Dean Located at the foot of the Balkans Accursed Mountains, the Decani Monastery is seen as a symbol of Serbias religious heritage in Kosovo and a miracle of survival through many conflicts.  

The 14th century domed building, a World Heritage site which still boasts its original frescoes, is under 24-hour guard by NATO-led peacekeepers.

They are stationed at the approach to the monastery, their armoured vehicle topped with a big gun and sandbagged sentry post anomalous in the bucolic valley.

Inside the monastery compound, the soldiers camouflage uniforms mingle with the black robes of the 20 Eastern Orthodox monks who live there.

Since the ethnic Albanian majority of Kosovo rose up in 1998-1999 against Belgrade, sites linked to Serbian heritage such as the monastery have become targets.

Although the situation in Kosovo has largely calmed in the two and a half decades since the 1999 Kosovo war, in which NATO intervened, simmering tensions require continued vigilance by the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force.

Tensions are currently at their highest since 2004, KFOR commanders say, with ethnic Albanians claiming municipal administrations in Serb-majority flashpoint towns in Kosovos north, and Serbia holding three Kosovo policemen that were arrested mid-June.

A haven

The peace that reigns in Decani Monastery makes those troubles seem a world away, but its monks are aware that conflict has often lapped at its walls.

Two Balkans wars, two world wars, Communism the church suffered a lot. So it is kind of a miracle the church survived in such conditions, one of them, Father Petar, told journalists including AFP who visited under KFOR escort in late June.

The monk did not dwell on what threats the site confronts today, emphasising instead its mix of Gothic, Byzantine and Eastern architecture.

It is a combination of the most beautiful elements of Christian art, from east and west, Father Petar said, observing that the church has never changed over its 700-year history.

During the Kosovo war and its aftermath, the monastery was a refuge for people of several religious beliefs, a haven from ethnic rivalries.

Built between 1327 and 1335, its founder was Serbian King Stefan Decanski, after whom it and the nearby village was named though Serbs refer to the village as Decani while ethnic Albanians call it Decan.

Orthodox faithful come from far to worship the remains of King Stefan, who was anointed Saint Stefan of Decani, which are kept in the altar under the cupola inside the monastery.

KFOR soldiers keep a respectful watch inside and outside the monastery as monks carry out the rituals.

Our job is to maintain good relations with all the municipality elements, disparate ethnics (ethnicities) of course, said...

Jisr al-Shughur Russian air strikes Sunday on Syrias northwest killed at least 11 people including five civilians, in retaliation for deadly drone attacks blamed on rebel forces, a war monitor said.

Six civilians were killed in Jisr al-Shughur and three rebel fighters were killed nearby by Russian air strikes, Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

Ahmed Yezidi of the civil defence in Jisr al-Shughur, a city in rebel-held Idlib province, said the strikes killed nine people, without specifying whether fighters were included in the toll.

A fruit and vegetable market in the city was hit by the Russian strike, said the Observatory and an AFP correspondent at the scene.

Yezidi called it a direct attack on the popular market, which is a basic source of income for farmers in the area.

One civilian and one rebel fighter were also killed in a strike on the outskirts of Idlib city, said Abdel Rahman, whose Britain-based monitor has a wide network of sources inside war-torn Syria.

At least 30 civilians were wounded in Sundays strikes, he said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise.

Russian forces, which back the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, were responding to rebel drone strikes over the past week that killed four civilians including two children, according to Abdel Rahman.

Damascus, with Russian and Iranian support, has clawed back much of the ground lost in the early stages of Syrias conflict, which erupted in 2011 when the government brutally repressed pro-democracy protests.

The last pocket of armed opposition to the regime includes large swathes of Idlib province and parts of the neighbouring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, headed by ex-members of Syrias former Al-Qaeda franchise, is the dominant group in the area but other rebel groups are also active, with varying degrees of Turkish backing.

Syrias war has killed more than half a million people and forced around half of the countrys pre-war population from their homes.

The post Russian strikes kill 11 in rebel-held Syria appeared first on Iraqi News.

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, received on Saturday the Iraqi national under-23 football team to congratulate them for winning the 2023 West Asian U-23 Championship title, according to a statement issued by the Prime Ministers Office.

