Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • Police issue update after schoolboy injured in alleged hit-and-run at Revesby, in Sydney’s southwest

    Police issue update after schoolboy injured in alleged hit-and-run at Revesby, in Sydney’s southwest

    A multi-day investigation into an alleged hit-and-run that left a 12-year-old schoolboy seriously injured has resulted in the driver of the striking vehicle being identified by New South Wales Police, with the case still moving forward as authorities continue their probe.

    The incident unfolded just after 3:20 p.m. on Monday along Milperra Road in Revesby, a suburb located in Sydney’s southwestern corridor. Emergency dispatch received urgent reports that a child had been struck by a vehicle in the westbound lanes between Edgar Street and Mons Road, prompting first responders to rush to the scene immediately.

    Ambulance paramedics provided on-site emergency care to the young victim before transporting him to Sydney Children’s Hospital. As of the initial response, the boy was recorded as being in serious but stable condition, giving medical teams a foundation to treat his injuries.

    Witnesses who were at the location when the crash occurred shared key details with investigators that helped narrow down the search for the vehicle. They told officers the boy was hit by the rear passenger side of an orange-gold Nissan Navara, which was outfitted with a hardtop canopy, a silver bullbar and black wheel hubs. After the collision, the vehicle fled the scene rather than stopping to assist the injured child.

    In the immediate aftermath of the crash, NSW Police launched a public appeal for information to locate the driver of the distinctive utility truck. By Wednesday evening, police confirmed they had successfully identified the person behind the wheel. A police spokesperson shared details of how the identification unfolded, noting that “following inquiries and a public appeal for information, the driver – a 50-year-old man – presented to Bankstown Police Station, and spoke to officers about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.”

    While the driver has now come forward and spoken to investigators, police confirmed that formal inquiries into the full circumstances of the incident are still ongoing. Authorities are still asking any member of the public who was in the area at the time of the crash, or who has dashcam or security footage that could provide additional context for the investigation, to contact Crime Stoppers to share their information.

  • AFL 2026: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell on the divide of Zach Merrett’s failed trade

    AFL 2026: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell on the divide of Zach Merrett’s failed trade

    A stunning behind-the-scenes revelation from a recently ousted AFL coach has sent ripples through Australian Rules football, with Hawthorn head coach Sam Mitchell breaking his silence on the bombshell.

    Brad Scott, who left his role as Essendon senior coach earlier this week following a dismal stretch of just one win from 24 matches in charge, dropped the unexpected bombshell during an appearance on the *Agenda Setters* podcast Tuesday night. In the interview, Scott confirmed that he had personally supported trading star Essendon midfielder Zach Merrett to Hawthorn during the last trade period, a move that ultimately fell through and left Merrett at the club.

    The failed trade attempt came amid growing tension at Essendon, linked to the club’s underwhelming on-field performance that ultimately cost Scott his job. Hawthorn had been openly targeting Merrett in a bid to bolster their list and strengthen their premiership push last season, a push that never came to fruition.

    Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mitchell declined to dive into deep discussion of Essendon’s internal dynamics, noting the timing of Scott’s departure made the situation sensitive. Still, the Hawks coach admitted he found Scott’s public admission intriguing.

    “It was an interesting comment when you hear a coach say he wanted a different outcome than what the football club ultimately went with,” Mitchell said. “It’s not completely unexpected, I suppose, but hearing it laid out publicly like that was interesting. We obviously had a fair bit of interest in Zach at that period of time, and that didn’t come to fruition, which we felt was out of our control. We’ll soldier on with this year, focus on giving ourselves the best possible chance to compete, and look for opportunities to improve our list down the line. The dynamic between how coaches and list management departments work together — it was just interesting, same as everyone else, I thought it made for good TV.”

