Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • Mourinho begins second Real Madrid reign with Barca in his sights

    Mourinho begins second Real Madrid reign with Barca in his sights

    Sixteen years after first walking through the Santiago Bernabéu’s doors as head coach, 63-year-old Jose Mourinho has returned to Real Madrid to launch his second spell in charge, with his opening La Liga fixture kicking off Saturday against Espanyol in Barcelona. The veteran Portuguese manager faces a familiar mandate: dethrone Barcelona as the dominant force in Spanish football, just as he did more than a decade ago.

    Mourinho’s comeback comes after Real Madrid endured two trophyless seasons, marked by persistent dressing room unrest, inconsistent on-pitch performance, and a string of failed managerial appointments that failed to strike a balance between the club’s stacked attacking talent and defensive stability. Neither Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso, nor Alvaro Arbeloa managed to integrate Real’s superstar front line — Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Jude Bellingham — without leaving the club’s defensive shape exposed.

    For Real president Florentino Perez, turning back to the notoriously strict disciplinarian Mourinho is a calculated bet: that the manager can turn individual superstars into a cohesive, hard-working unit without blunting their elite attacking cutting edge. Mourinho himself argues he returns a changed coach, tempered by years of top-flight experience across England, Italy, Turkey, and other top European leagues. “I’m much more mature, less emotional, and more in control… as always, learning from mistakes,” he said this week, quick to add he has not become “more boring” since his first departure.

    From his first days at Real’s Valdebebas training ground, Mourinho has made his priorities clear, framing his return as a “mission” to build “a culture of work, responsibility, ambition” at the club. Perez has backed that mission with major transfer investment this summer: Los Blancos broke their transfer record to sign Ivorian winger Yan Diomande for 140 million euros ($163 million), and added high-profile targets Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella to the squad. Still, critics have pointed to one gaping hole in the club’s summer business: the failure to land defensive midfielder Rodri, who instead joined Barcelona, leaving Madrid’s midfield reinforcement question unresolved.

    While Diomande adds yet another elite attacking threat to an already crowded front line, many analysts argue that former Manchester City playmaker Silva could prove the more pivotal signing for solving Madrid’s long-standing structural problems. For years, the club has attempted to transition away from the iconic Toni Kroos-Luka Modric era, a period where the duo’s match control gave forwards freedom to attack while cutting Madrid’s defensive exposure. Though Silva is not a direct replacement for either veteran, his technical quality gives Mourinho a much-needed option to address the balance issue that has plagued the side since Kroos and Modric stepped back.

    Mourinho’s first tenure at Real Madrid is forever tied to the fiery Clasico rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona side. Bitter touchline clashes, accusations of refereeing favoritism, and a string of tense, high-stakes meetings turned the fixture into one of the most watched rivalries in global sport, until Mourinho’s Madrid ended Barcelona’s domestic stranglehold with a 100-point La Liga title in 2011-12.

    This season, the first Clasico of the campaign is scheduled for late October, when Madrid visits Barcelona, and the fixture is already one of the most anticipated matches of the European calendar. Between now and kickoff against Espanyol this weekend, Mourinho has two months to get his squad fit, cohesive, and aligned on his vision — all ahead of the first test against the defending double Spanish champions that could define his second tenure from the start.

    This opening weekend of the La Liga campaign also features a full slate of other fixtures, kicking off Thursday with Rayo Vallecano hosting Alaves at 19:00 GMT. Friday sees Real Betis take on Real Sociedad at 19:00 GMT, while Saturday’s matchday includes three additional games: Athletic Bilbao vs Sevilla (15:00 GMT), Valencia vs Celta Vigo (17:30 GMT), alongside Mourinho’s opener against Espanyol. Sunday’s fixtures are Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal (15:00 GMT), Getafe vs Racing Santander (17:30 GMT), and Elche vs Barcelona (19:30 GMT), with Monday wrapping up the weekend with Osasuna vs Levante (17:30 GMT) and Malaga vs Deportivo La Coruna (19:30 GMT).

  • US national debt exceeds $40 trillion for first time

    US national debt exceeds $40 trillion for first time

    For the first time in United States history, the country’s total gross national debt has surged past the $40 trillion mark, new federal government data released Wednesday confirmed — a symbolic threshold that has arrived far faster than official forecasters initially projected, fueled in part by the lingering fiscal impact of invalidated tariffs implemented during the Donald Trump administration.

