Global Pulse

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  • AFL 2026: Melbourne midfielder Tom Sparrows turns back on go-home factor

    AFL 2026: Melbourne midfielder Tom Sparrows turns back on go-home factor

    In a major announcement that has shaken up this season’s AFL contracting landscape, star Melbourne Demons midfielder Tom Sparrow has confirmed he will remain at the club after signing a blockbuster five-year contract extension, turning down a lucrative and emotionally charged offer to return to his native South Australia with Port Adelaide.

    The 26-year-old, who was part of Melbourne’s 2021 premiership-winning squad, has emerged as one of the league’s most improved players in 2024, a standout contributor for a resurgent Demons side rebuilding under new senior coach Steven King. For months, Port Adelaide had actively courted Sparrow, framing a potential move as a homecoming for the South Australian-born talent that would bring him closer to his roots. But after weeks of speculation, the midfielder has formally committed to his long-term home at Melbourne, choosing to continue building his career in the Demons’ iconic red and blue guernsey.

    Melbourne’s list manager Tim Lamb welcomed the news, praising Sparrow’s evolution both on and off the field. “We’re thrilled that Tom has decided to extend his contract and continue his career at Melbourne,” Lamb said in a statement. “Tom has grown into one of the competition’s most impactful midfielders, while also establishing himself as a valued leader within our club. We look forward to seeing what Tom will continue to bring to our program over the next five years.”

    The contract call marks the second blow Sparrow has delivered to Port Adelaide in just seven days, adding extra intrigue to the ongoing AFL trade and contracting cycle. For the Demons, the retention of one of their key midfield talents comes as the club fights to lock in a top-four finish on the AFL ladder this season. Melbourne is set to face off against the Western Bulldogs at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground this weekend, though the side is widely expected to take the field without key forward Jacob van Rooyen. The young spearhead received a suspension for high contact on Port Adelaide defender Aliir Aliir, ruling him out of the upcoming round clash.

  • As machinery removes rubble, hopes for survivors from Colombian quake dwindle

    As machinery removes rubble, hopes for survivors from Colombian quake dwindle

    Seven days after a devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake tore through western and southwestern Colombia, heavy machinery rumbles across flattened urban neighborhoods as rescue and cleanup crews work through rubble to locate any remaining survivors. Even as official prospects of finding people alive under collapsed structures fade, volunteer rescuers refuse to abandon their search, amid a growing national crisis that has already claimed hundreds of lives and left tens of thousands homeless.

    The quake, which struck last Monday, has killed nearly 300 people, destroyed thousands of residential and commercial buildings, and left at least 140 residents unaccounted for, according to Colombian government figures. Of the regions impacted, the western city of Pereira and southwestern hub Cali have suffered some of the worst damage. In Pereira, one of the epicenters of destruction, 30-year-old nursing student Andres Cano stood alongside fellow volunteer rescuers clad in orange safety vests and helmets, and acknowledged the grim shift in expectations. “The hope of locating survivors is much lower now,” Cano told reporters. “You feel exhausted, it’s mostly mental fatigue.”

    The disaster comes as an early, critical test for Colombia’s new presidential administration: right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in just three days before the earthquake hit. Already, the new leader has moved to secure international support, asking United States President Donald Trump on Saturday to temporarily suspend bilateral tariffs to ease the country’s recovery burden.

    Across impacted communities, the scale of displacement remains staggering. Officials confirm nearly 27,000 homes were completely destroyed, leaving thousands of survivors without permanent shelter. Many have been forced to sleep on mattresses and makeshift beds in open public spaces, after evacuating damaged or structurally unsound buildings. To streamline aid efforts, emergency shelters have set up QR codes that allow affected residents to digitally report missing loved ones or property damage. In the hardest-hit urban zones, dangerous buildings at risk of secondary collapse are marked with large red X’s, blocking pedestrian access to avoid further injury.

    In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, 41-year-old lawyer Jorge Leon stood beside a yellow moving truck loaded with the few belongings he managed to salvage from his ruined home, describing the disorienting pain of losing everything. “It feels like I’m living in a movie or a dream; I can’t quite grasp it,” Leon told Agence France-Presse. “It hurts to have to start all over again.” Cali mayor Alejandro Eder has projected that full reconstruction of the city will cost a minimum of $3.2 billion, a staggering price tag for a country already grappling with economic constraints.