    Beyond the Merrett trade talk, Mitchell also provided injury updates for his squad, ahead of Hawthorn’s crucial Thursday night clash against St Kilda. The coach remained tight-lipped on the selection status of fan favorites Will Day and Jack Gunston, but opened up on the frustrating injury run of key defender Jack Scrimshaw, who was a critical contributor to Hawthorn’s finals run last season.

    Scrimshaw has been hampered by persistent minor injuries and a dip in form in recent weeks, before suffering a fresh knock to his opposite knee at training. Mitchell said the utility has been left frustrated by the string of setbacks, but remains optimistic that Scrimshaw will return to senior selection in the very near future.

    “He was managing a little bit of knee soreness for a couple of weeks and then ended up falling out of the side,” Mitchell explained. “Then his other knee got a jarring hit at training, so he wasn’t available for AFL selection this week with our match on Thursday. If he gets through the next few days without any issues, he’ll get some game minutes in with Box Hill on Saturday, and should be available for senior selection after that. It’s been a really frustrating block for Jack because he’s such an important player for us, he just slipped out of a bit of form because he was carrying a few niggles, and now he can’t get out on the park. But if he comes through these next few days problem-free, he should have gotten past the worst of it and be back to full fitness soon.”

  • Tributes paid 14yo Bloomsbury motorbike crash victim as community rallies around family

    Tributes paid 14yo Bloomsbury motorbike crash victim as community rallies around family

    A tight-knit rural Queensland community has come together to honor the life of 14-year-old Brayden James McDonald, a beloved local teenager who lost his life to catastrophic injuries sustained in a weekend motorcycle collision near his Bloomsbury home. The tragedy has left residents reeling, but an outpouring of generosity has already raised tens of thousands of dollars to support Brayden’s grieving family during their devastating loss.

    The crash unfolded just after 2:30 p.m. last Saturday on Lindeman Drive, a short distance from Brayden’s property, when his KTM motorcycle collided with a white Toyota HiAce van. Critically injured, the teenager was airlifted to Townsville Hospital for emergency care, but doctors could not reverse the damage of his wounds. He passed away around 24 hours after the collision, on Sunday morning.

    Friends and neighbors remember Brayden as a vibrant, kind-hearted teen with a wide range of passions and a personality that left a lasting mark on everyone he met. A former Army Cadet, he had recently embarked on an exciting new chapter: a school-based apprenticeship training to become a butcher. When he wasn’t learning his trade or volunteering with the cadets, he could be found out on his motorcycle, fishing in local waterways, or entertaining friends with his unforgettable, one-of-a-kind stories.

    Tegan King, a close family friend of Brayden’s mother, launched a GoFundMe fundraising page just days after the accident to cover the teenager’s funeral costs and ease any ongoing financial burdens for the family. In a heartfelt tribute shared on the page, King described Brayden as a gentle, quirky boy with the kindest soul imaginable. “He would give the shirt off his back if you needed it,” King wrote. “He had the kind of personality that made it impossible not to love him. In his 14 short years he lived life to its fullest and made the most of every moment.”

    King added that the accident was an unthinkable, random tragedy. Brayden, she noted, was a seasoned country boy who had been properly trained to ride his motorcycle and knew the local roads better than almost anyone. “It was a freak accident, nobody ever thought this sort of thing would happen,” she said. “We are all still in shock after what happened and don’t really want to believe it is true.”

    The community’s response to the fundraiser has been overwhelming. By Wednesday afternoon, just a few days after the page went live, total donations had already surpassed $32,000, far exceeding initial fundraising goals. King said that Brayden’s mother has been inundated with messages of love and support alongside the donations, and she is deeply grateful for every act of kindness from the community. “She’s been just taking every day as it comes, and she is just so appreciative of all the support,” King added.

    Queensland Police have launched an ongoing investigation into the exact circumstances of the collision. Investigators are asking any members of the public who saw either Brayden’s motorcycle or the Toyota HiAce driving along Lindeman Drive in the minutes before the crash to come forward and share any information that could help with their inquiry.