    According to Treasury Department figures, total public debt outstanding hit $40.05 trillion when markets closed on Tuesday. That milestone comes years earlier than the Congressional Budget Office’s prior projection, which forecast total federal borrowing would reach just $39.4 trillion by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.

    Multiple overlapping factors have driven the rapid acceleration of U.S. debt. Long-term mandatory obligations for social safety net programs including Social Security and major health care initiatives have grown steadily alongside an aging national population, while rising interest rates have pushed the government’s interest payment costs sharply higher in recent years. Federal spending on overseas conflicts, paired with across-the-board tax cuts that reduced government revenue, have also widened annual budget gaps that the U.S. funds through new borrowing, as the federal government consistently operates at a deficit.

    The crossing of the $40 trillion threshold comes at a moment of already heightened market uncertainty, with ongoing inflationary pressure, the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East, and persistent concerns over unconstrained government spending already leaving investors on edge. On Tuesday, yields on long-term U.S. Treasury bonds climbed to their highest level since 2007, as geopolitical risks tied to tensions involving Iran and growing anxiety over deficit spending drove price shifts in bond markets. Higher yields have forced the federal government to refinance existing debt at interest rates not seen since the period leading up to the 2008 global financial crisis, further increasing long-term fiscal costs. Early Wednesday, the Treasury Department took action to stabilize the long-term bond market, pulling yields lower by the end of the trading session.

    Fiscal policy experts have warned that the current trajectory of U.S. government borrowing is on an unsustainable path. “It’s been well known for a while that the United States government was on a pretty unsustainable path with deficits,” explained Jessica Riedl, a budget and tax fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Over the last few years, the United States has moved into roughly $2 trillion deficits, even during peace and prosperity.” Riedl noted that while annual deficits equal to 3% to 4% of gross domestic product were once enough to spark concern among financial market participants, current deficit levels now sit closer to 6% to 7% of GDP — a shift that has left markets increasingly nervous. Beyond discretionary spending choices, rising interest rates driven by persistent inflation have lifted interest costs on the national debt, while age-related program costs for an aging population continue to put upward pressure on annual deficits.

    While analysts point out that there is no specific debt-to-GDP ratio that automatically triggers a fiscal crisis, the $40 trillion mark carries significant psychological weight for markets. “But psychologically, these are the landmarks that warn financial markets that they need to take another look at rising debt,” Riedl said.

    Caleb Quakenbush, director of fiscal policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, noted that federal borrowing first saw a dramatic surge during the 2007–2009 Great Recession, then grew even further after the U.S. government rolled out massive emergency stimulus spending to offset the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Quakenbush told AFP that neither Congress nor successive White House administrations have addressed the long-term trajectory of U.S. budget spending in a “meaningful or durable way.” He warned that the current unprecedented levels of borrowing create major uncertainty for the U.S. economy.

    In a crisis scenario, Quakenbush noted, bond markets could face severe disruptive challenges. Even without a full-blown crisis, however, the growing debt burden will translate to higher borrowing costs for American consumers and businesses, creating incremental headwinds that squeeze overall economic growth over time. Prior to the debt milestone, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had set a policy goal of cutting the U.S. deficit down to 3% of GDP, a target that looks increasingly out of reach amid current fiscal trends.

  • Aged care program for 830,000 Australians to be extended

    Aged care program for 830,000 Australians to be extended

    After weeks of uncertainty over its future that threatened continuity of care for hundreds of thousands of older Australians, the Albanese federal government has confirmed it will extend the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) through June 2029, and will keep the program separate from the broader Support At Home initiative long-term. The announcement was made jointly Thursday by federal Health Minister Mark Butler and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae, bringing much-needed clarity to service providers and the 830,000 senior Australians who rely on the CHSP for daily living support.

    The CHSP is a subsidized, government-contracted service that caters to seniors who need partial assistance to remain living independently in their own homes. It covers essential daily support ranging from domestic cleaning and grocery shopping to medical transport and community social connection activities. Senator Rae emphasized that for most seniors beginning their journey into aged care support, the CHSP acts as a critical first entry point into the national aged care system.

    “Providers told us they needed certainty. And, importantly, all the people told us that they needed continuity of care,” Senator Rae said of the decision to extend funding and lock in the program’s independent status beyond 2029. Prior to the announcement, widespread uncertainty about a potential full merger into the Support At Home program had pushed a number of providers – including multiple local councils across the country – to begin withdrawing from the CHSP. Around 1,300 providers currently deliver CHSP services across Australia, with nearly 40 percent of program clients residing in regional and rural areas outside major metropolitan centers.