    While the Colombian government has already received tens of millions of dollars in emergency aid from international partners including the United States and multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, officials warn that full recovery will take years. On the wall of a collapsed five-story apartment building in one hard-hit neighborhood, official rescuers marked a symbol indicating search operations for survivors had concluded: a red V crossed by a horizontal line. But volunteer teams have rejected calls to stand down, even though global emergency response standards hold that the chance of survival after 72 hours trapped under rubble drops drastically.

    Leading one volunteer rescue team called “Valentia” — Spanish for “courage” — 58-year-old university professor Juan Carlos Tabares says his team will keep searching to hold onto hope. “Although we’ve been told that several days have passed, we continue to search for lives because we want to keep hope alive,” Tabares said. As backhoes, cranes and bulldozers continue to clear debris across the impacted region, the quiet resolve of volunteers stands alongside the grief of families who have lost everything, as the country begins the long, slow process of rebuilding.

  • Liberal’s new Tasmania senator Chris Gatenby sworn in

    Liberal’s new Tasmania senator Chris Gatenby sworn in

    Australia’s federal parliament has welcomed a new representative from Tasmania, with former senior Liberal Party staffer Chris Gatenby formally sworn in to fill a vacant Senate seat on Monday morning. His appointment comes as the conservative Tasmanian Liberal branch navigates a period of leadership transition, triggered by the recent announced departures of two long-serving Tasmanian senators from national politics.

    Gatenby’s path to the Senate began earlier this month, when he was tapped to replace outgoing Senator Wendy Askew. At the time of his selection, he was serving as a senior adviser to Tasmanian state Premier Jeremy Rockliff, bringing deep experience in both state and federal politics to the new role. This is not Gatenby’s first foray into elected politics: he previously ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives seat of Bass in the 2025 federal election, and built his career over years of senior advisory roles for federal Liberal figures, including a stint as chief of staff for former federal sports minister Richard Colbeck.

    The vacancy that Gatenby fills is one of two Senate departures from Tasmania’s Liberal parliamentary contingent. In addition to Askew’s exit, prominent Coalition frontbencher Jonno Duniam announced his plans to step down back in June, bringing a close to 25 years of public service. In his June statement, Duniam explained that his decades in politics had required placing his career ahead of family life, and it was time to reverse those priorities. “Twenty-five years is a long time in any vocation and, when you take your role seriously, it always comes first,” Duniam said. “It is time I reversed my priorities and I can’t do that if I am to stay in politics.”

    Along with taking up the vacant Senate seat immediately, Gatenby has been selected to lead the Tasmanian Liberal Party’s Senate election ticket for the 2028 federal contest. Joining him on the ticket will be Sarah Courtney, a former senior Tasmanian state minister who led the island state’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Jacki Martin, a sitting Latrobe local government councillor.

    Tasmania’s sitting Liberal Senator Claire Chandler publicly welcomed Gatenby’s preselection earlier this month, praising his decades of experience delivering outcomes across diverse policy portfolios. A father of two, Gatenby brings a pragmatic, problem-focused approach to the federal Parliament, Chandler said. “He will bring his pragmatic, solutions-oriented mind to the Liberal senate ticket,” she noted. “I have no doubt Chris, Sarah, and Jacki will work hard to ensure success for the Liberal Party’s Tasmanian team at the next federal election.”

    The swearing-in of Gatenby stabilizes the Liberal Party’s Senate representation for Tasmania as the party prepares for upcoming national electoral contests, following a period of transition prompted by two high-profile retirements from long-serving incumbents.

  • Trump says US scaling back military drills with South Korea

    Trump says US scaling back military drills with South Korea

    Just days ahead of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea, former and current US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping cutbacks to the long-planned drills, opening a new chapter of friction in alliance politics and reshaping regional security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula.

    In a public post shared to his Truth Social platform Sunday, Trump laid out his rationale for the order, tying the decision directly to his self-proclaimed positive personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” he wrote.

    Trump argued that the costly drills, which the US has shouldered a large share of the financial burden for for decades, send an unnecessarily hostile signal to Pyongyang, which he claimed has remained unthreatening and respectful during his current presidential term. With the exercise set to kick off Monday, Trump said a full cancellation was no longer logistically feasible, so he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to implement a substantial scaling back of the drill’s scope.