  • Love birds: twice-extinct parakeet gets lifeline from randy pair

    Love birds: twice-extinct parakeet gets lifeline from randy pair

    Deep in New Zealand’s conservation efforts, a species once written off twice is staging a remarkable comeback, all thanks to one extraordinarily prolific pair of feathered parents. The orange-fronted parakeet, known locally as kakariki karaka, has bounced between extinction declarations and rediscovery for decades, holding the grim title of one of the world’s rarest parakeet species. Today, a viral pair of captive breeders have become unlikely saviors, pushing the species’ total population to a more stable 450 individuals scattered across protected sanctuaries, predator-free offshore islands, and small remote wild habitats.

    Nacho and Trixie, the power couple at the heart of this success story, were paired for the first time in early 2024 at the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust based in Christchurch. In less than a full breeding cycle, the pair has produced an astonishing 55 chicks – with 33 of those hatching in 2024 alone. Even more remarkably, as the official breeding season draws to a close, Trixie shows no signs of slowing down, with a seventh clutch of new chicks currently under her care.

    Leigh Percasky, wildlife manager at the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust, has showered praise on the hardworking pair, particularly highlighting Trixie’s relentless dedication as a “super-mum”. “Ideally we’d prefer her to stop so she can have a rest, but she shows no signs of that,” Percasky explained in an interview, adding that researchers and conservation staff are still stunned by the pair’s endless energy. Nacho, for his part, has also earned recognition for his consistent support: he takes on the full responsibility of foraging for food to sustain Trixie and their growing brood, a demanding full-time role through every stage of chick rearing.

    Captive breeding programs like this one form the backbone of New Zealand’s efforts to save endemic species lost to invasive predators, a longstanding threat to the country’s unique native birdlife. Wayne Beggs, who leads the orange-fronted parakeet recovery program for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, explained that pairs like Nacho and Trixie are the backbone of the species’ survival. Wild populations of the parakeet remain extremely vulnerable to stoats, rats, and other introduced predators that have decimated New Zealand’s native bird populations over the past two centuries. Without captive breeding programs to build a safe backup population and supply individuals to reestablish new wild colonies on predator-free islands, the species would have no safety net against extinction.

    “Nacho and Trixie have made a massive contribution to the survival of their species,” Percasky noted. After their current clutch of chicks reaches independence, conservation planners are planning to give the tireless love birds a long, well-earned break from breeding duties to recover before the next cycle. For a species that has already been declared extinct twice, this surge in population from one dedicated pair offers a rare hopeful story for global conservation efforts.

  • Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops to lowest level since 2019

    Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops to lowest level since 2019

    A landmark new report from Brazilian environmental monitoring network MapBiomas has confirmed that deforestation across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest dropped to its lowest annual level in 2025 since consistent recording began in 2019, delivering a key environmental win for the administration of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of national elections this October.

    MapBiomas, a collaborative consortium of leading Brazilian universities, non-profit environmental organizations, and technology firms, released its findings Wednesday. Data shows Brazil lost 985,000 hectares (approximately 2.4 million acres) of native vegetation across all its biomes in 2025, marking a 20.6% decline in total forest and vegetation clearance compared to 2024. While the official count does not include vegetation destroyed primarily by wildfire, the 2025 fire season brought far less extreme destruction to the region after the all-time record blazes recorded in 2024.

    Deforestation reductions were recorded across all six of Brazil’s major ecosystems, with the Amazon seeing the steepest drop of 23.5% year-over-year. MapBiomas technical coordinator Marcos Rosa linked the downward trend directly to sweeping policy changes implemented by Lula after he took office, noting that sharp increases in federal enforcement operations and penalties for illegal logging have corresponded directly with falling clearance rates nationwide.