    The federal government plans to open a new round of public and sector consultation during the extended funding period to refine the CHSP’s long-term operating framework, following confirmation it will remain separate from Support At Home. Industry peak body Ageing Australia quickly welcomed the announcement, with chief executive Tom Symondson noting that the removal of uncertainty would prevent widespread service closures and cuts that many providers had already begun planning for.

    “Without it, many have been forced to consider closure or service reductions. I hope that much of that can be avoided with today’s announcement,” Symondson said. He added that the extension period must be used to address longstanding flaws in the program, including outdated contracts and insufficient funding levels that have left many communities without adequate support. “It’s critical that we use this time to look at existing contracts and make sure they’re sufficient to provide the support needed for local communities. Many are outdated with woefully inadequate funding to deliver for the needs of the community, which must be urgently addressed,” he said.

    Alongside the CHSP extension announcement, Senator Rae also defended the federal government’s controversial integrated assessment tool, an algorithm-driven decision-making system that has faced crossbench opposition and passed a disapproval motion in the Senate in recent months. Rae argued that the tool, which has been added to the national aged care assessment system, delivers more equitable and efficient assessment outcomes, and has successfully reduced wait times and improved accuracy for applicants. The government has since introduced reforms to give seniors the right to appeal algorithm-generated decisions to a human reviewer, and Rae acknowledged further improvements can be made to the prioritization process.

    While Rae noted that the broader single assessment system that includes the tool was a formal recommendation of the aged care royal commission, he confirmed the algorithmic tool itself was never explicitly recommended by the royal commission inquiry.

  • John Longmire’s ‘deep sadness’ as five Swans players suspended amid police probe

    John Longmire’s ‘deep sadness’ as five Swans players suspended amid police probe

    One of Australia’s most storied Australian Football League (AFL) clubs, the Sydney Swans, is facing an unprecedented crisis that has shaken its institutional identity to the core, after five of its top senior players were drawn into a formal sexual assault investigation led by Victoria Police and suspended indefinitely for the remainder of the 2025 season. The controversy unfolded just hours after the Swans secured a win over Essendon at Melbourne’s MCG on Sunday, when allegations emerged of misconduct in the early hours of Monday morning at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel, where the team was staying ahead of the match. The five players at the center of the incident are star forward Isaac Heeney – who multiple reports name as the primary focus of the police probe – alongside Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Chad Warner. As of the latest update, no arrests have been made and no criminal charges have been filed against any of the five athletes. While the investigation centers on the sexual assault allegation, club officials have already confirmed the players violated internal team rules by drinking late into the night and inviting unauthorised guests to their team hotel, a breach that led to their immediate suspension for the rest of the playing season. Australia’s Herald Sun first reported that the group had hired exotic dancers to perform lap dances in a shared hotel room before a disturbance broke out, prompting witnesses to alert hotel management and authorities. John Longmire, the Swans’ beloved premiership-winning former head coach who stepped into an off-field role at the start of 2025 after 14 seasons leading the senior side, has spoken publicly about the devastating impact of the scandal on the club’s decades-old culture. Longmire, who coached all five suspended players throughout their AFL careers, told Fox Footy he was overcome with grief when he first learned of the allegations. “It was just incredible deep sadness … and that is probably where we’re still sitting,” Longmire said, reflecting on the wave of emotions that has swept through the club since news of the investigation broke. “You go from shock and disappointment, maybe a bit of anger in that. You get a bit of those emotions. And you also care about people, try and get that balance right, and it’s very tricky.” Longmire acknowledged that the club’s reputation for strong, tight-knit culture had suffered irreparable immediate damage, adding that rebuilding trust with fans, club members and the broader AFL community would be a long, arduous process for everyone involved. “The culture of the footy club has taken a big hit,” he said. “It’s (going to be) a challenge for everybody to be able to get through and be able to put one foot in front of the other and get things right. It will take time for everyone to rebuild the trust in the football club.” Remarkably, the off-field scandal comes at the peak of the Swans’ on-field success: heading into the September finals series, the club has already secured second place on the AFL ladder and is guaranteed at least two home finals, putting it in a strong position to contend for the 2025 premiership. It is important to note that news outlet NewsWire, which first broke the story, stresses that it is not making any accusations of sexual assault against the players, only confirming that the individuals are the subject of an active ongoing investigation by Victoria Police. Following the emergence of the allegations, the five suspended players released a joint public statement this week acknowledging the controversy, admitting the club had “fallen short” of its standards, while the Swans’ women’s AFLW side also released a statement saying leadership was “deeply disappointed” by the actions of the men’s team players.

