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  • US warns capable of resuming war with Iran as deal remains elusive

    US warns capable of resuming war with Iran as deal remains elusive

    Diplomatic efforts to reach a landmark peace deal between the United States and Iran hit a new impasse over the weekend, as Washington issued a stark warning that it retains full military capacity to resume hostilities at any time, while Tehran pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s non-negotiable red lines for any agreement.

    After weeks of tense, back-and-forth negotiations mediated by Pakistan, the White House confirmed Friday that Trump has yet to sign off on an initial framework, following a two-hour closed-door strategy session held in the White House Situation Room. While anonymous US sources told Agence France-Presse the draft text is already awaiting the president’s approval, Iranian officials have flatly denied that any final agreement has been reached, disputing key terms laid out publicly by Trump.

    Speaking on Saturday at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier defense summit held in Singapore, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth emphasized that Washington’s military readiness remains uncompromised. “Our ability to recommence hostilities if necessary is more than proven – we are fully capable, and our munition stockpiles are more than sufficient, both in the region and globally, thanks to our balanced posture of precision and high-volume armaments,” Hegseth stated. His comments echoed a recent public update from US Central Command (CENTCOM), which reaffirmed on social platform X that American military forces “remain present and vigilant across the Middle East.”

    Negotiations were thrown into chaos earlier this week after the US carried out airstrikes on the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, which prompted immediate retaliatory fire from Iranian forces, casting serious doubt on the viability of the diplomatic process. This turbulence has spilled over to a parallel negotiation track focused on ending ongoing fighting in Lebanon, a demand Iran has insisted be included in any comprehensive end to hostilities.

    Trump has laid out clear non-negotiable conditions for any deal, chief among them a permanent Iranian commitment to never develop a nuclear weapon, and the full reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints for global energy supplies. “President Trump will only accept a deal that serves American interests and meets his stated red lines,” a senior White House official told AFP after Friday’s strategy meeting. “Iran can never be permitted to possess a nuclear weapon,” the official added.

    Iran has quickly rejected the ultimatums laid out by Washington. “We said goodbye to the language of ‘must’ 47 years ago,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told state media, pushing back against Trump’s conditions. While Baqaei confirmed diplomatic exchanges are still ongoing, he stressed that “no final agreement has been reached yet.”

    In a phone call with the Emir of Qatar, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed Tehran’s readiness to reach a “dignified framework” to end the conflict, according to Iran’s official state news agency IRNA. Key sticking points remain, however: Trump claimed Friday that the deal would see Iran clear all mines from the Strait of Hormuz and reopen the waterway without imposing any shipping tolls, in exchange for the US lifting its own blockade on Iranian ports. He also added that the two sides would coordinate to remove and destroy Iran’s existing enriched uranium, with no sanctions relief or asset releases scheduled for the immediate future.

    Iranian state-owned Fars News Agency disputed nearly all of Trump’s characterizations, citing senior diplomatic sources. Tehran is demanding the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets before advancing to the next phase of negotiations, the report said. It also noted that “no such clause appears in the text of the agreement” for a toll-free reopening of Hormuz, and that Trump’s claim about the destruction of Iran’s nuclear material “is fundamentally baseless.”

    For ordinary Iranians, the lack of transparency and conflicting claims have left little confidence that a lasting peace is near. “Both sides are speaking in a way that keeps their domestic supporters satisfied. It’s not clear who is telling the truth,” said Ali, a 49-year-old resident of Tonekabon, a city north of Tehran. “It seems likely there will be more strife to come.”

    On the secondary front of the wider conflict in Lebanon, heavy fighting has continued despite a planned April 17 ceasefire that has never been implemented, with both sides regularly trading accusations of truce violations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that Israeli ground forces have advanced beyond the Litani River, located roughly 20 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border. The announcement came even as military delegations from both Israel and Lebanon met at the Pentagon in Washington to discuss de-escalation.

    Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that has led fighting against Israel in southern Lebanon, said it carried out fresh attacks on northern Israeli targets and repelled Israeli infantry advances near Qalaat al-Chakif, also known as Beaufort Castle, a historically strategic site that Israeli forces used as a key base during their 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000. Lebanon was drawn into the wider conflict in early March, after Hezbollah launched a massive rocket barrage on Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli airstrike that killed Iran’s supreme leader, prompting Israeli airstrikes and a full ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

    Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon began in April, with a fourth round of negotiations scheduled for next week in Washington, following Friday’s meeting between the two sides’ military delegations.