    The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is a core annual defense training event for South Korean and US forces, designed to prepare troops to defend against potential aggression from nuclear-armed North Korea. This year’s iteration, which was already planned to involve around 18,000 South Korean troops alongside US forces stationed in the country, was set to place an unprecedented focus on emerging modern threats, including drone warfare, GPS jamming, and large-scale cyber attacks. When contacted for comment following Trump’s announcement, South Korea’s defense ministry confirmed that the drills would “proceed as previously notified and scheduled,” leaving unclear how the US cutbacks will impact on-the-ground execution.

    North Korea has for decades decried these joint drills as invasion dress rehearsals, routinely responding with heightened military posturing and diplomatic outrage. The current presence of roughly 28,500 US troops in South Korea dates back to the 1950-1953 Korean War, which concluded with an armistice agreement rather than a formal peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula technically divided in a state of ongoing conflict.

    Trump’s announcement is not an isolated shift, but rather part of a broader pattern of challenging long-standing US alliance commitments that has defined his second term. Just as he has repeatedly criticized NATO allies for failing to meet defense spending commitments and aligned his foreign policy against Iran in an ongoing military conflict that has dragged on for six months without any path to a negotiated resolution, Trump used Sunday’s post to publicly call out South Korea for declining to join the US-led effort to denuclearize Iran. “I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” he wrote.

    Regional security experts note that North Korea has significantly expanded its nuclear and missile capabilities since Trump’s first-term talks with Kim collapsed, with their last in-person meeting taking place in 2019. In the years since that breakdown, Pyongyang has also deepened its strategic partnership with Russia, following Moscow’s full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Analysts widely confirm that North Korea has supplied thousands of troops and large stockpiles of munitions to support Russia’s stalled war effort, in exchange for much-needed economic aid, food supplies, energy exports, and advanced military technology.

    Weeks ahead of the exercise, Combined Forces Command spokesman Colonel Ryan Donald noted that this year’s drill would specifically prepare troops to counter North Korean forces that have gained combat experience through their deployment alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. The shift in training priorities comes as new South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June 2025 after defeating his hawkish predecessor, has made outreach to Pyongyang a core policy priority. Lee has repeatedly offered to hold unconditional denuclearization and peace talks with North Korea, but as of yet, Pyongyang has not responded to these overtures.

  • Duplantis masterclass for fourth Euro pole vault title

    Duplantis masterclass for fourth Euro pole vault title

    On a crisp Sunday evening at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, Swedish pole vault superstar Armand “Mondo” Duplantis put on a masterclass of precision and dominance to secure his fourth consecutive European Athletics Championships gold medal, cementing his status as one of the greatest athletes in the sport’s history.

    The 2-time Olympic champion and three-time world gold medalist outperformed a 14-strong competitive field, finishing ahead of Greek standout Emmanouil Karalis to take the top spot, while setting a new championship record of 6.15 meters. This mark beats the previous 6.10m record Duplantis himself set at the 2022 European Championships in Rome.

    Karalis, who holds a personal best of 6.17m, claimed silver with a solid clearance of 6.00m, while France’s Baptiste Thiery rounded out the podium with a bronze medal finish after clearing 5.85m. Only three athletes in the entire field managed to clear the 6-meter barrier: Duplantis, Karalis, and Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen.

    The competition played out in a steady rise of tension as the bar climbed incrementally. The opening height of 5.55m proved no challenge for either Duplantis or Karalis, who both opted to pass at 5.70m, a height that eliminated four competitors immediately. At 5.85m, Duplantis, Karalis, and Thiery all made clean clearances, while five more athletes were knocked out of contention, with Guttormsen and Germany’s Bo Kanda Lita Baerze advancing only after surviving early failed attempts.

    When the bar rose to 5.95m, Guttormsen, Kanda Lita Baerze, and Thiery all failed to clear, leaving just Karalis and Duplantis in the fight for gold. Karalis made a clean clearance at 5.95m while Duplantis passed, moving the competition straight to 6.00m. Duplantis stumbled on his first attempt, and Karalis also failed to clear on his first jump. Duplantis responded with a clean clearance on his second try, putting immediate pressure on Karalis, who matched the performance to stay in the race.

