within hours of the vote, France’s UN mission issued a sharp rebuke of Washington’s position on the social platform X, declaring that the United States, once widely viewed as a global beacon for human rights, could no longer claim that mantle, and drawing an explicit comparison between Washington’s vote and those of authoritarian regimes.

    The critique did not go unanswered. US ambassador Mike Waltz fired back, claiming that France had backed a human rights chief who repeatedly lectured democratic nations while cultivating close ties to what he described as the world’s worst oppressors. Waltz did not offer additional details to support his accusation, though Turk has drawn international attention for his public criticism of two high-profile conflicts: Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.

    Tensions boiled over on Monday, when the US delegation left the chamber mid-speech during an emergency Security Council meeting on the Ukraine war. France’s UN ambassador Jerome Bonnafont, who was delivering the address at the time of the walkout, has been one of Turk’s most prominent defenders, describing the human rights chief as an unflinching voice of global conscience who displayed unwavering rigor and impartiality throughout his first term in office.

    Following the walkout, US ambassador Dan Negrea made clear that the protest was intentional, stating that Washington would continue similar actions until France formally renounces what Negrea called condescending and disrespectful rhetoric against the United States.

    The dispute over Turk’s reappointment lays bare long-simmering tensions between the current US administration and the United Nations system. Echoing policies first implemented during the previous Trump administration, US officials have signaled they are ready to cut funding and reduce engagement with UN bodies they view as unaligned with American interests. After last week’s confirmation of Turk’s second term, US ambassador Jeff Bartos warned that the General Assembly’s decision to approve the renewal, which Bartos claimed was marred by procedural overreach, backroom deals and misuse of UN positions, would carry tangible consequences. Bartos added that the United States would immediately launch a full reassessment of its level of engagement, participation, and funding for relevant UN bodies.

    UN officials have maintained a cautious stance on the diplomatic clash. Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq declined to comment directly on the US walkout, noting only that the United Nations expects all member states to respect the formal outcome of the General Assembly vote.

  • Zidane confirmed as France head coach

    Zidane confirmed as France head coach

    One of the most decorated figures in global football, Zinedine Zidane, has officially been named the new head coach of the French men’s national team, filling the vacancy left by long-serving manager Didier Deschamps following the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

    Deschamps, France’s longest-tenured senior team manager, stepped down from his role after 14 years at the helm, ending his tenure following France’s semi-final elimination against eventual tournament winners Spain at the 2026 World Cup, where Les Bleus ultimately finished fourth. Over his 14-year reign, Deschamps steered France to three major international finals, including a historic second World Cup title in 2018, cementing his legacy as one of the most successful managers in French football history.

    For Zidane, a legendary figure for French football both as a player and a coach, the appointment marks the end of a five-year break from management and the culmination of nearly two decades of speculation linking him to the top job with Les Bleus. The 54-year-old, who is widely regarded as France’s greatest ever player, has not held a senior coaching role since leaving Real Madrid for the second time in 2021, following a trophyless domestic campaign. He will now sign a contract that runs through the 2030 FIFA World Cup qualifying cycle, with his first competitive test coming on 25 September, when France travels to Turkey for a UEFA Nations League fixture. Zidane will also lead the team through European Championship 2028 qualifying.

    Speaking after his official appointment, Zidane expressed overwhelming pride in taking on the role of leading his home nation. “I’ve often said it: there’s nothing greater than the French national team. So it’s a joy and obviously a great source of pride to become the manager of this French national team,” he said. “It’s also a responsibility. I want to thank [French Football Federation] president Philippe Diallo, the executive committee, and the French Football Federation for their confidence. I also acknowledge the 14 years of incredible service from Didier and his entire staff. I have high ambitions for the French national team, there is no doubt about that.”