  • ‘Frustrates me’: Addin Fonua-Blake hits back at Origin criticism and warns about the one-two punch he and Payne Haas would bring

    ‘Frustrates me’: Addin Fonua-Blake hits back at Origin criticism and warns about the one-two punch he and Payne Haas would bring

    As the NSW Blues prepare for the second clash of the 2024 State of Origin series, rookie prop Addin Fonua-Blake has pushed back against early criticism of his debut performance, while openly expressing his ambition to form a devastating front-row combination with injured returning star Payne Haas in Melbourne.

    Fonua-Blake’s first Origin appearance got off to a notoriously slow start at Sydney’s Accor Stadium. The Blues’ disastrous opening 15 minutes saw the Queensland Maroons race out to an early lead, leaving the powerful front-rower with just two carries for 17 running metres before he was benched shortly after the Maroons scored their third try. But the NSW rookie fought back in the second half, turning the tide of his performance to end the match with 10 carries for 82 metres, as the Blues completed a comeback to claim a tense 22-20 opening game win.

    Speaking to media following his club Cronulla Sharks’ victory over Manly just 48 hours after the Origin opener, Fonua-Blake hit back at critics who panned his early-game performance. “You see a lot of stories about not having an impact in the first 15, but I don’t think many people would have had an impact in that first 15 minutes of that game,” he explained. “We only got the ball maybe twice while I was on and then it was a bit of a scrappy fight. We regrouped and we went out there in the second half and I thought I did what I know I could do.”

    The 28-year-old, who became eligible to represent NSW after recent changes to State of Origin eligibility rules that allow players with past New Zealand or Tonga representative honours to play for Australian state sides, says he is not worried about being dropped for the second game. “I’m not worried (about getting dropped). I know if I just do my job here and do what I know I can do here, then I give myself the best opportunity to get a call. But if I don’t get a call, then I’ll just work hard. I‘ve just got to keep doing my job here.”

    Fonua-Blake’s club coach Craig Fitzgibbon, a former Blues representative and assistant coach who knows the intensity of Origin football intimately, has leapt to defend his star prop, pointing to his dominant performance just two days after his Origin debut where he recorded a team-high 139 running metres and 18 perfect tackles to inspire the Sharks to victory. Fitzgibbon has thrown his full support behind retaining Fonua-Blake in the second game, specifically to pair him with Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas, who is set to return to the Blues side after recovering from an early injury.

    “It frustrates me that front-rowers have to have carries and make metres for people to rate their performance,” Fitzgibbon said. “We need the ball to do that. They had no ball, and him and Mitch Barnett were off before they had one or two carries each. Then their second stints, both of those front-rowers got them back in the game.”

    Fitzgibbon also highlighted that Fonua-Blake’s underrated defensive work often flies under the radar of critics. “His defence is always underestimated for Addin, whereas guys like Addin are notorious for their meters and tries and the things that everyone notices. But for what we’re valuing Addin at the moment, he saved three tries, three weeks in a row for us on last plays. It’s actually kicks downfield that he turned up on the try line. So there’s some stuff off the ball that he’s probably not getting credit for.” Fitzgibbon also suggested the pair could combine with Mitch Barnett to create a terrifying forward rotation, leaving incumbent Jacob Saifiti, who did not take the field in game one, fighting to retain his spot in the 17-man squad.

    For his part, Fonua-Blake says he is eager for the chance to share the forward pack with Haas, widely regarded as one of the best props in the game. Having faced Haas multiple times at club level, the Sharks prop believes the pair could create an unstopable one-two punch in the middle of the field for the Blues. “That would be an ideal situation to get to play alongside him,” he said. “I definitely think he’s one of the best players to play the game. I’ve never played with him. I’ve played against him a lot of times and seen what he’s capable of. I feel like it’d be a really good one-two punch, but I can’t think about that too much. I have to do my job here back at club level and then give myself an opportunity to get there again.”

  • Blue Origin rocket explosion is bad news for both Bezos and NASA

    Blue Origin rocket explosion is bad news for both Bezos and NASA

    The high-stakes world of commercial space exploration faced a dramatic and costly setback on Thursday night, when Blue Origin’s next-generation New Glenn rocket erupted into a massive fireball during a pre-launch ground test at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The incident, which occurred at approximately 9:00 pm local time (0100 GMT Friday), left no reported injuries but has sent ripples of concern across the global space industry, threatening timelines for both Jeff Bezos’s private space ambitions and NASA’s flagship Artemis Moon mission program.

    Standing 98 meters (321 feet) tall, New Glenn is the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed by Blue Origin, designed to carry crewed missions, heavy commercial payloads, and key components for NASA’s lunar landing efforts. While routine testing anomalies are not uncommon in rocket development, industry experts note that full-scale explosions of this magnitude remain rare. Post-incident photos released on Friday confirm that the blast caused severe damage to both the rocket itself and the Cape Canaveral launch pad it was testing on. Florida Congressman Mike Haridopolos, whose district encompasses the Cape Canaveral space complex, told Fox News Friday that reconstruction work on the damaged facility will require a significant amount of time, adding further uncertainty to Blue Origin’s operational timeline.