    Lula has positioned the fight against Amazon destruction as a core policy priority of his administration, after four years of surging unregulated logging under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian president has pledged to eliminate all illegal deforestation across the country by 2030, a goal rooted in the global scientific consensus that intact old-growth Amazon forests are critical natural carbon sinks that slow global climate change. Last year, Lula leveraged Brazil’s role as Amazon steward to host the COP30 United Nations climate summit in the northern Amazonian city of Belém, using the gathering to highlight his environmental agenda.

    Despite the historic decline, the report underscores that mass deforestation remains a pressing crisis for the world’s largest rainforest. Even with the slowdown, an average of five trees are cut down every single minute second *[correction: every second*] in the Amazon. The Cerrado, a biodiverse tropical savanna ecosystem located south of the Amazon basin, remained the hardest-hit region, accounting for more than half of all vegetation clearance recorded in 2025. MapBiomas data confirms that agricultural expansion continues to drive nearly 99% of all native vegetation loss across Brazil.

    The progress on deforestation has also been tempered by ongoing criticism from environmental advocates, who have pushed back against Lula’s approval of a controversial large-scale oil exploration project near the mouth of the Amazon River, a development that threatens marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the estuary. With Lula campaigning for a fourth presidential term in October’s general election, the conflicting pressures of environmental protection and economic development look set to remain a central dividing issue in the race.

  • Low cost glasses help India’s poor see a better future

    Low cost glasses help India’s poor see a better future

    For 49-year-old Indian vegetable vendor Tofan Jena, the moment he slipped on a new pair of $2 corrective glasses changed his entire world. After a lifetime of blurry vision that he had accepted as unchangeable, Jena could suddenly make out even the smallest text on his phone screen and see the details of the world around him for the first time. “I can read, I can write, and I can see very well at a distance,” Jena said, still marveling at his new perspective. “I’ll be able to do everything with these glasses.”

    Jena is one of an estimated 1 billion people globally living with uncorrected vision impairment, according to the World Health Organization, a population locked out of educational, economic and daily opportunities simply because they lack access to affordable eye care. In India alone, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness calculates that unaddressed, preventable vision conditions cost the country $30 billion annually in lost economic productivity. Data from the non-profit GoodVision, the organization that provided Jena’s exam and glasses, estimates that 550 million people across India require corrective lenses, and 250 million have no access to this basic care.

    GoodVision is a global charity focused on closing the vast global gap in accessible eye care, operating across 12 low- and middle-income countries to bring services directly to underserved communities. In Odisha, the eastern Indian state where Jena lives, the organization runs mobile community screening camps that set up temporary clinics in poor urban neighborhoods and remote rural villages – areas largely overlooked by India’s public health system. At these pop-up sites, local technicians provide free eye screenings, custom-fit glasses for less than $2, and referrals for advanced procedures like cataract surgery for low-income patients. The charity sources low-cost lenses from China and assembles lightweight frames from locally produced Indian metal wire, with a full pair of glasses ready for a patient in just 10 minutes.

    Dozens of residents in Salia Sahi, a low-income district on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s capital, experienced the same life-changing clarity Jena did during a recent camp. After receiving their glasses, many patients blinked in wonder at a level of visual detail they had never experienced before, or had forgotten over years of uncorrected vision. For 43-year-old shopkeeper Minati Rout, the new glasses let her complete small daily tasks that had become impossible: sorting rice pebbles, threading needles, reading small print. “I will tell my neighbours to get their eyes checked here too,” she said.

    Local optometrist Gopinath Das, who works with GoodVision’s camps, explained that these mobile outreach efforts fill a critical gap for rural communities. “These community camps are extremely important for villagers, because they have no access to eye care,” Das said. “Sometimes they don’t have money, sometimes they don’t even know they have eye problems.” The organization visits more than 400 underserved neighborhoods and villages across India every month, bringing care directly to people who could never travel to urban eye clinics or afford private treatment. For 23-year-old technician Debasmita Behera, the work is both personally and professionally fulfilling: “We are able to provide help to people, and we feel good about it. And I’m also earning.”