    Diallo echoed Zidane’s sentiment, framing the appointment as a historic milestone for French football. “The appointment of Zinedine Zidane as head coach of the French national team is a source of immense pride for the French Football Federation,” he said. “It marks the meeting of a legend in the history of Les Bleus, who has become one of the most decorated and respected coaches of his generation, and a team with rare potential, driven by the highest ambitions.”

    Zidane’s path to the top job with France has been decades in the making, starting with a legendary playing career that reshaped the global game. Born in Marseille, he launched his professional career in 1989 with Cannes, before moving to Bordeaux and eventually Italian giants Juventus in 1996. As an attacking midfielder, he guided Juventus to back-to-back Serie A titles and consecutive Champions League finals, earning a then-world-record £66 million transfer to Real Madrid in 2001, where he became a centerpiece of the club’s iconic Galacticos era alongside superstars including Ronaldo, Luis Figo and David Beckham. He delivered one of the most iconic goals in Champions League history in the 2002 final, a stunning volleyed winner against Bayer Leverkusen that secured Madrid’s ninth European crown.

    As a player for France, Zidane’s legacy is unmatched. He scored two iconic headed goals in the 1998 World Cup final on home soil in Paris, leading France to a 3-0 victory over Brazil for the nation’s first ever World Cup title, and earned the Ballon d’Or later that year. He added a UEFA Euro title to his international honors in 2000, before retiring from international play in 2004. He came out of international retirement to help France qualify for the 2006 World Cup, and steered Les Bleus to another final against Italy, where he scored the opening goal with a deft Panenka penalty before his tournament ended in infamy with a red card for a headbutt on Marco Materazzi; Italy went on to win the title on penalties.

    Zidane transitioned to management nearly a decade after retiring as a player, taking charge of Real Madrid’s reserve side Real Madrid Castilla in 2014. He was promoted to first team manager in January 2016, and immediately delivered Champions League glory, defeating city rivals Atletico Madrid in a penalty shootout in the final. That victory was the first of three consecutive Champions League titles for Zidane and Madrid, making them the first club to win back-to-back Champions League titles in the modern era, and the first to claim three straight European crowns since Bayern Munich in 1976. He also won La Liga in the 2016-17 season before stepping down in 2018, citing a need for change at the Santiago Bernabéu.

    He returned to Real Madrid in March 2019 to turn around a poor run of form, and claimed another La Liga title in the 2019-20 season, while overseeing a major transfer spending spree that included the signings of stars like Eden Hazard and Rodrygo. He departed for the second time at the end of the 2020-21 campaign, which ended without a major trophy, and has not managed at any level since. Speculation linking Zidane to the France national team manager job dates back to 2010, when France suffered a humiliating group stage exit at the World Cup; 16 years later, he has finally stepped into the role he has long been linked to.

  • Emotional Zinedine Zidane realizes his ‘dream’ as he takes charge of the France team

    Emotional Zinedine Zidane realizes his ‘dream’ as he takes charge of the France team

    PARIS (AP) — When French Football Federation (FFF) president Philippe Diallo officially named Zinedine Zidane the new head coach of the French men’s national soccer team at the federation’s Paris headquarters on Tuesday, the 54-year-old legend could barely contain his emotion. With his fist clenched and his typically calm voice shaking slightly, Zidane opened his first public address by admitting his long-held dream of leading Les Bleus had finally come true.

    “I’m excited,” Zidane said. “The France team makes you dream. We have extraordinary players, an extraordinary group of staff and talent.”

    The appointment ends Didier Deschamps’ 12-year tenure at the helm of the national side, coming after Deschamps confirmed he would step down following France’s 2024 European Championship semifinal exit against Spain. For Zidane, the role is the culmination of a half-decade of patience: after departing his post as Real Madrid head coach in 2021, he rejected every club offer that came his way, holding out exclusively for the chance to lead his home nation.

    “I’ve waited five years for this chance, so that’s why I’m a bit emotional,” Zidane noted, calling the announcement the happiest day of his coaching career to date. “I’ve always watched this side as a fan and also as a future coach, I won’t hide it. That’s why I didn’t take a club side. I told myself that the only thing I wanted to do after Madrid was taking the France team.”