    In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman released a statement via social media platform X acknowledging the incident. He reaffirmed NASA’s commitment to supporting a full, transparent investigation into the root cause of the anomaly, which is being conducted jointly by Blue Origin, NASA, and the U.S. Space Force. The New Glenn rocket will remain grounded indefinitely throughout the course of the investigation, and Blue Origin has declined multiple requests from Agence France-Presse for additional details on the scope of damage, investigation progress, or revised launch timelines.

    The stakes of this setback extend far beyond Blue Origin’s corporate goals. Just days before the explosion, NASA awarded Blue Origin a major contract to develop a second lunar lander for the Artemis program, a move intended to create redundancy for the initiative after SpaceX, NASA’s primary lunar lander contractor, faced repeated delays to its own Starship development. The Artemis program, which aims to return the first American astronauts to the lunar surface since the Apollo program, currently targets a crewed landing by the end of 2028, with a critical in-orbit rendezvous test between lunar landers and a main spacecraft scheduled for 2027. Clatyon Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, notes that any extended delay to New Glenn’s development could throw NASA’s carefully calibrated mission schedule off track.

    The explosion also marks the second major malfunction for Blue Origin in just over a month, following a satellite launch failure caused by a rocket anomaly in March. Beyond the lunar program, the incident also threatens progress on Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a satellite internet constellation designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. Project Kuiper relies heavily on New Glenn rockets to launch hundreds of its broadband satellites into orbit, meaning delays to the rocket program will likely push back the commercial rollout of Bezos’s satellite internet initiative.

    This is not the first time a catastrophic rocket explosion has occurred at Cape Canaveral; a decade ago, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded during pre-launch ground testing, destroying a $200 million communications satellite that was set to be deployed. While many in the space sector have expressed confidence that Blue Origin will ultimately recover from the setback, the immediate impact of Thursday’s blast is expected to reshape near-term plans for both U.S. commercial space development and NASA’s lunar exploration agenda.

  • Fonseca blasts Djokovic out of French Open after epic comeback

    Fonseca blasts Djokovic out of French Open after epic comeback

    The 2025 French Open delivered one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history on Friday, as 19-year-old Brazilian wildcard Joao Fonseca completed a spectacular comeback from two sets down to defeat 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, knocking the Serbian great out of the third round and ending his bid for a record-breaking 25th major title.

    Fonseca, who already pulled off a similar reverse comeback win in the previous round, pulled off another masterclass in resilient, aggressive power tennis to seal a 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 victory after nearly five hours of brutal baseline battles on the clay of Roland Garros. The shock result marks the first time the teenager has ever advanced to the fourth round of a major tournament, and caps off a seismic 24 hours for the men’s draw that has cleared the path for an unprecedented new champion.

    When asked how he maintained belief after falling two sets behind to one of the sport’s most mentally tough competitors, the teen kept his response characteristically grounded. “I actually didn’t [keep believing], I just kept playing. I just enjoyed being on court. What a pleasure it was stepping on court with him for the first time, I was trying to hit the ball as fast as I could. Djokovic, he does not miss,” Fonseca explained after the match.

    In a show of class, Djokovic was quick to praise his young opponent’s performance, acknowledging Fonseca outperformed him when it mattered most. “What an incredible match to be part of. Huge credit to Joao for really deserving to win the match. Without a doubt he was the better player in crucial moments,” the 36-year-old said. “He played lights-out tennis. I don’t think I’ve done much wrong with my game. He was just better.” Djokovic has been stuck on 24 Grand Slam titles since winning the 2023 US Open, and with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz already sidelined by injury ahead of this tournament, this was widely seen as one of his best remaining chances to add to his historic haul.

    Djokovic’s exit comes just one day after world number one and pre-tournament favorite Jannik Sinner was also knocked out in an earlier upset. Combined, the eliminations of the two most dominant men’s players of the recent Grand Slam era guarantee that the 2025 French Open will crown a first-time men’s Grand Slam champion, breaking a streak of nine consecutive major titles won by either Sinner or Alcaraz. Second seed Alexander Zverev, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, now enters the tournament as the clear favorite to capitalize on the wide-open draw, and is set to face French wildcard Quentin Halys in his third round night match. For his next match, Fonseca will take on the winner of the tie between two-time Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud and 24th-seeded American Tommy Paul.