    Both athletes passed on attempts at 6.05m, and Duplantis successfully cleared 6.10m on his first attempt. Karalis failed to clear 6.10m on his first jump, even as the iconic “Zorba’s Dance” blared over the stadium speakers to cheer him on. Karalis opted to pass on his remaining attempts at 6.10m to save his strength for 6.15m. Duplantis rose to the challenge, clearing the 6.15m bar on his first attempt to take the championship record.

    With the bar moved to 6.20m, Karalis made one final attempt to snatch gold, but his jump just grazed the bar, sending it crashing to the mat to end the competition. With temperatures dropping rapidly as the evening went on, Duplantis opted not to make an attempt at extending his own 16-year world record, instead packing up his poles and heading off the track with another gold medal added to his legendary collection.

    In post-victory comments, Duplantis expressed gratitude for the win, saying: “Another medal, I can’t complain. It’s really amazing. I’m just trying to win. I’m happy coming out with the win and that was enough for tonight. I really had a good time this week.”

  • Records for Asher-Smith, Hunt as Britain win 4x100m mixed relay

    Records for Asher-Smith, Hunt as Britain win 4x100m mixed relay

    The 2024 European Athletics Championships wrapped up a historic weekend for British sprinting on Sunday, as Team Great Britain claimed gold in the mixed 4x100m relay while two of its star athletes etched their names deeper into the event’s record books. Anchored by rising sprint star Amy Hunt, the dominant British quartet — made up of first leg Jeremiah Azu, second leg Dina Asher-Smith, third leg Zharnel Hughes, and final leg Hunt — crossed the finish line in a new European record time of 39.97 seconds, finishing well ahead of silver medalists Germany and bronze medalists Spain to secure the top spot on the podium.

    For Hunt, the victory marked her fourth gold medal of this year’s championships, capping off an undisputed career-best week that already included titles in the individual 100m, 200m, and women’s 4x100m relay. Speaking to reporters after the win, the young sprinter expressed overwhelming joy at sharing the moment with her teammates, revealing that the group had only run their first full baton handoff practice an hour before the final. “It was like waiting in line for a roller-coaster — you’re staring down that big drop scared out of your mind, but the second you finish you just want to go again,” Hunt said. “It was so scary, but I loved getting this new opportunity. Ending the week trying something brand new? It was amazing.”

    The historic win was just as significant for Dina Asher-Smith, the 30-year-old British sprint veteran who ran the second leg of the race. The medal marks Asher-Smith’s eighth continental European gold medal, pushing her ahead of Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic and Norwegian middle-distance star Jakob Ingebrigtsen, both of whom hold seven European golds apiece. Beyond the gold count, the medal also makes Asher-Smith the most decorated athlete in European Athletics Championships history: her total 11 continental medals (eight golds, two silvers, one bronze) surpass the previous record of 10 medals held by Polish sprinter Irena Szewinska, which stood for more than 45 years.

    Like Hunt, Asher-Smith spoke of the mix of nerves and excitement that came with the new mixed relay event. “I had to run so fast out there — I’m on a team with three other incredibly fast people!” she said. “I was absolutely terrified when the gun went off; I just kept telling myself to relax. I was so happy to hand that baton off to Zharnel, I can’t even lie. It’s really good to get to try something new, and the more we compete in this event, the more we learn what makes us faster.”

    Sunday’s mixed relay gold caps off a truly dominant week of sprinting for Great Britain. Earlier in the championships, Rommel Glave and Azu took first and second place in the men’s 100m, Hughes claimed silver in the men’s 200m, and both the British men’s and women’s 4x100m relay squads also took home gold medals. Azu, the reigning world indoor 60m champion, said the week of wins proves Britain’s depth and strength in sprint events. “We are super strong in sprinting, and we wanted to showcase that for the British fans,” he said. He also paid tribute to his two teammates, calling Hunt’s breakout performance “incredible” and noting that Asher-Smith has long been an inspiration for him. “When I started athletics in 2017, Dina was all anyone talked about. I watched all of her race tapes over and over. It’s an honor and a privilege to be on the same team as her now — it still feels surreal that we’re teammates,” Azu said.

    Hughes echoed his teammates’ excitement, summing up the mood of the entire British squad with a simple, confident question: “It was incredible. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Are you not entertained?”

