Category: World

Preview: English Premier League final weekend; Manchester City, Arsenal | Football News

EXPLAINER

The Premier League title goes down to the final day for the first time since 2019/2020 season.

The Premier League title race comes down to the final day with Manchester City and Arsenal separated by only two points..

We take a look at how the last matchday of the season shapes up and what the permutations are.

Who are Manchester City are Arsenal playing on the final day?

Table-topping Manchester City host West Ham at the Etihad Stadium as they seek to secure an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row.

The Hammers will finish ninth in the league no matter the outcome of the match at City as they trail Manchester United in eighth by five points while they are four points clear of 10th-placed Bournemouth.

One carrot dangling for West Ham is to help out their former midfielder Declan Rice, who switched the London Stadium for Arsenal last summer.

The Gunners entertain Everton at the Etihad Stadium where the pressure, similar to the Hammers is off the Toffees.

The Merseyside club are 14 points clear of the relegation zone which had been a season-long battleground following their points deduction by an independent commission which found they had breached the league’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

What do the title rivals need to do to be crowned Premier League champions?

The equation for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is quiet simple: beat West Ham and they will retain the Premier League crown.

Should City draw with West Ham, or worse, then the opportunity passes to Arsenal.

The Gunners know that, with a two-point gap to City going into the game, they simply have to beat Everton.

What Mikel Arteta’s north Londoners do have in their favour is a superior goal difference. So, should City draw and Arsenal win then the sides will finish level on points but the trophy will be heading to the Emirates for the first time in 20 years.

How much does this title mean to Manchester City and Arsenal?

It was hard to top Manchester City’s achievement in 2023, when they lifted five trophies.

A domestic treble is still on the cards for the Cityzens this season, having already lifted the EFL Cup while an FA Cup final against rivals Manchester United awaits.

The history that City would dearly love to make is that no side has ever won four consecutive Premier League titles.

Should Guardiola’s side lose then it’s an unprecedented achievement that even they could surely only ever dream of achieving in the future.

So many of the greats of the game have won the three league times in a row – including Manchester United and Arsenal – but not have been able to secure a four-year stint as champions of England.

For Arsenal, who won three in a row in the 1930s under Herbert Chapman, coming out on top of the table on Sunday would end a 20-year wait for a Premier League title.

They last lifted the trophy under Arsene Wenger. It was the Frenchman’s third league title with the Gunners, who created their own piece of history by going through the season unbeaten when they lifted the second of Wenger’s three trophies.

Has the Premier League come down to the final day before?

There have been some thrilling final-day finishes in the title race, but the most famous example was Sergio Aguero’s late winner for Manchester City in 2011-12.

The Argentinian netted a stoppage-time winner against bottom-of-the-table Queens Park Rangers to hand City their first league title since 1967-68.

It denied Sir Alex Ferguson back-to-back titles that season and delayed the Scot’s retirement plans as he stayed on one more year to win back the trophy for a 13th and final time.

The bad news for Arsenal is that no side has come from second to win the Premier League on the final day of the season. To that extent, they would create history themselves if they denied City the unprecedented fourth consecutive crown.



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Brazil picked to host 2027 Women’s World Cup at FIFA Congress | Sports News

Brazil beat a joint bid by Belgium, Netherlands and Germany to become first South American nation to host the event.

Brazil has been declared host of the 2027 Women’s World Cup after winning a vote at the annual FIFA Congress on Friday, beating the joint bid of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany to become the first South American country picked to stage the tournament.

Brazil won with 119 votes versus 78 for the joint European entry, boosted by a technical evaluation from world governing body FIFA that gave a high score for its commercial plan and stadiums purpose-built for the 2014 Men’s World Cup.

“We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women’s soccer and for women,” said Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

“You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women.”

The vote on the Women’s World Cup had been whittled down to two candidates after the United States and Mexico withdrew to pursue the 2031 tournament instead.

Brazil had scored 4.0 out of 5 compared with 3.7 for Belgium-Netherlands-Germany in the FIFA evaluation, which had highlighted the European bid’s compactness, solid commercial viability and short distances between venues, but noted smaller capacities of its 13 stadiums.