    On the women’s side of the draw, four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek continued her steady march toward a fifth title in Paris, advancing to the last 16 with a straight-sets 6-4, 6-4 win over compatriot Magda Linette. Swiatek, who hired former Rafael Nadal coach Francisco Roig after losing to Linette at the Miami Open in March, fought back from an early 2-0 deficit to secure the win, breaking Linette three times in the opening set to grab the momentum before closing out the match in the second. “It was a good match. I played much better than Miami,” Swiatek said of her performance.

    The world number one will next face 15th seed Marta Kostyuk, who extended her unbeaten 2025 clay season to 15 matches with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic. Kostyuk, who already picked up clay titles in Madrid and Rouen this season, enters the match in red-hot form. “Marta is having a great season. She always had a game to play well, so good for her. But I’m going to focus on myself, prepare tactically, as before any other match, and we’ll see,” Swiatek said of her upcoming opponent.

    Eighth-seeded Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva also advanced to the fourth round with a dominant 6-4, 6-2 win over 27th-seeded Czech Marie Bouzkova, and will next face unseeded Swiss Jil Teichmann, who upset former runner-up Karolina Muchova to claim her spot in the last 16. Elina Svitolina, who recently ended an eight-year title drought by winning the WTA 1000 Rome Open, pushed her winning streak to nine matches with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Tamara Korpatsch, and will next face either 11th seed Belinda Bencic or American Peyton Stearns for a quarterfinal spot. Romanian 18th seed Sorana Cirstea rounded out the day’s women’s results with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 shutout win over Argentina’s Solara Sierra.

  • Colombian army looks to outsmart guerrillas with drone warfare

    Colombian army looks to outsmart guerrillas with drone warfare

    As Colombia grapples with the highest levels of armed violence in a decade, the nation’s military has rolled out a domestically developed drone weapons system to counter a growing threat: guerrilla groups that have already turned improvised drone technology into a weapon of terror across the country’s rugged Andean terrain.

    Weeks ahead of the May 31 presidential election, the new combat drone represents the Colombian military’s formal response to a tactical shift by irregular armed groups, which have increasingly adopted low-cost drone tactics inspired by the Russia-Ukraine war to strike military outposts, civilian communities, and infrastructure. Unlike the jury-rigged explosive-laden drones built by guerrillas, the military’s new system can hover at altitudes up to 1,000 meters, and launch 60-caliber grenades capable of destroying all targets within a 15-meter radius. AFP was granted exclusive access to a capabilities demonstration in Sogamoso, a municipality roughly 210 kilometers northeast of Bogotá, where the military successfully test-fired 16 consecutive grenades on a dedicated test range.

    “This puts us on equal footing” with illegal armed groups, explained Andrés Julián Salamanca, a 37-year-old electrical engineer who contributed to the system’s development.

    Colombia now joins Venezuela as one of the only Latin American nations deploying armed drones for internal counterinsurgency operations, marking a major paradigm shift for a military that has spent decades combating guerrilla groups funded by drug trafficking and illegal mining. For months, irregular groups have sourced off-the-shelf drone components from online retailers, modifying the devices to carry explosives. In remote rural regions, the faint hum of a drone has become inextricably linked to fear: official 2025 defense ministry data records at least 8,000 drone attacks that left 20 people dead and nearly 300 more injured, with targets including schools and Indigenous settlements.

    “Drones are an essential part of modern warfare. They are becoming cheaper and more lethal,” noted Willy Gaitán, manager of the Sogamoso production plant run by Indumil, Colombia’s state-owned arms manufacturer. Development of the drone grenade launchers began in October 2023 at the direct request of Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez. The domestic production push aligns with the policy of current leftist President Gustavo Petro, who ended Colombian military cooperation partnerships with Israel in 2024 and has prioritized building up local arms manufacturing. Petro has also backed a $1.6 billion project to acquire a comprehensive national anti-drone defense system to counter guerrilla attacks.

    Colombia’s defense sector frames the new armed drone program as a critical technological breakthrough in the long-running fight against irregular armed groups. Indumil now has plans to expand the system’s capabilities, increasing the number of grenades each drone can carry and upgrading to larger-caliber projectiles for greater destructive power.

    Salamanca characterized the ongoing tactical evolution as “a cat-and-mouse game”: “As militias gain capabilities, the government is looking for ways to counter them.”

    The deployment comes as Colombians prepare to head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president. Recent polling indicates the election is headed for a June 21 runoff between leftist Senator Iván Cepeda, who supports continuing Petro’s policy of negotiated peace talks with armed groups, and right-wing millionaire lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who has pledged to launch an all-out military offensive against irregular groups if elected.