    Beyond basic corrective lenses, GoodVision also facilitates low-cost cataract surgery for patients with advanced vision impairment, referring cases to partner hospitals like Bhubaneswar’s Vision Care Hospital. Hospital director Srimant Kumar Mishra says the biggest barrier to care is not cost, but widespread cultural misconceptions. “There is a lot of social stigma, they are afraid… They have a feeling that even if you get old, it is natural that they are not able to see.” GoodVision’s India director Piush Khetan agrees that public education is a core part of the organization’s mission. “In India, we only take things seriously if it’s a matter of life or death,” Khetan said. “So we focus on providing information, we try to convince people of the importance of taking care of their eyes.”

    Maryline Ehlermann, GoodVision’s representative in France, emphasizes that expanding affordable eye care is not just a public health good – it is a high-return global economic investment. Citing global research, Ehlermann notes that treating the 1 billion people living with curable vision impairment would generate an additional $447 billion in annual global economic output. For India, the world’s most populous nation with stark economic inequality, the scale of the challenge remains enormous. But for thousands of low-income Indians like Tofan Jena and Minati Rout, low-cost glasses and accessible community care have already opened the door to a clearer, more hopeful future.

  • ‘My job is going’: UK workers squeezed out by AI

    ‘My job is going’: UK workers squeezed out by AI

    Across the United Kingdom, a growing wave of artificial intelligence adoption is reshaping the country’s labor market, displacing workers across multiple white-collar sectors and forcing many to abandon long-held career paths in search of more stable work. For 52-year-old translator Jessica Spengler, the turning point came 12 months ago, when a client commissioned her to build a glossary specifically to train an AI translation system. In that moment, Spengler said she knew with a chilling clarity: “My job is going.”

    Spengler, an experienced translator who produces English-language content for German educational and historical institutions, has already felt the tangible financial impacts of AI integration into her industry. Based in Brighton, she reports that some clients now offer payment rates lower than she received a decade ago. Roles that once served as a steady entry point for new and mid-career translators – such as translating corporate press releases and user manuals – have dried up entirely for her. Today, most of the work she receives involves proofreading translations generated automatically by AI, a shift that has left translators underpaid despite carrying heavy workloads.

    Holly Parsons, a 24-year-old early-career translator specializing in Spanish-to-English work, echoed these frustrations. Translators are often forced to completely rewrite and correct inaccurate machine-generated content, she explained, but clients still refuse to pay full rates for the work. “It’s hard as a translator to actually charge what the work is worth because people just don’t want to pay it,” Parsons said. To make ends meet, she earns the majority of her income working as a children’s activity leader, rather than through translation.

    The scale of AI’s disruption to the UK labor market is unmatched among most advanced economies, according to recent data. The International Monetary Fund’s 2024 analysis estimates that more than two-thirds of all work tasks carried out by British employees could be completed by AI, leaving the UK more exposed to automation-related job displacement than most peer nations. The UK’s economy, which draws 80 percent of its output from the service sector – a field where AI tools have become flexible, fast, and far cheaper than human labor – is particularly vulnerable to this shift.

    Analysis from Morgan Stanley underscores this trend: in the 12 months leading up to October 2025, British companies that integrated AI into their operations cut their overall workforces by 8 percent, a larger reduction than recorded in Germany, Japan, or Australia. Only the United States reported net employment growth among firms adopting AI over the same period.

    For creative industry workers, the disruption has been equally severe. Laura, a 35-year-old London-based director of photography who asked to keep her last name private for professional reasons, said AI has dramatically reduced available work for crew in the film sector. “Film work has definitely been impacted by AI… it’s really kicked us down,” she said. To escape the industry-wide crisis, Laura has left London and is retraining as an outdoor adventure instructor in southwest England’s Dorset, where she currently earns only the national minimum wage.