    Diallo confirmed that Zidane has signed a four-year contract with the FFF, framing the hiring as a landmark moment for French soccer. “This is an exceptional moment, exceptional because of the person sat next to me,” Diallo said. “Zidane is one of the legends of French soccer, there is no other way to put it.”

    Zidane was quick to pay tribute to his predecessor, who led France to a 2018 World Cup title and a 2022 World Cup final finish. Deschamps faced growing criticism in his final years in charge, with some pundits arguing he underperformed with the talented squad at his disposal, and the outgoing coach himself referenced an “unbreathable atmosphere” in his final months in the role. Still, Zidane praised Deschamps’ legacy.

    “Today I have the opportunity to be in charge of this team and I will give everything so that this team can win,” Zidane said. “I would also like to congratulate DD for these remarkable years at the helm.”

    FFF leadership first opened talks with Zidane in February 2025, shortly after Deschamps confirmed he would step down after the 2026 World Cup. When it comes to on-pitch identity, Zidane made clear his approach will differ from Deschamps’ pragmatic style. A creative attacking playmaker during his own playing career, Zidane framed his coaching philosophy around attacking, entertaining soccer.

    “What motivates me is the game, I was a No. 10, I like goals,” he said. “I was a leader on the field and now I want to be a leader by experience.”

    Zidane’s first match in charge will be a Nations League away fixture against Turkey on September 25, followed by a second away match against Belgium three days later. French supporters will get their first chance to see Zidane at the Stade de France on October 2, when France hosts Italy — a fixture that carries particular personal weight for the new coach. It was exactly 20 years prior that Zidane’s international career ended in infamy at the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin, when he was sent off for headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the tournament’s deciding match.

    “Italy is special, because I played there, because I know people, because I speak Italian. All of those things,” Zidane said of the October fixture, adding that he has already memorized the details of his first four matches in charge. Following Tuesday’s announcement, Zidane stepped outside FFF headquarters to greet a large crowd of cheering fans, who welcomed their new coach with loud chants and applause.

    Zidane and Deschamps have long been tied to French soccer glory: the pair were key parts of the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euro winning squads, with Deschamps serving as the hardworking captain and Zidane as the team’s mercurial creative superstar. No one embodied the 1998 triumph more than Zidane: he scored two iconic headers in the 3-0 final win over Brazil at the Stade de France, and his face was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe during the nation’s victory celebrations that night. He would go on to win the Ballon d’Or that same year.

    Born in Marseille to Algerian parents, Zidane built a legendary club career across top European sides, starting with stints at Cannes and Bordeaux before moving to Italian giant Juventus and eventually Real Madrid. He made his international debut in 1994, announcing his arrival on the national stage by scoring two stunning goals as a second-half substitute against the Czech Republic in Bordeaux. He won multiple domestic league titles at both Juventus and Real Madrid, and scored one of the most iconic goals in Champions League history — a stunning volley in the 2002 final against Bayer Leverkusen — to secure the trophy for Los Blancos.

    Zidane retired from international soccer after the 2006 World Cup, capping a 12-year international career with 108 caps and 31 goals, including that opening penalty in the 2006 final against Italy. As a coach, he built an equally impressive legacy at Real Madrid, leading the Spanish giants to three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018 before departing and returning for a second stint that ended in 2021.

    For Zidane, leading France is the final chapter of his historic relationship with the national side, a role he has spent half a decade working toward. “I have so many emotions, I am ready for the challenge,” he said. “That’s what motivates me.”

  • France orders 4,000 more evacuated as heat threatens fragile hold on vast wildfire

    France orders 4,000 more evacuated as heat threatens fragile hold on vast wildfire

    LEGE-CAP FERRET, France — As soaring temperatures return to southwestern Europe, French emergency officials have ordered the evacuation of nearly 4,000 people from coastal Atlantic tourist sites, raising the stakes for an unprecedented regional wildfire crisis that has already displaced hundreds of thousands across France and Spain.