  • Canadian poison seller pleads guilty to aiding suicides

    Canadian poison seller pleads guilty to aiding suicides

    In a high-profile case that has sparked global outrage and grief among bereaved families, 60-year-old former Canadian chef Kenneth Law has entered guilty pleas to 14 counts of aiding suicide, avoiding trial on more severe murder charges that prosecutors abandoned amid questions of legal certainty. Law, who operated a sprawling underground online network connecting vulnerable people to lethal suicide materials across 41 countries, appeared before a Newmarket, Ontario court north of Toronto on Friday, where he publicly acknowledged his role in facilitating 14 Canadian residents’ deaths. Prosecutors confirmed they could not pursue a viable murder conviction case, leaving victim families divided between bitter disappointment and cautious hope for closure. Law’s illicit operation, which first drew international attention after his 2023 arrest, targeted people experiencing severe psychological distress through dedicated online forums. On these platforms, he shared step-by-step guidance on ending one’s own life and sold packages of fatal substances—most commonly sodium nitrite—for roughly $80 per shipment, according to a 60-page agreed statement of facts prosecutors read into the court record. Law shipped more than 330 of these lethal packages to customers in the United Kingdom alone, with additional deliveries sent to destinations including Australia, China, France and Brazil. Canadian prosecutors initially brought dual charges: 14 counts of murder and 14 counts of aiding suicide. However, following an assessment of the legal landscape, they determined they could not secure a murder conviction. Dalhousie University law professor Robert Currie explained that prosecutors had waited for Canada’s Supreme Court to clarify whether aiding suicide could legally qualify as murder in a separate pending case. When the high court declined to address the question, prosecutors concluded there was no clear path to a guilty murder verdict. Sentencing for Law is scheduled for a separate hearing, expected to take place in September. During that proceeding, victim families will have the opportunity to deliver impact statements, and British authorities confirmed the 79 confirmed Law-linked deaths in the UK will be factored into the Canadian court’s sentencing decision. UK’s National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service have also confirmed they will not pursue separate prosecution against Law in the UK, a decision they say has been explained in full to affected British families. The decision to drop murder charges has left many families feeling betrayed and demanding greater accountability. David Parfett, a leading advocate for stricter regulation of harmful online content whose 22-year-old son Thomas died by suicide in 2021 using materials supplied by Law, called the outcome a missed opportunity to recognize the full severity of Law’s actions. “If (Law) hadn’t been offering detailed instructions about how to take your own life, then the chances are my son would still be here. So again, for me, it’s murder,” Parfett told reporters. He has echoed repeated calls from families across the UK for a full public inquiry into how Law’s operation was allowed to operate undetected for years, saying if British officials will not put anyone on trial for the deaths, the least they can do is investigate the systemic failures that enabled the harm. Other bereaved family members, while still grappling with unspeakable loss, say the guilty plea marks a long-awaited first step toward healing. Kim Prosser, whose 2023 son Ashtyn died by suicide just weeks before Law’s arrest, was in court for Friday’s hearing. Law’s guilty plea covers Ashtyn’s death, and Prosser said the proceeding opens a new chapter in her long journey toward healing. “To be at the courthouse on Friday and to sit there… it’s a beginning to another chapter of this process of healing,” she said. Legal experts note that the charge of aiding suicide is still a serious offense in Canada, carrying a possible prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years. The case has already spurred calls for updates to Canadian and UK legislation to crack down on online networks that facilitate harm and suicide, as policymakers grapple with how to regulate dangerous content spread across unmoderated digital platforms.

  • PSG more ‘hungry’ for Champions League after first taste of glory

    PSG more ‘hungry’ for Champions League after first taste of glory

    As the UEFA Champions League final kicks off in Budapest this Saturday, reigning champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has entered the final matchday with reinforced hunger to add a second consecutive continental trophy to its cabinet, according to key squad leaders.

    The French Ligue 1 side lifted the Champions League trophy for the first time in club history last season, beating Inter Milan by a dominant 5-0 margin in the final. That first taste of elite European glory has left the entire squad craving a repeat experience, captain Marquinhos told reporters ahead of the matchup against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who are still chasing their first ever Champions League title.

    “Once you win the Champions League, once you taste that title, once you taste that moment, you want so badly to relive moments like that again,” the Brazilian center-back shared from Budapest’s Puskas Arena. “I still remember today the feeling and emotion in the dressing room after that final. And for us, as competitors, we always want to feel that emotion. And again, we have to be hungry, we have to have motivation.”

    The passionate support traveling from Paris to Budapest for the final has only strengthened the squad’s resolve, Marquinhos added, noting that even his own father is making the multi-hour cross-continental road trip alongside friends to cheer the team on. “You have people who came from far away to push us on. So the motivation, the hunger, and the ambition to win this title have not changed since last year. And maybe it’s even stronger because we’ve tasted it.”