  • Kushner meets with Hamas in push to revive Gaza plan

    Kushner meets with Hamas in push to revive Gaza plan

    In a groundbreaking shift for decades-long U.S. policy toward the Palestinian militant group, White House envoy Jared Kushner, who is also Donald Trump’s son-in-law, sat down for direct talks with Hamas’s newly appointed leader Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein Sunday. The high-stakes meeting, coordinated alongside regional mediators and members of the Trump administration’s Middle East peace board, marks a major push to breathe new life into a Gaza peace initiative that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already rejected.

    This encounter comes two weeks after Hamas formally endorsed the latest phase of the Trump administration’s plan, committing to transfer its weapons stockpiles to a newly formed independent governing committee. For Kushner and the U.S. negotiating team, the core priority of Sunday’s discussions was pressing Hamas to agree to concrete, internationally verifiable disarmament measures — a non-negotiable demand that Netanyahu has repeatedly emphasized as a condition for any deal. A anonymous source familiar with the closed-door talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the issue’s sensitivity, shared that Kushner made clear to the Hamas delegation that Gaza can never again be permitted to operate as a base for terrorist activity targeting Israel.

    Sunday’s meeting marked al-Hayya’s first international trip since he took the helm of Hamas in July, and shortly after assuming leadership, the group threw its support behind the disarmament roadmap. Many regional observers have characterized this move as a tactical gambit, predicated on the expectation that Netanyahu would reject the plan outright regardless of Hamas’s concessions. Despite that analysis, a second source confirmed that Hamas reaffirmed its public commitment to the framework during negotiations with Kushner. Following the talks, Hamas issued a statement calling on international mediators and the Trump administration’s Board of Peace to pressure Israel to approve the roadmap and immediately begin drafting a clear implementation timeline.

    While host Egypt did not release any public imagery of al-Hayya at the negotiating table, photos confirmed Kushner was joined by other participants, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a senior member of the Board of Peace. Qatar and Turkey, two key regional mediators that have long maintained ties with Hamas, also joined the talks alongside Egypt.

    This direct engagement between a senior U.S. envoy and Hamas represents a dramatic reversal of longstanding U.S. policy. For years, Washington officially refused any direct contact with the group, which it designates as a terrorist organization. Hamas was responsible for the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed roughly 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages, triggering the ongoing devastating Gaza war. But the Trump administration has increasingly embraced direct talks in pursuit of a permanent end to the conflict, and previously negotiated the October 2025 ceasefire that secured the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

    Following the Egypt talks, Kushner is set to travel to Israel Monday to meet with Netanyahu, who is currently locked in a competitive re-election campaign ahead of October’s national vote. Netanyahu, a longtime hawk on Palestinian issues, has already rejected the U.S.-backed plan outright, even after the Board of Peace revised its terms to accommodate Israeli demands. Originally, the framework called for a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza to proceed in lockstep with Hamas’s disarmament. But Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov assured Netanyahu that Israel would not be required to pull its forces out of the war-ravaged territory until full disarmament is completed — a concession that still failed to win Israeli support.

    The rejection of the plan has sparked widespread pushback from regional actors. The three mediator countries (Egypt, Qatar, Turkey) joined five Muslim nations — Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Indonesia — in issuing a joint statement Sunday condemning Israel’s refusal to move forward with the plan. The joint statement placed full and direct responsibility for the obstruction of peace efforts on Israel, noting that Netanyahu’s rejection directly threatens to derail the extensive diplomatic work spearheaded by the Trump administration.

    Notably, the UAE joined the statement, a development that carries significant strategic weight. The UAE normalized diplomatic and economic relations with Israel five years ago through the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, a landmark agreement that Netanyahu has repeatedly touted as one of his signature policy achievements. In response to the joint statement, Netanyahu’s Likud Party issued a fierce rebuttal, accusing Arab states of meddling in Israel’s election to try to oust the sitting prime minister.

    Despite the ceasefire that went into effect in October, violence has never fully ceased in Gaza, and Israel has resumed large-scale airstrikes across the territory after a brief lull triggered by the unveiling of the Trump peace plan. On Sunday, Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal reported that several Palestinians were injured after Israeli aircraft targeted a residential building west of Nuseirat. The Israeli Defense Force said the strike was targeting a cell of Islamic Jihad militants that was planning imminent attacks, adding that it took extensive measures to minimize harm to civilian bystanders.