    The sprawling Gironde wildfire west of Bordeaux, which has already burned through 420 square kilometers of land — an area four times the size of Paris — has been held at a standstill overnight by firefighting crews, who managed to douse flare-ups near coastal dunes and halt the fire’s advance. While regional authorities have categorized the blaze as stabilized, they warn this status does not mean the fire is fully contained: with thermometers climbing and humidity levels dropping, the inferno could easily resume its spread across drought-parched vegetation.

    The precautionary evacuation order issued Tuesday covers all tourist infrastructure in the Lacanau resort region, including popular campsites, holiday villages, seasonal residences and leisure parks stretching across Lacanau Ocean and both shorelines of Lacanau Lake. “We are currently in a highly fragile position,” Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for France’s national firefighters federation, told broadcaster BFMTV Tuesday. “Even with the predicted temperature rise, we will continue our offensive against this fire.”

    Since igniting last week, the Gironde blaze has proven wildly unpredictable, at times escalating into a self-sustaining firestorm that forced 220,000 people to flee their homes and vacation getaways. Even after 24 hours without expansion, officials warn that smoldering undergrowth along the fire’s 103-kilometer completed firebreak line could spark new outbreaks as conditions worsen. To date, 93 firefighters have been injured battling the blaze, key transport routes including the A63 highway remain partially closed, and most rail traffic south of Bordeaux is suspended.

    The tense standoff in Gironde stands in contrast to promising progress in neighboring Landes, where a separate destructive wildfire has officially been declared contained, allowing 15,000 of the more than 30,000 displaced residents and tourists to return to their properties starting Monday night. “The fire is fixed, that is good news for Landes,” French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Monday evening, noting that containment means the fire’s advance has been fully halted with no new active outbreaks spreading. The reprieve comes as a major relief for summer vacation communities that were emptied when flames swept through regional forests and tourist hubs. Still, authorities stress the Landes fire is not fully extinguished: residual hot spots, combined with persistent drought and shifting winds, could reignite the blaze, and surveillance and damping operations will continue for days, if not weeks.

    All hard-won progress across both French fire zones faced an immediate test Tuesday as heat began building back up across the region. France’s national weather service placed Gironde under a yellow heat warning starting midday, forecasting inland temperatures between 33 and 35 degrees Celsius, with southeastern winds expected across the department.

    So far this year, more than 116,000 hectares of land have burned across France, part of a broader trend of extreme wildfire activity amplified by climate change. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed Western Europe saw its hottest June on record this year, with extreme heat and widespread drought creating ideal conditions for fires to spread and intensify across both France and Spain.

    Across the border in Spain, the situation remains even more severe, with hundreds of firefighters, military emergency brigades and water-dropping aircraft continuing to battle multiple major blazes, including the largest wildfire recorded in the country’s history. Spain entered its fourth major heat wave of the summer on Tuesday, with forecasts calling for temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in many inland regions. To date, the ongoing wildfire crisis — which prompted the Spanish government to declare a first-ever national wildfire emergency — has forced roughly 79,000 people to evacuate and ordered another 30,000 to remain sheltered in their homes.

    The highest level of concern centers on two large blazes west of Madrid that have at times neared merging into a single mega-wildfire in the region’s wooded hills, while a separate blaze in the eastern province of Castellón has also triggered mass evacuations. The record-breaking wildfire in Ávila, west of Madrid, has already scorched more than 500 square kilometers of hilly rural terrain — an area five times the size of Barcelona. “Look at how the entire valley is burned. Look at the houses, look at what people have lost,” said David Gonzalez, a 48-year-old gardener who has used his personal van to deliver supplies to firefighting crews in Ávila. “We feel so much anger and helplessness. This is something inhuman.”