    PSG forward Ousmane Dembele echoed his captain’s sentiment, emphasizing that consistent title wins are the mark of truly elite players. The 2023 Ballon d’Or winner, who picked up the award after spearheading PSG’s title run last season, confirmed his full fitness heading into the final despite a minor calf injury earlier this month. He pulled out of training immediately after noticing the niggle, leaving 10 to 15 days of recovery time to get back to full match sharpness, and says he never feared missing out on the decider.

    Dembele, who previously played for Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona before moving to Paris, noted that winning the Ballon d’Or did not shift his focus or playing style, but it did deepen his sense of responsibility to the club. “Right now I’m trying to perform well on the pitch, whether it’s in the big matches or the smaller ones. I still have that desire, that hunger to win trophies with this club, with all the staff and this squad, and that’s the only thing in my head. Individual awards, I know people talk about them a lot, but those come afterwards,” he said.

    The French international added that the entire young, talented PSG squad enters every competition with the same hunger for victory, regardless of whether it is the Champions League, domestic league, or national cup. “If we want to be great players, we have to win this kind of trophy several times. We’re hungry, and we hope everything goes well tomorrow,” he said.

    Marquinhos acknowledged that Arsenal will pose a formidable test for the defending champions. The Gunners have kept a clean sheet far more often than any other side in this year’s competition, entering the final unbeaten throughout their Champions League run, and they have developed a reputation for converting dead ball situations into scoring chances.

    “We know their strength, we know how hard and difficult it is to come up against this Arsenal side,” Marquinhos said. “In a match, especially in a final, it’s going to be decided on the details: knowing how to defend, how to attack, how to counter, how to defend a set piece, also how to attack a set piece. All the little details in a football match and in a final are going to be important. We’ve prepared ourselves for all those details.”

  • ‘I’m afraid for my life’: Romanians in shock after drone crash

    ‘I’m afraid for my life’: Romanians in shock after drone crash

    Early this week, a shocking drone strike on a multi-story residential apartment building in the eastern Romanian border city of Galati has left two people injured, stoked widespread public anxiety and triggered a sharp new diplomatic clash between Romania and Russia.

    The overnight incident, which marks the first time a stray drone has damaged civilian housing and hurt residents since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has left locals questioning the effectiveness of national and alliance security measures designed to protect border communities.

    Local authorities confirmed the drone crashed into the top floor of a 10-story apartment block located on a busy central thoroughfare lined with shops, banks and other residential buildings in the city of roughly 200,000 residents, just a short drive from Romania’s border with Ukraine. Visual evidence from the scene shows the exterior of a balcony on the impacted floor partially collapsed, with structural debris scattered across the area below. By Friday morning, dozens of local residents had gathered near the site to document the damage.

    Two civilians — a 53-year-old woman and her 14-year-old son — were hospitalized with burn injuries following the crash. Multiple residents described a sudden, terrifying jolt to their overnight routines: emergency phone blares, blinding flashes of light that flooded dark bedrooms, and loud explosions that left pets and people alike panicked.

    Mihaela Blanaru, a 54-year-old local traffic clerk who lives in the neighborhood, recalled her shock: “Two dogs jumped half a meter off my bed, shaking and far too agitated to calm down. I ended up spending hours standing outside on the street. I kept expecting another shock, just like after an earthquake — that’s how terrified I was.”

    The Romanian government quickly identified the drone as Russian-origin, labeling the incident a “serious and irresponsible escalation” by Moscow. In response, Romania announced it would shut down the Russian consulate in the Black Sea port city of Constanta and expel the facility’s consul general. Moscow has already threatened to reciprocate with matching retaliatory measures.

    While Romania, a member of both the European Union and NATO, has recorded dozens of unauthorized airspace incursions and recovered dozens of fallen drone fragments since the Ukraine war began — this crash marks the first time a drone has struck occupied civilian housing and caused injuries. Prior to this incident, an explosive drone crashed into an unoccupied toolshed on Galati’s outskirts in April 2025, causing no casualties.

    Data released Friday by Romania’s defense ministry shows that over the course of the war, the country has officially documented 28 airspace breaches and 47 incidents of fallen drone debris. Even after Romania passed a 2025 law explicitly authorizing military forces to shoot down errant drones, many locals are now asking why defensive systems failed to intercept the aircraft before it reached a populated city center.

    “Where are the anti-drone systems? Shouldn’t they be deployed along the border? Where is the EU? Where is NATO?” asked Mihaela, a 47-year-old local resident who only shared her first name. “I’m really afraid for my life here. This could just as easily have crashed into my building.”