    Separately, Bassal confirmed that several more people were wounded when Israeli forces opened fire on a displaced person encampment west of Khan Yunis. In the same area, civil defense teams recovered the body of 10-year-old Suhail Shallouf, who was killed by Israeli gunfire Saturday. According to data from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, which the United Nations has deemed reliable, at least 1,262 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli operations across Gaza since the October ceasefire went into effect. The Israeli military has confirmed five combat deaths among its ranks during the same period.

  • Barcelona reach deal with Man City to sign Rodri

    Barcelona reach deal with Man City to sign Rodri

    In a major summer transfer shake-up that has sent ripples through European football, Spanish champions Barcelona have finalized an agreement to bring 30-year-old Spanish World Cup-winning captain Rodri to Camp Nou from English Premier League powerhouse Manchester City, an anonymous source from the Catalan club confirmed to AFP on Sunday.

    Industry reports place the transfer fee for the decorated midfielder at roughly €75 million, equal to approximately $87 million. According to the insider, the move will be formalized imminently, with an official club statement expected in the coming days to confirm the transfer.

    Rodri, who claimed the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in 2024, has been one of the most sought-after midfielders in global football since establishing himself as a linchpin at Manchester City following his 2019 move to the Etihad Stadium. His stellar leadership was central to Spain’s second World Cup triumph in July this year, despite having battled recurring injury problems over the past two seasons that limited his playing time.

    The Spanish World Cup winner was initially linked with a move to arch-rivals Real Madrid following the tournament, but Barcelona quickly emerged as the leading suitor to land the former Atletico Madrid playmaker. The Catalan side’s urgent need for midfield reinforcement was accelerated by a long-term injury to key Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who is set to be sidelined for several months. After having two earlier bids for Rodri rejected by Manchester City, Barcelona’s persistence paid off with a breakthrough agreement reached on Sunday.

    During his five-year tenure at Manchester City, Rodri proved irreplaceable under manager Pep Guardiola, leading the club to 12 major honors. These include the 2023 UEFA Champions League title and four consecutive Premier League trophies, cementing his status as one of the most influential defensive midfielders of his generation.

    Rodri’s transfer marks the latest high-profile arrival at Camp Nou this summer, following the completed moves of Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi and Jesse Bisiwu to the club. Barcelona is also on the cusp of finalizing a permanent deal for Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo, who spent last season on loan at the club from Saudi side Al Hilal, with that announcement also expected in the near future.

  • Arsenal rout Man City in Community Shield masterclass

    Arsenal rout Man City in Community Shield masterclass

    The 2025 FA Community Shield, the traditional opening fixture of the English football season, ended in a statement 3-0 rout for reigning Premier League champions Arsenal over 2024 runner-up Manchester City at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Sunday. The commanding victory not only gave Arsenal their 18th Community Shield title, but also sent a clear signal that the north London club has no plans to loosen its grip on the top-flight crown after ending a two-decade title drought last season.

    Arsenal set the tone of the match inside the opening minute. Teenage midfield prospect Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has been linked with big-money moves to Chelsea and Manchester United in recent transfer windows, split City’s entire defensive line with a perfectly weighted through ball. Summer signing Riccardo Calafiori burst onto the pass, evaded slack marking to drill a composed 12-yard finish past City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, scoring the fastest Community Shield goal since 1968.

    The Gunners doubled their lead in the 27th minute. Another of Arsenal’s close-season recruits, Christos Tzolis—signed from Club Brugge for £34 million—found himself unmarked at the far post after a floated cross from captain Martin Odegaard. The winger nodded the ball back into the six-yard box, where Kai Havertz rose above City defender Ruben Dias to head home a clinical second goal. By half-time, Mikel Arteta’s side held a comfortable two-goal advantage, with their trademark high intensity overwhelming a disjointed City side.

    Three minutes after the interval, Arsenal put the result beyond doubt. Tzolis, who turned in a lively performance that yielded two assists, rolled a perfectly timed pass into Odegaard’s path. The Arsenal captain weaved through a static City defense, pulled off a clever dummy that left Donnarumma wrong-footed, and tapped home into an empty net to seal the resounding win.

    The fixture also served as a promising first public display for Arsenal’s other marquee summer addition: Bruno Guimaraes, who joined from Newcastle United for a £75 million ($101 million) transfer fee. The Brazilian midfielder slotted seamlessly into Arteta’s system, providing consistent defensive cover and creative distribution in the center of the park.