Brazil  was working to give FIFA ‘what it needed’

Brazil football chief Rodrigues said the win was the result of conviction, not lobbying.

“We were not campaigning, asking for votes. We were working to give FIFA what it needed,” he said.

The bid’s operational manager Valesca Araujo said the aim was to boost women’s football in South America, which was underdeveloped and had huge potential.

“The concept we presented went beyond a sports tournament. We worked for a transformation,” she said.

“Now, we have to celebrate. It’s a great achievement for South America.”

FIFA pledged to be tough on racism, with a call for strict measures to be implemented by all members for instances of abuse, including forfeiting of matches, and introducing racism as an offence in players’ disciplinary codes.

It advocates suspending or abandoning games, plus the introduction of a global standard gesture for players to inform referees of racist abuse.

“If it is a problem of society and society can’t deal with it, let’s deal with it in football once and for all,” Infantino said.

Infantino also weighed in on what he called a “futile debate” about the volume of matches played globally, arguing FIFA organised about 1 percent of club games and just 1 percent to 2 percent of national team matches.

He reminded delegates that most FIFA members “would have no football without the resources” that FIFA provides.

“I hope these figures will show that we should probably stop this futile debate, it’s really pointless, and focus on what we need to do,” he said.



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Ronaldo tops Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes again, Rahm second | Football News

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is named highest-paid athlete for a fourth time.

Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career while Spanish golfer Jon Rahm moved up to second following his sensational switch to Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

Ronaldo became the world’s highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr and Forbes said the 39-year-old footballer’s estimated total earnings were in the region of $260m, an all-time high for a football player.

His on-field earnings amounted to $200m while his off-field earnings were $60m, thanks to sponsorship deals where brands make use of his 629 million Instagram followers.

Twice major winner Rahm joined LIV Golf in December in a big-money move that sent shockwaves through the sport after media reports said the current world number five would be paid at least $300m.

Apart from that guarantee, Rahm has earned $218m and joins Ronaldo as the only two athletes to earn over $200m.

Third on the list is record eight-times Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who made a lucrative switch to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, helping the Argentine World Cup winner earn $135m.

The 36-year-old has earned $65m in on-field earnings but $70m off it thanks to deals with major sponsors such as Adidas and Apple.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is fourth at $128.2m and although the 39-year-old, the first NBA player to score 40,000 career points, is nearing the end of his career, the American is set to have one last crack at the Olympics.

Fellow NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo ($111m) of the Milwaukee Bucks rounds out the top five while France soccer captain Kylian Mbappe has dropped down to sixth ($110m).

Mbappe announced he would be leaving Paris Saint-Germain after seven years in the French capital where he became the club’s all-time leading scorer and the 25-year-old is expected to join Spanish giants Real Madrid in the close season.

Former PSG star Neymar, who also moved to the Saudi Pro League to join Al-Hilal, is seventh ($108m) despite sitting out the majority of the season with a torn ACL.

French striker Karim Benzema, who also moved to Saudi Arabia, is eighth ($106m) on the list followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry ($102m).

Lamar Jackson is the only NFL player on the list in 10th place ($100.5m) thanks to the signing bonus that was negotiated in his new Baltimore Ravens contract last year.

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‘Liars!’, Israeli official heckled at ICJ genocide hearing | Israel War on Gaza

NewsFeed

An Israeli official was interrupted by a heckler as she spoke at the International Court of Justice, before the Court cut the video feed. Israel has rejected accusations of genocide and South Africa’s plea to judges to order a halt to the attack on Rafah.

Published On 17 May 2024

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Israel rejects South Africa’s ICJ plea for Rafah attack halt | Israel War on Gaza

NewsFeed

Israel has told the International Court of Justice it rejects South Africa’s attempt to stop the assault on Rafah in Gaza, telling judges that South Africa has a “clear ulterior motive” in pushing its genocide case.

Published On 17 May 2024

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South Korean military says North Korea test-fired ‘ballistic missiles’ | Military News

The launches come a day after the United States and South Korea conducted joint fighter jet drills.

North Korea has test-fired short-range “ballistic missiles” towards the Sea of Japan, the South Korean military said a day after it conducted joint drills with the United States using stealth fighter jets to simulate air combat.