  • Top seed Zverev bundled out by Paul in rain-hit Cincinnati upset

    Top seed Zverev bundled out by Paul in rain-hit Cincinnati upset

    The ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters, the final high-profile elite hard-court tournament ahead of the US Open kicking off on August 26, delivered a wave of stunning upsets and dramatic matches on Wednesday. Headlining the day’s surprises was American Tommy Paul, who fought off a match point, navigated multiple rain delays, and pulled off a 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory over tournament top seed Alexander Zverev to book his spot in the men’s quarter-finals.

    Zverev, the reigning French Open champion, looked poised to seal a straight-set win when he held a match point at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreak, but a misfired volley into the net wasted his golden chance. The German looked to have gotten back on track in the decisive third set, breaking Paul’s serve to take a 4-2 lead. However, Paul responded with back-to-back breaks of his own to move ahead 5-4, then held his nerve in the final service game to close out the upset. The result marked Paul’s third win over Zverev in their past four head-to-head meetings.

    “I’m not sure how I did it,” Paul told reporters after the match. “I put some returns in, he gave me some looks at second serves and he threw in a few doubles (faults). That always helps a ton. I went after the ball a bit more, I was having fun out there. I hope I can keep building on this and peak at the US Open.”

    The two-and-a-half-hour clash was far from smooth sailing for either player: it was halted for 90 minutes mid-way through the seventh game of the second set due to heavy rain, with two additional five-minute breaks to allow staff to dry standing water off the court before play could resume.

    Paul will next face Italian rising star Flavio Cobolli, who himself pulled off a comeback victory to advance. Cobolli, this year’s Roland Garros runner-up, outlasted red-hot Spaniard Rafael Jodar 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 after two and a half hours of grueling competition. All three of Cobolli’s wins in Cincinnati this year have gone the full three-set distance, and the run marks his second Masters 1000 quarter-final appearance of the season, following his run in Madrid. The result also prevented 19-year-old Jodar, who has been in scintillating form this season, from reaching his eighth quarter-final in nine events.

    “At the end of the second set and start of the third I told myself to believe, try on every point,” Cobolli said after his win. “I knew I had a chance. Rafa has had an unbelievable season but maybe he was a bit tired. At the end I deserved to win as I was fresher than him. I pushed to my limit to get through. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m really strong.”

    The upsets extended beyond Zverev’s exit, as Argentinian Thiago Tirante continued his extraordinary Cinderella run in Cincinnati. After beating 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the second round, Tirante recovered from a set down to defeat Jakub Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the first Masters 1000 quarter-final of his career. In another men’s third-round match, French youngster Arthur Fils dominated fifth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, cruising to a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 victory to secure his quarter-final spot.

    In the women’s draw, defending champion Iga Swiatek remained solid through her third-round clash, defeating France’s Diane Parry 6-3, 6-3 to advance. The seventh-seeded Pole, a six-time Grand Slam champion, converted her fourth match point to seal the 88-minute win, after being broken when she served for the match at 5-2 in the second set. Swiatek will face a rematch of last week’s Toronto final against Elena Rybakina, who eased past Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4 to book her quarter-final spot. Swiatek defeated Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion, to claim her first title of 2026 in Toronto last week.

    Two current Grand Slam champions suffered surprise exits on Wednesday. Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk rallied from a set down to knock out fifth seed and French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Sixth seed and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova fell to American Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-4 in another match disrupted by rain. Anisimova will next face third-seeded compatriot Jessica Pegula, who overcame a second-set wobble to beat Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

  • Israel army admits firing on car in death of five-year-old Hind Rajab

    Israel army admits firing on car in death of five-year-old Hind Rajab

    In a striking reversal of its earlier denials, the Israeli military acknowledged Wednesday that its forces opened fire on the vehicle carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab during a 2024 Gaza incident, announcing it has launched a formal criminal investigation into the killing that has sparked global condemnation. The young girl’s death, which has become a defining symbol of civilian harm in Gaza’s ongoing conflict, followed a desperate hours-long emergency call she placed to the Palestinian Red Crescent on January 29, 2024. Her bullet-riddled body was recovered from the vehicle days later in Gaza City, alongside the remains of six family members and two Red Crescent rescuers dispatched to rescue her.