    Rufai Ajala, a 35-year-old filmmaker whose short film *Mad Bills to Pay* won an award at the Sundance Film Festival, has made a similar career shift. He is currently retraining to work as a plumber, prioritizing what he calls an “AI-proof” career that can offer long-term financial stability. “I’m not going to rely on film as my main focus… I don’t see it as a career option anymore where you can have stability,” Ajala explained.

    Economists warn that the UK is facing a years-long, painful transition as the labor market adjusts to widespread AI adoption. “There is going to be sort of a painful transition process because new jobs will take time to emerge,” said Bouke Klein Teeselink, an economics professor at King’s College London. This shift will require “a massive adjustment for society,” he added, which could lead to a significant spike in national unemployment rates.

    One of Teeselink’s own studies found that after the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, professions with high AI exposure – including software development and data analysis – saw a sharp drop in new job postings, especially for entry-level positions. The disruption comes at a moment when the UK is already grappling with already elevated youth unemployment: official data shows one in six people aged 16 to 24 is currently out of work, the highest rate recorded since 2014. Existing economic pressures, including the conflict in the Middle East and increases to the national minimum wage, have already slowed hiring across multiple sectors.

    Still, Teeselink noted that AI could bring long-term economic benefits that offset near-term job losses. Productivity gains from AI adoption could drive down consumer prices, he explained, which would in turn stimulate higher demand for goods and services and ultimately create new job opportunities. He added that the UK is reasonably well positioned to manage the transition, thanks to its world-class university system that can lead the work of upskilling young workers to leverage AI tools effectively in new roles.

  • Samsung workers approve bonus deal after big AI profits

    Samsung workers approve bonus deal after big AI profits

    South Korea’s largest tech and semiconductor powerhouse Samsung Electronics has avoided a potentially economy-altering work stoppage after union members voted overwhelmingly to approve a landmark 10-year bonus agreement that unlocks massive payouts for semiconductor workers, fueled by skyrocketing global demand for AI infrastructure. More than 73% of voting union members supported the deal struck with management last week, ending a standoff that had included threats of an 18-day strike — a disruption that sent ripples of concern across South Korea’s economy, where Samsung Electronics alone contributes 12.5% of national GDP and memory chips account for roughly 35% of the country’s total exports.

    The agreement, which ties payouts to aggressive performance targets, allocates 10.5% of the semiconductor division’s annual operating profit to worker bonuses paid in company stock, plus an additional 1.5% payout in cash. Based on current market projections for annual operating profit, roughly 78,000 of Samsung’s 125,000 domestic employees will qualify for an estimated payout of around $370,000 this year. The vote, held electronically over six days concluding Wednesday, drew participation from more than 95% of eligible union members, with 62,600 total ballots cast.

    Samsung’s earnings have exploded in recent months, driven by frenzied global demand for the high-capacity memory chips that power AI data centers. The company reported a 750% year-over-year jump in first-quarter operating profit in April, and earlier this month its market capitalization crossed the $1 trillion threshold for the first time in corporate history.

    While the deal has averted a strike, it has ignited widespread tensions across multiple groups: non-semiconductor workers at Samsung, employees at the company’s listed subsidiaries, and shareholders. A smaller union representing workers in underperforming divisions including mobile devices, displays, and consumer electronics — where profits have either stagnated or declined — filed a court injunction Tuesday to block the agreement, arguing it disproportionately favors semiconductor staff. Workers at separate listed Samsung affiliates, such as Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, have also expressed discontent, as their bonus structures deliver far smaller payouts even as parent company profits surge. A group of retail shareholders has also threatened legal action, claiming the bonus scheme was approved without their input.

    Beyond Samsung’s internal walls, the agreement has sparked a broader national conversation about how windfall profits from the AI boom should be distributed across South Korean society. A senior official from South Korea’s presidential office has even proposed exploring a “national dividend” program, which would redirect excess tax revenue from AI-related corporate gains to fund expanded social welfare programs.