    For new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca, the result was a sobering wake-up call just weeks ahead of his first full season in charge. Maresca was hand-picked to replace Pep Guardiola, who departed the club after a trophy-laden decade that included 20 major honors. His side struggled for cohesion all afternoon: £116 million summer signing Elliot Anderson, recently arrived from Nottingham Forest, failed to make any meaningful impact on the game, while talismanic striker Erling Haaland was largely anonymous, wasting two clear first-half chances to get City on the scoreboard.

    Guardiola’s final season at the Etihad ended with FA Cup and League Cup trophies, but City finished seven points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table last term, failing to defend the title they had won four consecutive times between 2020 and 2024. Maresca, who left Chelsea in January after a turbulent six-month reign, now faces a clear challenge to overhaul the gap between his side and the champions ahead of City’s opening league fixture against Bournemouth on August 23.

    Arsenal, by contrast, head into the new campaign with growing momentum. Arteta insisted after the match that his side remains as hungry for silverware as ever, with their painful penalty shootout loss to Paris Saint-Germain in May’s Champions League final providing extra motivation to push for more trophies this season.

    The Gunners will start the new Premier League campaign as defending champions for the first time since the 2004-05 season, and are already installed as pre-tournament favorites to claim back-to-back titles, a feat no English top-flight side has achieved since Arsenal’s run in the 1930s. They open their title defense at the Emirates Stadium against newly promoted Coventry City on August 21, and on the evidence of Sunday’s performance, they look well-placed to establish a prolonged period of dominance in the Premier League.

    Historically, the Community Shield has been a poor predictor of future league success: only City, in 2019, has gone on to win the Premier League title after lifting the Community Shield in the last 15 editions of the fixture. But few could deny that Arsenal’s dominant display in Cardiff suggests this could be the season where Arteta’s side adds more silverware to their 2024 title triumph.

  • Europe wildfires: latest developments

    Europe wildfires: latest developments

    Across the European continent, a spreading wave of destructive wildfires amplified by extreme heat and parched vegetation left two people dead on a Greek island over the weekend, while firefighters in Belgium raced to contain the largest blaze the nation has seen in modern history. The 2024 summer of historic high temperatures has already been linked to thousands of heat-related deaths across the region, and created the perfect dry conditions that have sent wildfire risk soaring to unprecedented levels. Here’s a breakdown of the latest updates on the cross-continental crisis.

    On the Greek island of Salamis, a popular tourist destination just off the coast of Athens, two separate fire ignitions left two people dead this Sunday, prompting emergency officials to order the evacuation of hundreds of beachgoers and permanent local residents. “There are hundreds of bathers and permanent residents in the affected area, an evacuation order has been issued,” Yiannis Artopios, deputy spokesperson for Greece’s national fire service, confirmed to state public broadcaster ERT.

    In eastern Belgium, military helicopter crews and ground teams operating agricultural tractors worked around the clock to deliver massive volumes of water to firefighters battling an out-of-control wildfire raging across an isolated, hard-to-access nature reserve. While no fatalities have been reported in the Belgian blaze, the size of the fire has exploded dramatically since Friday, when it had burned just 80 hectares of land. By Sunday, the scorched area had expanded to nearly 3,000 hectares, and the origin of the ignition remains under official investigation.

    Croatian law enforcement announced Sunday that they had taken four people into custody on suspicion of deliberately starting multiple wildfires that have burned across swathes of the country’s Adriatic coastline in recent days. The four suspects are accused of setting blazes that have destroyed large areas of native pine forest and commercial olive groves, as the country fights a growing outbreak of fires driven by prolonged drought and record-breaking heat.

    In southwestern France, firefighters have successfully stabilized a major wildfire that burned 1,700 hectares of land in the Landes region after three days of coordinated ground and aerial firefighting operations. Local government official Gilles Clavreul reported that the situation is progressing “favourably”, thanks to a recent drop in air temperatures and rising humidity. When the fire first broke out Thursday, local temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius; Sunday afternoon temperatures were forecast to reach just 28 degrees. While roughly 650 evacuated residents have been able to leave temporary emergency accommodation, they have not yet been cleared to return to their properties.