    While some residents directed their anger at Romanian authorities for failing to implement adequate defensive protections, others blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin directly, arguing that his war on Ukraine has needlessly put Romanian civilians at risk. Many locals now say they have little confidence that future incidents will be prevented.

    Seventy-year-old pensioner Jenica Emanoil described himself as “stunned” by the incident, and said he has little faith that state institutions can keep him safe. “At the end of the day, there’s not much the authorities can do… These days, the feeling of safety is pretty much gone.”

  • ‘Put the bone back in place’: Gruesome injury revealed as heartbreaking injury ruins wonderful Origin moment

    ‘Put the bone back in place’: Gruesome injury revealed as heartbreaking injury ruins wonderful Origin moment

    In a devastating turn of events that has sent shockwaves through Australian rugby league, rising star Blayke Brailey is facing a suspected broken forearm just days after achieving the career highlight of his State of Origin debut, casting doubt over his upcoming club and representative fixtures.

    Brailey suffered the injury during Cronulla Sharks’ 28-22 home win against Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on Friday night, when he made a tackle on opposition winger Jason Saab and sustained direct blunt force to his right arm. The 28-year-old dummy-half left the playing field immediately with 27 minutes remaining in the match, heading straight down the tunnel for urgent on-site assessment.

    The incident comes only 48 hours after Brailey earned his first call-up to the New South Wales Blues side for the opening game of the 2026 State of Origin series, where he delivered a standout performance that was central to the Blues’ comeback victory. During the match, the Sharks rake made a game-changing break through the Queensland defensive line to set up star halfback Nathan Cleary for a crucial try, cementing his role in the side ahead of the second game scheduled for June 17 in Melbourne.

    Multiple sources within the club have confirmed the severity of the injury, with Sharks veteran lock Cam McInnes revealing an extraordinary show of toughness from Brailey immediately after the incident. “He’s the toughest player I’ve ever played alongside for his size,” McInnes told reporters post-match. “I don’t want to overshare, but one of the club physios said as he walked off the field, he put the bone back into place himself without flinching once. That sort of grit is unheard of. It’s a brutal injury, and I’m absolutely shattered for him.”

    Fellow Sharks and Blues teammate Addin Fonua-Blake echoed McInnes’ sentiments, praising Brailey’s relentless professionalism and competitiveness. “He was so ready for this moment, he’d worked so hard to get his Origin debut, and he played out of his skin on Wednesday,” Fonua-Blake said. “He even tried to insist on going back out onto the field after getting injured. Coaches had to pull him back to stop him hurting himself worse. There’s no one tougher in this competition, and I’m heartbroken this happened to him. I know he’ll do everything possible to get back fit as fast as he can.”

    Sharks head coach Craig Fitzgibbon confirmed that Brailey will undergo official scans on Saturday to confirm the fracture and assess its severity. Speaking after the win, Fitzgibbon said the early prognosis suggests a break, but the team is holding out hope for a shorter recovery period if the fracture is clean and non-displaced. “Right now, it’s not looking good, but we’re waiting on scans to know for sure,” Fitzgibbon explained. “If it is a break, the best-case scenario is a clean fracture that only needs 4 to 8 weeks out. He’s absolutely gutted, honestly – five minutes after that Origin win on Wednesday, he texted me to say he was good to go and ready to play for the Sharks tonight. That’s just who he is: he loves this club, he loves playing, and this hurts. But at the same time, this opens an opportunity for other guys to step up.”

    Leading NRL physiotherapy experts have weighed in on the potential recovery timeline, noting that most forearm fractures in rugby league players require between one and two months out of action, depending on the exact location and severity of the break. If the scans confirm a fracture, Brailey will almost certainly miss the Blues’ second Origin game in Melbourne, with two experienced players already being linked as potential replacements: Wests Tigers veteran Api Koroisau and Sydney Roosters utility Connor Watson.

    For Cronulla, the absence of Brailey represents a significant disruption to the club’s season, given the dummy-half’s extraordinary run of consecutive appearances. Before a head knock forced him out of Magic Round earlier this month, Brailey had started 139 straight NRL matches for the Sharks, an unmatched display of durability in the modern game. Hohepa Puru stepped into the role in the second half of Friday’s win, and young rake Jayden Berrell, who has already featured in four NRL games this season, is also on standby to cover the position if Brailey is sidelined. Fitzgibbon expressed confidence in his depth, even as he mourned the injury to his star player. “It’s a big blow, but we’ve got two ready-made options waiting in the wings who’ve already stepped up for us this year,” he said. “Blayke isn’t going to be out forever, and we’ll get him back fit and strong as soon as we can.”