The Iraqi Prime Minister indicated that honoring the teams in different sports is a message of interest from the government.

Honoring Iraqi sports teams also represents a government approach reflecting our belief in the importance of sport, Al-Sudani said.

Al-Sudani stated that hosting sport tournaments indicates the stability of countries and their ability to organize sport events, which represent a means of communication between people.

The Iraqi Prime Minister emphasized that directives have been issued to the Minister of Youth and Sports to support youth and sports in all areas of Iraq.

Al-Sudani noted that sport occupies a special place among Iraqis, and this prompts the government to exert efforts for sports.

The President of the Iraq Football Association (IFA), Adnan Dirjal, thanked the Prime Minister for the great support he provides to Iraqi sports, especially football.

The Iraqi national under-23 football team was crowned the 2023 West Asian U-23 Championship title last Tuesday after defeating its Iranian rival 5-4 in the final match of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) for mens under-23 held at the Al-Madina International Stadium in Baghdad.

This is the first time the Iraqi national under-23 football team has won the U-23 WAFF championship since it was founded in 2015.

Iraqs Lions of Mesopotamia team won the 25^th Gulf Cup title last January, and the youth team achieved second place in the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup last March following a 1-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the final and reached the U-20 World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The post Iraqi PM receives national under-23 football team appeared first on Iraqi News.

Mecca Braving the scorching Saudi heat, Mecca resident Amer Abdullah distributed free tea and bread to worshippers performing the annual hajj pilgrimage, honouring a long-standing tradition in Islams holiest city.

Joined by his five sons, the 45-year-old Saudi man who spends his evenings serving warm beverages to worn-out Muslim pilgrims, said hajj hospitality runs in his blood.

For the people of Mecca, there is no higher honour than serving pilgrims, Abdullah told AFP ahead of the start of hajj rituals on Sunday.

My father did it as did his forefathers before him and now I am trying to pass it down to my sons, he added, pearls of sweat forming on his face.

Before hotels and high-rises sprang up in Mecca, locals used to host pilgrims in their homes.

Now, while the holy city is dotted with luxury accommodation and air-conditioned shopping malls, these have not replaced the deeply ingrained culture of hospitality.

Every day at around noon, Abdullah and his sons start filling vacuum flasks with tea and hot milk.

They pack hundreds of loaves of bread into tightly sealed plastic bags before heading out for the night.

They set up near the Grand Mosque, which is overflowing with worshippers, some of whom survive solely on handouts for the duration of the four-day pilgrimage.

This is an honour passed down through generations here, Abdullah said, pouring tea into a paper cup.

Racing to help

Hospitality, already firmly rooted in Saudi culture, gains even more currency during hajj one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must undertake at least once in their lives.

More than two million pilgrims from more than 160 countries are expected this year.

According to Muslim tradition, they are guests of God, meaning they must be provided with accommodation, food and drink even if they cannot afford it.

Across Mecca, young men distribute free meals consisting of rice, chicken or meat to pilgrims who line up in long queues.

Faisal al-Husseini, a Pakistani businessman living in Mecca, has been distributing hot meals every day for weeks.

It is a great honour to serve Gods guests, he said, handing food in a blue plastic bag to a pilgrim.

For 47-year-old Egyptian visitor Mahmoud Talaat, the handouts are his sole source of sustenance.

I depend on these meals because I am unable to afford them, he said.

This years summer timing for the hajj, which follows the lunar calendar, will test the endurance of worshippers during the mostly outdoor ritual.

As temperatures exceed 42 degrees celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit), young men distribute bottles of frozen water to help pilgrims survive the heat.

We buy water and cool it well, then we start distributi...

Washington Hikers found human remains in Californias Mount San Antonio area, local authorities said, around the same area where British actor Julian Sands went missing five months ago.

The remains were discovered in the wilderness on Saturday morning, San Bernardino Sheriffs Department said in a statement.

Civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriffs Station after they discovered human remains near the mountain, it added.

The body was taken to the coroners office to be identified, with the process expected to be completed next week.

Sands, who shot to fame in 1985 for his role in A Room with a View, went missing in January on the 10,000-foot (3,000-meter) Mount San Antonio, known locally as Mount Baldy, just outside the city of Los Angeles.