    Prior to Wednesday’s admission, the Israeli military had insisted its troops were not deployed in the area near the attack. In an official statement, the military said that after reviewing available evidence and identifying alleged coordination failures linked to the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance’s movement to the scene, the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division would lead the probe. According to the military’s updated findings, troops fired on the vehicle because it was approaching their position in violation of pre-issued advance notice given to local residents. The initial gunfire killed five of the vehicle’s passengers, leaving Hind and her cousin Layan Hamada alive. An evacuation by Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was coordinated after the shooting, but the military confirmed allegations that a shell was fired at the ambulance once it arrived, killing the two paramedics on board.

    Alongside the Hind Rajab investigation, the military announced it would also open a criminal probe into the 2025 killing of 15 Palestinian medics and humanitarian workers in southern Gaza, an incident that prompted widespread global outrage and accusations of potential war crimes from United Nations officials. The March 23, 2025 incident saw a team of first responders targeted by Israeli forces while searching for missing colleagues, with additional emergency and aid teams hit in consecutive strikes over several hours, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The dead included eight Red Crescent staff, six Gaza civil defence workers, and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, whose bodies were later found in a mass grave near the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The military said Wednesday that while six of the dead were identified as Hamas members, the circumstances of the firing raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct, justifying a formal investigation. It also confirmed that troops had crushed the victims’ vehicles and covered their bodies with metal mesh after the incident.

    Israel’s foreign ministry framed the launch of the criminal investigations as proof the country is a “law-abiding democracy” committed to upholding the rule of law, noting that Israel conducts thorough probes into allegations of misconduct even amid its ongoing war against armed groups that seek its destruction. But the Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation, a legal organization that pursues accountability for alleged Israeli violations in Gaza, said it has no confidence in the Israeli military-led investigation. The group emphasized that even if the probe proceeds as announced, it should not be misinterpreted as a genuine step toward justice for the young girl and other victims.

    Controversy also surrounds the military’s decision to decline criminal investigations into two other high-profile civilian casualty incidents that drew international scrutiny: the killings of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) employees and four Doctors Without Borders (MSF) staff in Gaza. WCK founder Jose Andres called the decision wrong and deeply painful for the organization and the victims’ families, saying there is no excuse for the attack on his team. The U.S.-based charity described the ruling as inconsistent with the pursuit of full truth, called the decision deeply offensive, and repeated its demand for an independent international commission to investigate the killings.

  • Trump’s devoted ‘human printer’ in media glare

    Trump’s devoted ‘human printer’ in media glare

    For months, Natalie Harp, 35, one of US President Donald Trump’s most trusted and dedicated aides, operated almost entirely outside public view, rarely drawing attention while remaining at her boss’s side through nearly all his official and private engagements. That quiet obscurity shattered abruptly in recent days, after multiple revelations about her close proximity to Trump sparked intense media and political scrutiny that has roiled the White House and inflamed partisan tensions.

  • Germany, France, UN condemn far-right Israeli minister’s ‘inhumane’ Gaza remarks

    Germany, France, UN condemn far-right Israeli minister’s ‘inhumane’ Gaza remarks

    In a wave of global condemnation this Wednesday, major global powers Germany and France, alongside the United Nations, have publicly rejected inflammatory calls for mass nightly killings in Gaza from Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister. Ben Gvir’s remarks, made during a podcast interview with a former Gaza hostage held by Hamas, have reignited long-simmering tensions between Israel and European leaders, who have already pushed for punitive measures against the hardline politician.

    During the interview, Ben Gvir argued that Israeli forces should carry out targeted operations to kill “30 or 40” people in Gaza every single night, going so far as to say that the people of Gaza “shouldn’t be alive” and that describing them as human amounted to a compliment. The remarks marked the latest in a string of controversial statements from Ben Gvir that have drawn international ire.

    Sebastian Hille, spokesperson for the German government, released a statement confirming that Chancellor Friedrich Merz “strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister Ben Gvir, which violate international law,” adding that “they are unacceptable.” Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s foreign minister, echoed the condemnation in an interview with regional outlet La Montagne, labeling the comments “intolerable and inhumane.”

    A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also issued a sharp rebuke, describing Ben Gvir’s words as “appalling. They’re outrageous. They’re dehumanizing, and they’re dangerous.”

