Author: staff
The FIFA 2026 World Cup is down to the last 32 teams after the group stage concluded on Saturday night. The knockout phase will kick off on Sunday when South Africa face cohosts Canada in Los Angeles, before Brazil meet Japan on Monday. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the knockouts. Fixtures Sunday 28 June: South Africa vs. Canada – Los Angeles Monday 29 June: Brazil vs. Japan – Houston Germany vs. Paraguay – Boston Tuesday 30 June 2026 Netherlands vs. Morocco – Monterrey Ivory Coast vs. Norway – Dallas France vs. Sweden – New Jersey Wednesday 1…
By Emma de Ruiter Published on 28/06/2026 – 15:59 GMT+2•Updated 16:05 Several Iraqi political officials were arrested early Sunday on corruption charges, Iraq’s state-run Iraqi News Agency reported. It said the arrests were based on statement made by former Deputy Minister of Oil Adnan al-Jumaili, who was arrested last month, and “included members of Parliament whose immunity had been lifted.” Iraqi security forces sealed off all entrances to the capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone early Sunday and carried out raids inside the compound that houses key government institutions and foreign embassies. A security agency report obtained by The Associated Press said…
The Armenian genocide resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923. Turkey has consistently rejected the term, but more than 30 nations worldwide — including France, Germany, the U.S., Lebanon and Syria — have recognized the mass killings as a genocide. The Israeli government’s vote comes as the relationship between two of the region’s main powers, which was once robust, has increasingly soured in recent years. The turning point was Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and was sparked after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israeli civilians on Oct.…
Israel has unanimously recognised the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as what it called a genocide. The move had been proposed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and was approved by the Israeli government on Sunday. In a post on X, Sa’ar thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his support on the matter and said Israel had “fulfilled a moral duty by recognizing the historical truth, and rejecting attempts to deny it”. The Armenian “genocide” refers to the systematic elimination and deportation of Armenian Christian people living in the Ottoman Empire from spring 1915 to autumn…
A civilian aircraft crashed near the eastern French town of Tomblaine on Sunday, killing 11 people on board. It was reportedly carrying skydivers on a training flight. According to franceinfo (source in French), the aircraft was carrying people as part of a first-time parachute jump session. Emergency services, including medical teams and a large number of firefighters, have been deployed to the scene. Police urged the public to stay away from the area. The prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Yves Séguy, has brought together all the relevant services to ensure real-time monitoring of the situation. France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, is also…
Slow travel is on the rise as tourists look to spend longer in a single destination and truly immerse themselves in the local culture. Now that the Netherlands has unveiled an affordable summer train subscription, giving visitors unlimited nationwide travel during off-peak times, weekends and public holidays for €49 a month, we think we’ve found the perfect place to embrace the trend. The scheme, called NS Flex Dal Vrij, has been launched by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the country’s national railway company, in collaboration with the government. It offers unlimited travel across the country for €49 a month for up to…
More than 4,000 people set off along Las Ramblas. They walked slowly, conscious of the weight of every step, knowing that what they were doing was unprecedented, risky and, at the same time, inevitable. They had spent years living in the shadows, hiding their identities under Franco’s dictatorship and its laws that criminalised sexual dissent. That Sunday in June, they stepped into the light for the first time. Their slogan was in Catalan, and it was a declaration of existence: “Nosaltres no tenim por, nosaltres som”, which in Spanish can be read as: “Nosotras no tenemos miedo. Nosotras somos”. Without…
Algerian fans took to the streets of Algiers to celebrate after their team’s dramatic 3-3 draw against Austria secured a place in the World Cup knockout stage. In one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament, Algeria appeared to have sealed victory with a stoppage-time goal before Austria equalised with the final kick of the game. The result sent both teams through to the last 16 while eliminating Iran. Supporters praised the team’s performance and expressed confidence ahead of Algeria’s next challenge against Switzerland.
Published on 28/06/2026 – 11:39 GMT+2 Ukraine carried out strikes on two Russian oil refineries on Saturday night, as it continues to target Moscow’s energy industry. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces hit the Slavyansk oil refinery in the Krasnodar Krai region as well as a refinery in the Yaroslavl region. “We continue our operations that weaken Russia’s ability to wage this war,” he wrote in a post on X. “Each of our long-range sanctions means fewer resources serving Russia’s war machine, and another step toward peace”. Zelenskyy also posted video footage appearing to show the strikes. Huge plumes…
Published on 28/06/2026 – 11:52 GMT+2 Spain has officially removed Gibraltar from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions after 35 years, according to a ministerial order published on Saturday in the Official State Gazette (PDF (source in Spanish)). The decision confirms something that had been on the table for years: Spain no longer considers Gibraltar a tax haven, alongside Barbados, Dominica, Samoa, Seychelles, and Trinidad and Tobago. The decision is underpinned by technical criteria, not by diplomatic gestures. Gibraltar signed a bilateral agreement on tax cooperation with Spain in 2019, which came into force in March 2021, and its implementation…