    Industry analysts note that the generous bonuses serve a strategic purpose for Samsung: retaining top domestic engineering talent that has increasingly been targeted by U.S. tech and automotive firms, including Tesla, which are ramping up their own investments in AI chip development and production. For context, the Samsung union points out that workers at rival South Korean chipmaker SK hynix received bonuses more than three times larger than Samsung’s payouts last year.

    The massive windfalls for chip workers at both Samsung and SK hynix have already reshaped South Korea’s social hierarchy, elevating semiconductor engineering to one of the country’s most desirable professions. A simple branded jacket with the SK hynix logo went viral on South Korean social media earlier this month, with users joking it served as a “golden ticket” to luxury shopping and improved dating opportunities. Local news agency Yonhap reports that chip workers now see their “marriage market value” surge, with desirability ratings from matchmaking agency Sunoo rising to nearly match the traditionally elite professions of doctors and lawyers.

    The Samsung deal has also emboldened labor organizers across South Korea, with workers in sectors from biotechnology and automotive manufacturing to shipbuilding and information technology now pushing for larger shares of corporate profits through expanded bonus programs.

  • From barefoot kid, to millionaire star, Caiceido keeps chasing trophies

    From barefoot kid, to millionaire star, Caiceido keeps chasing trophies

    Deep in the working-class hills of Ecuador’s Mujer Trabajadora neighborhood, 24-year-old Chelsea star Moises Caicedo lifted his very first piece of silverware decades ago: a dented golden plastic cup, borrowed from a neighbor just to let a ragtag group of local kids experience the thrill of victory. That humble moment, captured in a faded childhood photograph, remains one of the most cherished keepsakes of Jeremy Cedeno, Caicedo’s lifelong friend and now a local paramedic.

    The photo shows a young, grinning Caicedo kneeling surrounded by five small teammates, his small hands clamped around the toy trophy from an informal neighborhood tournament played on unmarked dirt. There were no referees, no line markers, and no proper gear—Cedeno recalled to AFP that tackles were brutal, and players often took the field barefoot. Today, that same wide, victorious smile is one that millions of football fans around the world recognize, as Caicedo prepares to represent Ecuador at his second consecutive World Cup, kicking off in June 2026.

    Caicedo’s journey from a poor youngest child in a family of 10 to one of the most expensive footballers in English Premier League history is a story of relentless grit. As a child, he supplemented his family’s income by selling flowers in a local cemetery, and he often helped his youth coach park cars in the city’s entertainment district to earn small change for club equipment. His first coach Ivan Guerra, who still runs the same local football school that gave Caicedo his start, remembers the primitive pitch where the star cut his teeth: a rough expanse of mud, stones, sand, and scattered broken glass. Today, Guerra uses Caicedo’s story to teach every young player at the academy that hard work is the only path to turning dreams into reality.

    Darwin Castillo, who coached Caicedo as a teenager at Jaipadida club, recalled a quiet, shy young man who blended in with his peers but already stood out for his unmatched discipline and natural physical ability. That discipline, Castillo says, came from Caicedo’s humble upbringing: a tight-knit poor family that said grace before every meal, and that instilled core values of gratitude and humility that the star has never lost.

    Caicedo made the breakthrough to top-tier European football in 2023, when his British record 115 million pound ($147 million) transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion to Chelsea made him the most expensive player in Ecuador’s national team history. He notched 50 appearances for the Blues in his first full season, scoring five goals and lifting the Club World Cup trophy with the club in the United States in July 2025. On that special day, he tied an Ecuadorian flag around his waist, a quiet tribute to the country and neighborhood that made him. He has since earned a national medal for sporting merit from the Ecuadorian National Assembly, where he reaffirmed his commitment to staying the same humble kid who never forgot his roots.