In a brief statement on Friday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were made from North Korea’s eastern coast region of Wonsan and that the country had bolstered its surveillance posture and was maintaining readiness.

The statement did not provide further details of the latest launches but added that an analysis was under way.

On Thursday, two South Korean F-35As and two US F-22 Raptors conducted aerial exercises over the central region of South Korea. Such drills infuriate North Korea, which views them as rehearsals for invasion.

While the South’s military did not specify the latest type of weapon, North Korean state media reported that its military has been testing multiple launch rocket systems that are being upgraded.

North Korea also denounced a plan by South Korea and the US to stage joint annual military exercises in August, warning they could face a “catastrophic aftermath” if the drills are carried out. It described them as a “nuclear attack exercise”.

“This clearly shows that Washington’s claim that it has no hostile intent is nothing but a deceptive hypocrisy,” according to a statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Banned tests

In late April, North Korea fired a 600mm “super-large warhead” towards the same area.

North Korea is barred by multiple United Nations sanctions from any tests using ballistic technology, but its key ally Russia used its UN Security Council veto in March to effectively end UN monitoring of violations.

The UN panel of experts was investigating allegations that North Korea was transferring weapons to Moscow, with South Korea claiming in March that some 7,000 containers of arms had been sent to Russia for use in Ukraine since around July 2023.

Earlier on Friday, Kim’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said the country’s tactical weapons were intended as a deterrent against South Korean military aggression and denied it exports weapons.

The US and experts have said North Korea is seeking a range of military assistance from Russia in return, such as satellite technology and upgrading its Soviet-era military equipment.

North Korea said last week it would equip its military with a new 240mm multiple rocket launcher this year, adding that a “significant change” for the army’s artillery combat capabilities was under way.

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Two officers killed in suspected JI attack on Malaysian police station | Police News

The incident took place in the southern state of Johor in the early hours of Friday morning.

Two police officers have been killed and one injured in Malaysia after a man suspected to be part of the hardline Jemaah Islamiyah group stormed a police station.

The attack took place in the early hours of Friday morning in the town of Ulu Tiram in the southern state of Johor as police on duty dealt with a couple who had said they wanted to make a statement about a two-year-old incident, Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times newspaper.

While the group was talking the suspect arrived at the back of the station on a motorcycle, armed with a machete.

When an officer confronted the man, he lashed out with the machete, grabbing the policeman’s service revolver to shoot dead the second officer.

Razarudin said investigators suspected the man, who was shot dead by a third officer who was injured after being slashed with the machete, was planning to seize weapons for a “yet to be determined agenda”.

Razaurdin told Malaysian media that police raided the suspect’s house, not far from the police station, and found “numerous JI-related paraphernalia”. Five members of his family were arrested, including the suspect’s 62-year-old father who police said was a “known JI member”. The two people who were lodging the police report were also detained.

Other members of JI living in the state, which borders Singapore, were also being arrested, the Malay Mail news outlet quoted Razarudin as saying.

Jemaah Islamiyah is an al-Qaeda-affiliated group that aimed to establish a hardline Islamic state in Indonesia and across Southeast Asia.

At its height in the 2000s, JI was alleged to have members from Indonesia to Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and the Philippines, and masterminded a series of deadly bombings, including the October 2002 attack in Bali that killed more than 200 people.

Some of its most prominent leaders were Malaysian, including Noordin Muhammad Top who acted as a recruiter, strategist and financier for the group and was wanted for involvement in a string of attacks in Indonesia.

Noordin was from Johor and was reported to have founded a religious school in Ulu Tiram.

JI is banned in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

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What is Trident, the US floating pier off Gaza? Will it work? | Explainer News

A $320m floating pier built for delivering aid has been attached to Gaza’s shore and began being used to deliver aid on Friday, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) says.

Aid groups have criticised the pier as a costly and ineffective distraction from the fact that land deliveries are the most efficient way to help Gaza.

What was initially proposed as a way to supplement aid to a starving population as Israel’s punishing war on them continues may become the only source after Israel seized and closed the Rafah land crossing with Egypt. Israelis have also begun attacking aid trucks heading to Gaza through Israeli crossings.