    The condemnation comes as Ben Gvir already faces growing calls from multiple European nations for bloc-wide sanctions from the European Union. Speaking in a televised interview earlier this week, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil noted that Ben Gvir’s comments “must have consequences,” confirming that sanctions discussions are ongoing at the European level. However, the push for EU sanctions has repeatedly stalled, as punitive measures require unanimous approval from all 27 member states, and several pro-Israel member states have blocked the proposal to date.

    Calls to blacklist Ben Gvir gained significant traction back in May, after the minister released a video mocking bound activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. In response, France unilaterally banned Ben Gvir from entering its territory and doubled down on calls for EU-wide sanctions, a move that has yet to gain full bloc support.

    Beyond the condemnation of Ben Gvir’s Gaza remarks, Germany also issued a formal rebuke of Israeli plans to expand Israeli settlements in the contested E1 area of the occupied West Bank, warning that the expansion threatens the long-term viability of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Our message is clear: there must be no further steps toward annexation in the West Bank,” Hille stated. “No formal ones, but also no political, structural, or other measures whose impact is increasingly and obviously leading toward annexation. They run counter to a two-state solution.”

    France’s Barrot also addressed rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, where Palestinian residents have faced growing harassment and violent seizures of property by settlers in recent months. Barrot confirmed that further sanctions against violent settlers remain on the table, noting that the EU has already implemented three rounds of sanctions against rogue settlers, with the most recent round approved on May 28. “Further sanctions could be imposed and all options are on the table,” he added.

    Israel has maintained military occupation of the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War, and successive Israeli governments have steadily expanded illegal settlements in the territory. The pace of expansion has accelerated dramatically under the current coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Excluding East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in settlements widely deemed illegal under international law, alongside a Palestinian population of roughly 3 million in the occupied territory.

  • ‘One of the best head coaches’: Records set to fall after Andrew Webster signs monster new deal with the Warriors

    ‘One of the best head coaches’: Records set to fall after Andrew Webster signs monster new deal with the Warriors

    As the New Zealand Warriors chase their first-ever NRL premiership title, the club has locked in the architect of their recent on-field resurgence for the long haul. Head coach Andrew Webster has signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club through the 2032 NRL season, cementing his place in the franchise’s history books before he even breaks the club’s tenure record.

    When Webster first took the reins of the Warriors ahead of the 2023 season, few expected the rapid turnaround he would deliver. In his debut campaign at the club, he steered a largely underrated roster all the way to the NRL preliminary final, earning the league’s prestigious Dally M Coach of the Year award for his transformative work. That momentum has carried into 2024, with the Warriors currently positioned to lock in a top-two regular-season finish — a critical advantage as they push to reach their first grand final since 2011, and claim their maiden premiership.

    This long-term commitment means Webster will surpass a club milestone set by legendary former coach Ivan Cleary, who led the side in 154 appearances during his tenure. Webster, who previously worked as an assistant under Cleary at Penrith Panthers, will hit the 100-game mark as Warriors head coach in Round 27 when the club hosts Manly Sea Eagles, becoming just the second coach in franchise history to reach that threshold. By the end of his new contract, he will far outstrip Cleary’s previous record to become the longest-serving head coach in Warriors history.

    In comments following the extension announcement, Webster expressed his gratitude and excitement for the years ahead. “It’s humbling to be able to secure my future here for this long,” he said. “I’m super proud every game I get to be a head coach in the NRL. It’s a dream and to do it with this club and these players is extra special. I love this club, I have the greatest belief in what we can achieve and I’m excited knowing I’m going to be here until 2032. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity.”

    Beyond on-field wins, Webster’s leadership has sparked a broader rugby league boom across New Zealand. He has developed promising fringe players into legitimate NRL stars, and nurtured a new generation of young talent coming up through the club’s development system. Surging fan interest has translated to record breaking match attendances, sparking widespread speculation that New Zealand could support a second NRL franchise as the 20th team in the league.

    Warriors chief executive Cameron George emphasized that the extension is as much a vote of confidence in Webster’s cultural leadership as it is his on-field results. “From the moment he started with us, Andrew showed what a tremendous fit he was for the club and since then he has gone on to become one of the best head coaches in the NRL right now,” George said. “He has achieved fantastic results turning the One New Zealand Warriors into a consistent top eight side, one that everyone can be proud of. Andrew’s contribution is about much more than results alone. He has galvanised us, setting in place a sustainable culture throughout the entire club. What he has also done is to turn good players into better players and to bring through some of the most exciting young players this club has ever seen. We have every confidence in Andrew taking the One New Zealand Warriors forward to be a real force in the NRL. We’re so proud to have him with us until at least 2032.”