    Castillo says Caicedo has kept that promise. Today, the star’s face adorns murals across his hometown of Santo Domingo, printed on youth jerseys and even emblazoned on the shin guards of local kids like 9-year-old Julian Hidalgo, who dreams of following in Caicedo’s footsteps and plays under the same coach Guerra. When Caicedo returns home for holidays, he spends his days just as he did as a kid: hitting the beach, riding local Ferris wheels, and kicking a ball around the neighborhood with his former coaches and childhood friends, slipping right back into being the barefoot kid who just loved to play.

    With his second World Cup just weeks away, Caicedo’s journey remains far from over. From that borrowed plastic trophy to global stardom, the driving force that pushed him out of poverty is still pushing him forward to chase more silverware.

  • Buoyant Japan coach targets World Cup glory despite Mitoma blow

    Buoyant Japan coach targets World Cup glory despite Mitoma blow

    Against a backdrop of back-to-back historic upsets over global football powerhouses Brazil and England, Japan men’s national football team head coach Hajime Moriyasu remains unshaken in his bold goal of lifting the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy — even as a devastating hamstring injury rules out star winger Kaoru Mitoma just days before the squad announcement.

    The 28-year-old Brighton & Hove Albion speedster, who was entering a career peak form ahead of the tournament and scored the match-winning goal against England at Wembley earlier this year, will miss the global showpiece. Mitoma’s absence marks the second high-profile injury blow for Japan, following Monaco attacker Takumi Minamino’s December knee ligament tear that also ruled him out of the competition. Yet Moriyasu argues that his squad’s deep strength in depth, built on a core of players plying their trade at top European clubs, is more than capable of filling the gap left by the in-form winger.

    History shows just that: when Japan claimed their first ever win over five-time World Cup champions Brazil last October, overturning a 2-0 half-time deficit to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory in Tokyo, Mitoma was already sidelined. “That reflects the team concept, that anyone can come into the line-up and the team still performs,” Moriyasu noted of the squad’s collective ethos. The historic result against Brazil was followed by another first for Japanese football in March, when they became the first Asian men’s national team to beat England on home soil, a 1-0 win that cemented growing belief in the side’s ability to compete with the world’s best.

    Japan, the first nation to qualify for the 2026 tournament, has been drawn into Group F alongside the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia, kicking off their campaign against the Dutch in Dallas on June 14. Unlike past squads that heavily relied on domestic league talent, Moriyasu’s 2026 roster features only three players from Japan’s top-flight J.League, with the remaining 23 spots filled by players competing across Europe’s top competitions. Key stars that have overcome long-term injury layoffs to make the squad include Liverpool defensive midfielder Wataru Endo and Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda brings consistent goalscoring threat, with Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo rounding out the attacking core.

    Half of the current squad already has experience at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where Japan pulled off two of the biggest upsets in tournament history: back-to-back 2-1 wins over four-time champions Germany and 2010 winners Spain to top their group, before bowing out to Croatia in a penalty shootout in the round of 16. That run extended Japan’s pattern of reaching the last 16 four times in their World Cup history — but they have never advanced past that stage to the quarter-finals. Moriyasu is targeting an unprecedented run all the way to the title this time around, and Mitoma’s injury has done nothing to change that goal.

    “We have more players with World Cup experience and that will help us in terms of the team’s composure,” Moriyasu said. “It will help us perform effectively in a variety of situations.”

    Japan cruised through the Asian qualifying stage, securing their spot with three matches to spare and dropping only three points before their final dead-rubber loss. This tournament marks their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance, dating back to their debut in 1998. Moriyasu, Japan’s longest-serving national team head coach who took the reins after the 2018 World Cup, brings a wealth of high-level experience himself, having led Japan at two Asian Cups, the Tokyo Olympics, and the 2022 World Cup after winning three J.League titles with club side Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

    “The target doesn’t change,” he insisted of the World Cup glory goal. “But it’s not just about that target, it’s about raising our level as individuals and as a team. It’s not just about my own experience. The managers that have gone before me, both foreign and Japanese, and my staff also have experience of the World Cup. I want to use that experience and knowledge to increase our chances, no matter how slightly.”