Skip to main content

Posts

African results justify World Cup slots increase amid criticism

When four-time World Cup winners Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 tournament, then head coach Gennaro Gattuso lamented that Africa had so many places at the global showcase. “Africa deserves fewer World Cup slots,” he said, referring to the number of automatic qualifying places allocated to that continent rising from five to nine in an expanded 48-nation event. It became 10 when the Democratic Republic of Congo won an inter-continental play-off and returned to the World Cup after 52 years. Was Gattuso, a midfielder in the Italian 2006 World Cup-winning team, correct? Was Africa over-represented in the United States, Canada and Mexico? Apart from a disastrous showing by Tunisia, who axed coach Sabri Lamouchi after their first group game and lost all three matches, African flag-bearers proved competitive, justifying their presence. The other nine representatives reached the knockout stage, five as group runners-up. The other four were among the eight best third-placed teams. ...
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Scare Force One? Security questions swirl over Trump's new plane

US President Donald Trump faced questions about the security of his new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar, after he took an older jet home from a NATO summit this week. The billionaire president has been unable to contain his excitement over the retrofitted Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which took him to Ankara on its maiden trip outside the United States. Trump then abruptly announced in Turkey that he would send the aircraft ahead to a British airbase saying the decision was made to allow US troops to tour the luxury plane. The New York Times reported on Friday that the new plane lacked the same security countermeasures boasted by the older jet, including anti-missile defenses. US media also reported that the Secret Service had advised the switch. Speculation was fueled by the fact that US hostilities had flared again with Iran, which borders Turkey, and because journalists on the old plane out of Ankara were also told to keep their window blinds down, a step normally reserved ...
Post a Comment
Read more

US Democrat Ro Khanna detained by Israeli settlers during West Bank visit

US Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna said he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with US-made rifles during a West Bank visit this week that he cast as an unfiltered look at the human toll of Israeli occupation as he weighs a 2028 presidential run. Speaking with Reuters on Thursday in a Palestinian village, Khanna said his group’s van was surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles a day earlier while touring a part of the southern West Bank, where residents face frequent settler attacks. “We were at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed, they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it,” said Khanna, a progressive lawmaker from California in the US House of Representatives. “And these hoodlums come in with machine guns, M4, an American-made machine gun, and they detain us. They block off the road. And then they call the IDF, and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans,” Khanna said, referring to the Israeli mili...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mufti Taqi Usmani declares crypto-based purchases impermissible under Islamic law

Renowned Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani has declared purchasing goods with cryptocurrency “impermissible”, citing research conducted by experts so far which found that cryptocurrency does not qualify as “wealth”, it emerged on Friday. The fatwa was originally issued by Darul Ifta, Jamia Darul Uloom, Karachi, and dated 24 Zilhaj 1447 AH (June 10, 2026). Apart from Mufti Usmani, a former judge of the Federal Shariat Court, five other prominent scholars are its signatories. Responding to a question about purchasing books with cryptocurrency, the fatwa said: “It is not permissible for you to purchase the books in question using cryptocurrency.” “According to research and opinion of experts so far, cryptocurrency is not considered ‘ maal ’ (wealth) in Sharia. Instead, it is merely the recording of fictitious numbers in an account, whether in the form of USDT or other crypto tokens,” it stated. As cryptocurrency was not recognised as wealth, the fatwa maintained that the buyer did not...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spanish wildfire victims burned in cars as roads turned into death traps

As flames approached their homes and the smoke-filled air became choking, panicked residents in rural Andalusian villages around Los Gallardos in southern Spain chose to flee, a decision some paid for with their lives. Firefighters on Friday were still trying to contain one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires , with a total of 11 people confirmed dead, while 19 more are missing. A firefighting vehicle stands next to a Spanish Civil Guard vehicle as residents get ready to leave their homes while smoke and flames rise during a wildfire in Los Gallardos, Almeria, Spain on July 10, 2026. —Reuters Authorities told some residents of areas in the mountains above Los Gallardos to evacuate via a recommended route, while residents of the forested hamlet of Bedar were told to shelter in place. However, as the flames rapidly approached, Antonio Rubio, a handyman living in Bedar, said the smoke had made it impossible to shelter in place. “We left the house yesterday (Thur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rain predicted in country's upper regions over the weekend

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Friday predicted rain, windstorm and thundershowers in the upper parts of the country over the weekend. The department said that moist currents from the Arabian Sea were continuously penetrating the upper parts of the country, increasing in strength on Saturday (July 11) evening. “Meanwhile, a westerly wave is also likely to approach the upper parts on Saturday,” it said. Rain, windstorm and thundershower with isolated heavy rainfall have been predicted in Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber and Mirpur from Friday night (July 10) to Monday (July 13). Similar weather conditions are expected in Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Malakand, Nowshera, Charsadda, Karak, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Swabi, Shangla, Battagram, Buner, Kohat, Kurram, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Waziristan, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Turkey's Erdogan gives Nato leaders revolver conundrum after summit

Belgium’s prime minister was a little surprised on landing back home from Wednesday’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) summit in Turkey to find that he had a handgun and ammunition in his luggage. After Nato leaders gathered for Wednesday’s fractious summit in Ankara, their host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, handed each an unusual parting gift: a vintage revolver, along with live ammunition indicating it was not just for show. Erdogan wanted to showcase Turkey’s defence industry, which has become a key export and foreign policy tool. Images shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed what appeared to be the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare six-shooter produced by Turkish arms maker MKE in the 1990s. It was set in a wooden display box featuring Turkey’s flag and the Nato logo as well as a placard inscribed “Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country” in Turkish and English. The pistol gifted by Tur...
Post a Comment
Read more