  • Prince Harry and Meghan moving back to UK: British press

    Prince Harry and Meghan moving back to UK: British press

    Six years after their high-profile departure from official royal duties and relocation to North America, Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are preparing to move back to the United Kingdom in the coming weeks, multiple British media outlets have confirmed. In a development that has taken the British public and royal watchers by surprise, the couple plans to leave their United States base by the end of August to take up permanent residence in a private, non-royal property reportedly located outside of London, according to a report from The Daily Telegraph.

    Multiple British news organizations, including the national public broadcaster BBC, have added that the couple’s two young children — 7-year-old Prince Archie and 5-year-old Princess Lilibet — have already been enrolled in a local British school, ahead of the new academic year that begins in early September. Sources familiar with the couple’s plans confirm they have finalized selection of their new home, which will not be one of the British royal family’s many owned or official residences across the country.

    Since stepping down as working members of the royal family in 2020, Harry and Meghan have resided in Montecito, California, and their children have not seen King Charles III, Harry’s father and Britain’s reigning monarch, since 2022. The couple’s 2020 exit, widely dubbed “Megxit” by British tabloid media, followed a highly public bitter rift between the couple and other senior members of the royal family. That rift deepened significantly after Harry sat for a bombshell, unfiltered interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2021, and later published his critically discussed autobiography *Spare* in 2023, which detailed personal grievances against his family.

    The UK’s Press Association (PA) reports that 77-year-old King Charles was notified of the couple’s plans to return to live in the UK last Sunday. According to PA, the monarch “welcomes the opportunity to see more of the family in a personal capacity,” though the couple’s official status will remain unchanged: they will not return to carrying out public duties as working royals.

    The unexpected announcement of their permanent return comes just weeks after the couple made a short, low-key visit to the UK in early July, which included a private meeting between Harry and Charles. Last year, Harry publicly stated that he hoped to repair his relationship with his father, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer two years ago and has continued to receive ongoing treatment. As of Thursday, it remained unclear whether Harry’s older brother William, the Prince of Wales and first in line to the British throne, and William’s wife Catherine had been informed of the move. The two brothers have been estranged for years, and multiple insider reports confirm they no longer hold regular conversations.

    Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told GB News that the move marks “an extraordinary development” for the couple and the monarchy. Speaking on the broadcaster Wednesday night, Fitzwilliams argued, “My first thought frankly is… they failed to make it in the US… essentially they failed to be A-listers in Hollywood.” That assessment aligns with public reporting on the couple’s media projects: after signing a reported $100 million partnership with Netflix in 2020, many of their original content releases struggled to attract large audiences and critical acclaim. In August 2025, the pair renegotiated their deal with the streaming giant into a more flexible “multi-year, first look” arrangement that requires far fewer original commitments.

    The Sun newspaper notes that the couple will retain their existing Montecito home in California, as well as a holiday property in Portugal where they spent part of this summer. Even their July 2025 visit was marred by public confusion: sources close to Harry told multiple outlets the prince would stay at Buckingham Palace during the trip, only for royal officials to publicly issue a formal denial of the claim.

    News of the couple’s surprise return also broke one day after Charles Spencer, Earl Spencer and brother of Harry’s late mother Princess Diana, announced he would release a new personal memoir about Diana’s life. Titled *Swan Song: Diana, My Sister*, the book is set for publication in the UK and globally on September 22, and will be translated into 12 languages. Diana died in a 1997 car crash in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi, and Harry has repeatedly publicly blamed aggressive press behavior for his mother’s death.

    In a statement announcing the book, Spencer explained that approaching the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death has led to a new wave of interview requests, prompting him to publish his own account. “With the 30th anniversary of Diana’s tragic death on the skyline, I’ve been inundated yet again with requests for interviews about my sister,” Spencer said. “This has convinced me to write down my own thoughts and memories, once and for all,” he added, noting that many popular narratives about Diana are “based on untruths that have become accepted over time.” Spencer, 62, has remained close to both of his nephews, and during the couple’s July visit to the UK, Harry, Meghan and their children visited Althorp, Spencer’s ancestral home in central England, where Diana is buried, multiple sources confirmed.