The 65-year-old is an experienced hiker who has previously described himself as happiest close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning.

California was hit by a succession of heavy storms in December and January that brought heavy snow to mountain ranges, including to Mount San Antonio.

The peak where Sands disappeared is the highest in the San Gabriel Mountains and a popular destination for Los Angeles residents.

San Bernardino County Sheriff at the time said it was increasingly treacherous, with eight known deaths between 2017 and 2022.

The actors brother, Nick, said two weeks after search efforts began that he had accepted Sands would not be found alive.

He has not yet been declared missing, presumed dead, but I know in my heart that he has gone, he had said, according to English local media in Yorkshire, where the brothers grew up.

The post Human remains found near site where actor Julian Sands went missing appeared first on Iraqi News.

Mexico City Rosario Crisostomo thought she had been cheated when she counted the money sent by her son from the United States. But there was no scam, only a Mexican currency going from strength to strength.

Once a laggard of the international foreign exchange market, the peso is among the worlds best performing currencies this year.

A combination of high interest rates in Latin Americas second-largest economy, financial stability as well as inflows of remittances and foreign investment have seen the Mexican currency post double-digit percentage gains against the dollar in 2023.

I thought they were cheating me, telling me that the dollar was low to give me less, but then I saw that they werent, Crisostomo told AFP from the town of Piaxtla, in the central state of Puebla, where she lives with her grandson.

Some 4.6 million households across the country receive remittances the countrys largest source of foreign currency largely thanks to the Mexican diaspora in the United States.

The government estimates that in 2023 remittances could exceed last years record high of more than $58 billion.

This month the Mexican currency reached its strongest levels against the greenback since 2016, earning itself a new nickname the super peso.

On Friday, it stood at around 17.1 per dollar, compared to 25 in March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic began.

Analysts say the pesos strength is in part due to the high level of the Mexican benchmark interest rate, which is now 11.25 percent.

The lending rate has been raised to fight inflation but has also attracted investors seeking higher returns.

The peso has also been boosted by the so-called nearshoring trend of US companies like electric carmaker Tesla moving their production closer to home in Mexico instead of Asia, experts say.

When investors look for where to invest and look at emerging markets, theres no other country with a narrative like Mexico with nearshoring, said Carlos Capistran, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Mexican miracle

In a country that has suffered major currency devaluations in the past, the pesos strength has been mostly hailed as good news. 

Leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refers to it as the Mexican miracle.

The touted benefits include a decrease in the size of Mexicos foreign debt, when its value is considered in pesos.

On the other hand, the strong currency reduces the earnings of exporters.

But I would say a strong peso is better than depreciation or devaluation, in general terms, Lopez Obrador said.

Rogelio Garciamoreno, a farmer and vice president of the private National Agricultural Council, is both a winner and loser from the...

Mecca Vast crowds of robed pilgrims made solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Meccas Grand Mosque, on Sunday as the biggest hajj pilgrimage in years began in the heat of the Saudi summer.

Islams holiest site is expected to host more than two million worshippers from 160 countries during the annual rites that could break attendance records, with 1.6 million foreigners already arrived by Friday evening.

The hajj began early on Sunday with the tawaf - the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the large cubic structure draped in black cloth with gold trimmings that millions of Muslims pray towards every day.

I am living the most beautiful days of my life, said Abdel-Azim, a 65-year-old Egyptian as he performed the ritual. 

The dream has come true, said the retiree, who saved up for 20 years to pay the $6,000 fee to take part.

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once.

A series of rites are completed over four days in Mecca and its surroundings in the west of oil-rich Saudi Arabia. 

On Sunday night, pilgrims will start moving to Mina, about five kilometres (three miles) from the Grand Mosque, ahead of the hajjs climax at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his final sermon. 

Great blessing

Outside the Grand Mosque, thousands prayed on colourful carpets that adorned the pavement, with male pilgrims wearing a simple white robe. The area was dotted with ambulances, mobile clinics and fire trucks.

The hajj poses a considerable security challenge and has seen several disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that killed up to 2,300 people.

There have been no major incidents since, and catastrophe was the last thing on pilgrims minds.

I cannot describe my feelings, said 25-year-old Indonesian student Yusuf Burhan.