CENTCOM said aid trucks are “expected to begin moving ashore in the coming days” via the pier. Shipping data shows the MV Sagamore cargo ship carrying the aid is near Cyprus after waiting in Ashdod, Israel, for a few days due to bad weather.

How does the pier work?

The US has long used Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) to land troops and equipment in areas where they have no access to a fixed pier.

It is using the same capability to build the Trident Pier for Gaza.

The project has two components, a floating offshore barge that is a first point of arrival for aid deliveries and a 550-metre (1,800ft) causeway anchored to the shore.

(Al Jazeera)

Aid is assembled and inspected in Cyprus, in the presence of Israeli officials so it requires no further checks on arrival, then departs by cargo ship – the Sagamore, so far.

When it arrives after a journey of about 15 hours, aid is unloaded onto the floating pier and then loaded on trucks driven by aid workers that board smaller US Army boats to be transported to the Gaza shore.

When the operation reaches full capacity, 150 trucks are expected to make their way into Gaza daily.

International aid organisations say a minimum of 500 trucks are needed each day.

What are the main challenges?

The project stops on bad weather days as rough seas slow down the ships while the pier is unusable in waves higher than 90cm (three feet) or winds faster than 24km/hour (15mph), according to a 2006 US Naval War College paper on safe cargo handling.

Earlier this month, CENTCOM had to pause offshore assembly of the pier due to high winds and high sea swells, moving everything near Ashdod.

The project also needs complicated logistics and security with many moving parts and details yet to be finalised.

Every step added to aid delivery increases both cost and risk, Sarah Schiffling, deputy director of Finland’s HUMLOG Institute which researches humanitarian logistics and supply chain management, said.

“We’ve got this quite complex structure of what needs to happen – and then the aid still needs to be distributed in Gaza,” Schiffling said. “If you haven’t got fuel, then the whole thing doesn’t work.”

It is also unclear who will be responsible for each stage and who guarantees the safety of aid workers unloading and distributing aid. On Thursday, CENTCOM said: “The United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution into Gaza,” but did not specify whether this would be the arrangement throughout.

International and local organisations are painfully aware that past aid distributions in Gaza have ended in tragedy.

Israel’s military has attacked aid workers’ convoys and premises in Gaza at least eight times since October, with Human Rights Watch saying none of the aid organisations were warned before the attacks.

On Monday, a foreign United Nations staff member was killed in an attack in eastern Rafah when the vehicle they were travelling was shot at. Last month, Israel struck a convoy belonging to World Central Kitchen, killing seven aid workers.

 

Why is the project controversial?

The pier has been criticised as a complicated and costly alternative that tries to deflect attention from demanding a more appropriate and much simpler solution – for Israel to open land crossings to Gaza and to secure aid trucks going in.

Israel has been ordered to open more land crossings by the International Court of Justice as part of a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

The court order in March was followed by a modest increase but aid remained nowhere near enough to meet the overwhelming need, according to UN and nongovernmental aid agencies.

Humanitarian aid had been trickling in through the Rafah crossing but came to a halt when the Israeli military seized control of the area in its offensive in the southern city.

According to Schiffling, Ashdod, just north of Gaza, would have been better for aid delivery, but there is no political willingness. “There is sea infrastructure, it’s just not available to get the humanitarian aid in to then get it across the land border into Gaza.”

(Al Jazeera)

US authorities say the pier is intended to supplement, not replace, aid deliveries over land and have called for the opening of land routes.

“We’re in a situation where anything going into Gaza is fantastic and we want more of that,” Schiffling said. “[Maritime aid delivery] can be an addition, but it cannot replace road access.”

US President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address in March that the pier would “receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter”, a move largely seen as an attempt to appease his Democratic Party’s base as he runs for re-election in November.

The pier “looks quite spectacular and demonstrates what the US military can do without it being a military intervention”, Schiffling said.

“[W]e can understand why it was great for President Biden to announce it in his State of the Union address.”

Washington has provided billions of dollars in aid as well as weapons that Israel has used in Gaza since October 7.

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Republicans in US House pass bill pushing Biden to send weapons to Israel | Israel War on Gaza News

The act is not expected to become law, but its passage shows the depth of the election-year divide in the US over Israel.