  • Vance says progress made as US-Iran deal awaits Trump green light

    Vance says progress made as US-Iran deal awaits Trump green light

    Three months after a regional war upended daily life across the Middle East and sent shockwaves through the global economy, a potential breakthrough to extend the fragile existing ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains locked in limbo, awaiting final sign-off from President Donald Trump. Speaking to reporters Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance confirmed that negotiating teams have made significant headway on draft terms for the agreement, though final adjustments to key language are still ongoing. “It’s hard to say exactly when or if the President is going to sign the MOU,” Vance noted, adding “We’ve made a lot of progress here.”

    News of the emerging framework has already shifted global market sentiment: Asian stock markets rose on Friday as optimism grew around a deal, while global crude oil prices edged lower, a welcome shift after a week of extreme volatility driven by investor speculation over the outcome of talks. A core priority of the proposed agreement is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for global energy trade. According to details reported by US media, the deal would mandate unrestricted, toll-free passage for commercial shipping through the strait, require Iran to clear existing mines from the waterway within a 30-day window, and see the US lift its ongoing naval blockade once commercial traffic resumes.

    However, Tehran has yet to publicly confirm any of the terms under discussion, and conflicting accounts have emerged from Iranian sources. Multiple Iranian media outlets have reported that any deal unilaterally announced by the Trump administration would not be recognized by Tehran. Tasnim News Agency, Iran’s semi-official state-aligned outlet, cited a source close to Iranian negotiation teams saying the draft text has not been finalized, and that key mediator Pakistan would be notified immediately once a final agreement is reached. Diplomatic efforts have drawn involvement from multiple regional players: Qatar’s role in talks has expanded in recent days, and the Gulf nation’s state news agency confirmed late Thursday that Trump had spoken with Qatar’s ruler to discuss the latest updates on peace efforts. Doha hosted Iranian negotiating officials this week, as regional powers push for a durable resolution to the conflict that has shaken the region since fighting erupted three months ago. The current fragile bilateral ceasefire between the US and Iran has held officially since April 8, but repeated breaches have threatened to unravel the truce entirely.

    Even as backroom diplomacy proceeds, both sides have traded accusations of ceasefire violations in recent days. This week, the US carried out airstrikes on the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, prompting immediate retaliatory fire from Iranian forces. Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), confirmed that Tehran targeted the US airbase that served as the origin of the American strike. While the IRGC did not publicly name the location of the base, Kuwait — which hosts thousands of US troops on its territory — reported that its air defense systems activated to intercept incoming fire. Kuwait’s foreign ministry issued a sharp condemnation of what it called “the criminal Iranian attacks that targeted the territory of the State of Kuwait with missiles and drones, in a dangerous escalation.” US Central Command labeled the Iranian retaliation an “egregious ceasefire violation.”

    Further tensions persist in the Strait of Hormuz itself: IRIB reported Thursday that Iranian forces opened fire on four commercial ships attempting to transit the waterway without Tehran’s authorization, a step consistent with Iran’s total blockade of the strait implemented when the war began. US military officials confirmed their forces intercepted five Iranian attack drones in and around the strait, and disrupted a sixth drone launch attempt near Bandar Abbas. A senior US official told AFP that US military actions were “measured” and “intended to preserve the ceasefire,” but the IRGC has warned it will respond with force to any new American strikes. On Friday, Iranian state television reported that 24 commercial ships had transited the strait in the previous 24 hours under coordination with the IRGC and Iranian foreign ministry, but added a sharp warning that “ships from hostile countries face a severe response” from Iranian military forces.

    Beyond the direct US-Iran front, the conflict has spilled over into Lebanon, where a separate unimplemented ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah continues to be violated on a daily basis. On Friday, Lebanon’s culture minister Ghassan Salame told AFP that Israeli forces had struck the historic medieval Beaufort Castle, a landmark overlooking the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh. Salame added that bombings have already struck close to the ruins of Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and warned that dozens of other cultural and heritage sites across southern Lebanon are in “serious danger.” Beaufort Castle, also known locally as Qalaat al-Chakif, was used as a military base by Israeli forces during their 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.

    The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was scheduled to take effect on April 17, but it has never been enforced, with both sides launching repeated attacks and justifying their actions as responses to the other side’s breaches. Lebanon was drawn into the broader regional war in early March, when Hezbollah launched a large rocket attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in a joint US-Israeli strike, prompting full-scale Israeli airstrikes and a ground incursion into southern Lebanon. Thursday saw a sharp escalation of Israeli operations: Israeli forces carried out intensive deadly bombardment across southern Lebanon, and expanded their offensive with the first raid near the Lebanese capital Beirut in weeks. Local authorities confirmed that a woman and two children were killed in the raid, despite the nominal ceasefire.