    This year alone, wildfires have burned more than 1,530 square kilometers across Spain — six times the total area scorched by wildfires in the same period of 2025, according to Spanish Ecology Minister Sara Aagesen. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for a unified national pact to address the growing wildfire risk, which scientists and policymakers agree has been significantly worsened by human-caused climate change.

    Across the two countries, the ongoing crisis has forced more than 330,000 people to flee their homes and tourist accommodations, marking one of the largest and most destructive wildfire outbreaks in recent European history.

  • Four decades after Chernobyl, a generational divide reshapes Italy’s nuclear debate

    Four decades after Chernobyl, a generational divide reshapes Italy’s nuclear debate

    Forty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster spread radioactive contamination across Europe and pushed Italy to abandon atomic energy entirely, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing administration is moving systematically to reintroduce nuclear power into the country’s energy portfolio, driven by urgent demands to boost energy independence amid ongoing global geopolitical shocks.

    The government’s strategy centers on courting a new generation of Italian voters, who frame modern nuclear energy as a critical low-carbon solution for climate action and a reliable bulwark against energy market volatility triggered by the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Energy policy experts note the administration is counting on this youth-driven support to override the deep-seated skepticism of older Italians who came of age during the 1986 Chernobyl crisis, and who have twice rejected nuclear power in national referendums over the past four decades.

    Next week, the Italian parliament is scheduled to vote on a government-backed bill that will establish the first formal legal framework for next-generation nuclear technologies in the country. If approved, the executive branch will have 12 months to draft detailed regulatory decrees covering every key stage of development, from reactor licensing and strict safety protocols to radioactive waste management and site selection for new facilities.

    Speaking to the Associated Press ahead of the parliamentary vote, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin explained the government’s current mandate: “Our duty at this moment is to lay the legal and regulatory groundwork, so that future decision-makers will have the structure they need to move forward with new reactor installations when the time comes.”

    ## A Historic Policy Reversal For Europe

    Italy’s ongoing nuclear debate comes as a growing number of European nations, including France and Poland, are expanding their existing nuclear programs to meet dual goals of cutting carbon emissions and strengthening energy security following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Unlike these countries, which maintained their nuclear infrastructure after Chernobyl, Italy is attempting to rebuild an entire industry that was fully dismantled by public mandate decades ago.

    Italy was one of Europe’s earliest nuclear pioneers, with four operational reactors running across the country until the 1987 post-Chernobyl referendum effectively shut down the entire national nuclear program. A second attempt to revive nuclear development collapsed in the wake of Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster, when 94% of participating Italian voters rejected plans for new reactor construction.

    If successful, Italy’s current push would mark one of the most dramatic energy policy reversals in modern European history. Meloni’s government argues that surging electricity demand, legally binding European climate targets, and persistent energy security threats after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine collectively justify returning nuclear power to Italy’s energy mix.

    Pichetto Fratin projected that domestic electricity demand will grow by at least 30% over the next decade, a surge that cannot be met by renewable energy sources alone. Instead of reviving the large-scale conventional reactors of the past, the government is prioritizing small modular reactors (SMRs) and other cutting-edge nuclear technologies, which proponents argue come with improved safety features, greater operational flexibility, and far shorter construction timelines than traditional nuclear facilities.

    “We are working with third-generation advanced nuclear technology, which is far better aligned to our current energy needs,” Pichetto Fratin said. “It is much safer thanks to its small modular design, and can be built in a fraction of the time of older large-scale plants. When people ask me for a realistic timeline for the first operational reactor, I tell them 2033, 2034, or 2035.”

    Globally, nuclear power generates roughly 10% of the world’s total electricity supply, accounting for approximately one-quarter of all low-carbon energy produced worldwide. Italy’s planned nuclear comeback is part of a broader global resurgence of interest in atomic energy, driven by steady technological advances that have improved safety and reduced construction and operating costs for new facilities.