The Republican-led US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel, seeking to rebuke the Democrat for delaying bomb shipments as he urges Israel to do more to protect civilians during its war with Hamas.

The Israel Security Assistance Support Act was approved 224 to 187, largely along party lines. Sixteen Democrats joined most Republicans in voting yes, and three Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the measure on Thursday.

The act is not expected to become law, but its passage underlined the deep US election-year divide over Israel policy as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government seeks to wipe out Hamas fighters who attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people captive.

Palestinian authorities say at least 35,272 civilians have been killed during Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Malnutrition is widespread and much of the population of the coastal territory has been left homeless, with infrastructure destroyed.

“This is a catastrophic decision with global implications. It is obviously being done as a political calculation, and we cannot let this stand,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told a news conference with other party leaders on Wednesday.

Democrats also accused their rivals of playing politics, saying Republicans were distorting Biden’s position on Israel.

“It is not a serious effort at legislation, which is why some of the most pro-Israel members of the House Democratic caucus will be voting no,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told a news conference before the vote.

Enormous casualties in Rafah

Biden placed the hold on the transfer of the bombs this month over concerns the weapons could inflict enormous casualties in Rafah and to deter Israel from going ahead with the attack.

Early in May, Biden also told CNN that he would not be “supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah” if Israeli forces go into “population centres”.

Rights advocates, lawmakers and protesters across the US have demanded an end to the transfers, warning the president that the arms were being used for human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza.

Israel, a major recipient of US military assistance for decades, is still due to get billions of dollars of US weaponry, despite the delay of one shipment of 2,000-pound (907kg) and 500-pound bombs, and the Biden administration’s review of other weapons shipments.

As recently as Tuesday, the State Department had moved a $1bn package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, US officials said.

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Texas governor Abbott pardons man who killed Black Lives Matter protester | Black Lives Matter News

Daniel Perry was jailed for 25 years for shooting dead protester Garrett Foster in Austin in 2020.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has granted a full pardon to a former US Army sergeant and Uber driver who was jailed for 25 years for fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.

Abbott, a Republican, in his pardon proclamation, cited the state’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defence law, one of the strongest such measures in the United States.

The announcement came shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole unanimously recommended a pardon for Daniel Perry and restoration of his firearm rights following an investigation that the board conducted at the governor’s request.

Perry, 37, was found guilty in April 2023 of murder in the death of 28-year-old Garrett Foster, a US Air Force veteran who was shot at a Black Lives Matter rally in Austin, the state capital, in July 2020.

The demonstration came amid a storm of protests across the country against racial injustice and police brutality in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers in May of that year.

Perry insisted he was acting in self-defence when he shot Foster, claiming he had no choice but to open fire with his handgun when Foster pointed the AK-47 he was legally carrying at Perry. Perry is white, as was Foster.

Perry was driving in Austin that night and had turned his Uber car onto a street where the demonstrators were marching, leading members of the crowd to believe they were in danger of being assaulted by his vehicle, according to media accounts of the incident.

During the trial, the two sides presented conflicting accounts of whether Foster levelled his gun at Perry.

‘Politics over justice’

In his pardon proclamation, Abbott said the jury’s verdict in effect “nullified” the state’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defence law. The statute removes a person’s duty to retreat from an unprovoked threat of violence before using deadly force if that person has a right to be there.

Perry’s lawyer, Doug O’Connell, said the pardon “corrects the courtroom travesty” of his client’s conviction, adding that Perry was “thrilled and elated to be free”.

“Daniel Perry was imprisoned for 372 days and lost the military career he loved,” O’Connell said in the statement, quoted by Austin television station KXAN. “We intend to fight to get Daniel’s military service characterisation upgraded to an honourable discharge.”

According to KXAN, Foster’s fiancee, Whitney Mitchell, shared her reaction in a joint statement with her mother, calling the pardon a “devastating blow” that “reopened deep wounds”.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, a Democrat whose office brought the case against Perry, condemned the pardon, saying the parole board and the governor had “put their politics over justice and made a mockery of our legal system”.

The parole board gave no specific reason for its recommendation but said its investigation “delved into the intricacies” of Perry’s case, including a review of police reports, court records and witness statements.

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