    ## Public Opinion Split Along Generational Lines

    At the decommissioned Latina nuclear power plant, located south of Rome, crews in protective gear continue to dismantle the remains of Italy’s first nuclear era even as policymakers in the capital debate how to launch a second. This striking contrast is not lost on Viviana Cruciani, who oversees nuclear decommissioning operations at the site, which is run by state-owned energy company Sogin.

    “There is one generation that came of age right after Chernobyl, and they still only see nuclear energy through the lens of that 1986 accident,” Cruciani told the AP. “But there is another, much younger generation that is enthusiastic about nuclear power, and they are frustrated that Italy has not moved forward to bring this technology back.”

    A 2024 public opinion survey conducted by Italian research firm Only Numbers found that roughly 55% of Italian voters support the construction of next-generation nuclear plants. Michele Governatori, a senior energy adviser at climate and energy think tank ECCO, noted that widespread support is particularly concentrated among younger demographics.

    “There is far greater openness to nuclear power especially among younger generations,” Governatori said, explaining that many young Italians associate nuclear energy with technological innovation rather than the historic accidents that shaped public opinion for older cohorts.

    Cruciani added that younger Italians are far more likely to frame nuclear power as a solution to future energy needs and climate change, rather than associating it with the nuclear disasters of the late 20th century. “I think nuclear power can help the environment too; it’s far more sustainable than fossil fuels,” said Cristian Giannetti, a 20-year-old tourist visiting Rome from the Tuscan coastal town of Forte dei Marmi. When asked about the risk of another Chernobyl-scale accident, Giannetti noted that decades of technological advancement have drastically reduced safety risks: “With the expertise and resources we have today, I think the probability of a major accident is really minimal.”

    Other supporters back a return to nuclear power for practical economic reasons. “We have a clear energy crisis in this country, so it is very important that nuclear power gets the green light in Italy too,” said Paola Giovannini Pasti, president of Confagricoltura Donna, the women’s division of Italy’s largest agricultural lobbying group.

    ## Critics Raise Key Questions Over Cost and Political Feasibility

    Not all observers are convinced of the plan’s viability. “If we rely on nuclear as a backup for renewables, average energy costs become devastating. Unfortunately, it is not a good complement to renewables, and it is not cheap,” Governatori said. Pichetto Fratin has acknowledged that nuclear power is not a short-term fix for Italy’s current high consumer electricity prices: “Nuclear power will not lower consumers’ bills today. But the nuclear power we build tomorrow can help bring costs down over time.”

    Industry estimates put the cost of a single 300-megawatt SMR at between 3 billion and 6 billion euros, before accounting for additional infrastructure and national grid connection expenses. Pichetto Fratin said the government expects the majority of this funding to come from private sector investors, but critics argue cost remains the biggest flaw in the government’s case.

    “Nuclear power being built in Europe today comes with exorbitant costs,” Governatori said. “On one hand, costs are extremely high, and on the other, private investors are pulling back from the sector.” He also questioned whether SMR technology will deliver on promises of improved economics, noting that the design has yet to be proven commercially viable at scale. Even so, many critics agree that establishing a formal regulatory framework will allow future projects to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

    The biggest political hurdle for the government may ultimately be finding acceptable locations for new reactors and permanent radioactive waste storage. Italy still has not established a permanent national repository for its existing nuclear waste, most of which is currently stored at temporary facilities scattered across the country. Any future reactor or waste storage site will almost certainly face fierce local opposition.

    Even if parliament approves the upcoming framework bill, opponents including major environmental groups and left-wing opposition parties could force a new national referendum once specific reactor sites and waste storage plans are announced. Public opinion polls show that general support for nuclear power drops sharply when voters are asked whether they would accept a reactor in their home province, with roughly six in 10 Italians opposing local reactor development.

    “When you get down to the concrete questions of where the plant will be built and how much it will cost, it is very likely that public opinion will shift back to opposition,” Governatori said.