This is a great blessing. I never imagined that I would perform the hajj this year.

This years summer timing for the hajj, which follows the lunar calendar, will test the endurance of worshippers during the mostly outdoor ritual.

Carrying white umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching sun, policemen in the mountainous city have conducted foot patrols and set up checkpoints to inspect hajj permits. 

Others splashed water on pilgrims as temperatures climbed towards 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

Inside the Grand Mosque, thousands of paramedics stood on standby. Saudi authorities said more than 32,000 health workers will be on hand to help fend off heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion. 

Not a single vacant bed

The hajj, with its hefty fees, makes billions of dollars a year for the worlds bigges...

Athens Greek voters head to the polls again Sunday in an election where conservative front-runner Kyriakos Mitsotakis is seeking a second term and an absolute parliamentary majority to form a stable government.

The 55-year-old Harvard graduate, who steered Greece from the coronavirus pandemic back to two consecutive years of strong growth, had already scored a thumping win in an election just a month ago.

But having fallen short of five seats in parliament to be able to form a single-party government, Mitsotakis chose to ask 9.8 million Greek voters back to the ballot boxes.

Mitsotakis, who hails from one of Greeces most influential political families, had trounced his next nearest rival, former leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras, by more than 20 percentage points in the last vote.

As election rules this time round would accord up to 50 bonus seats to the winner of the vote, Mitsotakiss New Democracy party is widely projected to emerge victorious.

The main danger facing him would be a larger no-show rate at the polls because of the perceived foregone outcome.

Urging his supporters to turn up at the polls, he has warned of the possibility of a third election if he fails to get a majority.

I hope we dont have to meet again in early August, he told Skai TV hours before a campaigning blackout began Saturday, adding that this is no joke.

All the gains we have made must be consolidated and continued, he said.

Achievements

Mitsotakis beat Tsipras in a landslide victory in 2019 to take Greeces top job on a vow to end a decade of economic crisis.

That election was the first in the EU nations post-bailout era, at a time when businesses and workers alike were ailing under the burden of heavy taxes imposed by Tsiprass Syriza party to build a budget surplus demanded by international creditors.

Over the next four years, tax burdens were eased, and while the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out Greeces vital tourism revenues, the country has since bounced back strongly with growth of 8.3 percent in 2021 and 5.9 percent in 2022. 

That was helped in part by over 57 billion euros ($62 billion) dished out by the government to cushion the impact of the health crisis and inflation. 

Analysts note, however, that Mitsotakis had licence to spend under the EUs more relaxed pandemic-era rules.

Mitsotakis has played up Greeces newfound economic health, underlining that on his watch, his conservatives have cut 50 taxes while increasing national output by 29 billion euros and overseeing the largest infrastructure upgrades since 1975.

The message appeared to have gone down well with voters weary of Greeces debt years, when headlines were awash with job losses, rising payments and companies going bankrupt. 

Maria Fr...

San Antonio Victor Wembanyamas whirlwind ride as the NBAs most anticipated No. 1 draft pick since LeBron James has landed him right where he needs to be, the French phenomenon said Saturday in San Antonio.

The towering 19-year-old, hailed as a transformative talent thanks to the skills he packs in his 7ft 4in (2.24m) frame, was eagerly looking ahead to developing his game under the guidance of coaching great Gregg Popovich, with Spurs greats including Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Manu Ginobili to call on for advice.

His rock-star style welcome from fans at San Antonios airport on Friday was followed by an eye-opening dinner with Duncan, Robinson and Ginobili.

In probably a couple hours I learned more about the NBA than my whole life before, he said.

Its super-reassuring to know that these guys still live in San Antonio, they still gravitate towards the club, theyve kept a relationship with the franchise.

Its comforting to know that there are legends, not only of the club but also of the NBA, who are there to help me and who wont let me make the same mistakes twice. 

For a rookie, thats a huge advantage.

The Spurs, who won the most recent of their five NBA titles in 2014, also boast a French connection, with both Tony Parker and Boris Diaw featuring on championship San Antonio teams Parker on three of them.

Its just an asset, because I have good relations with those French people who have made history, and I can go to them if I need to, Wembanyama said.

Fans anticipating Wembanyamas arrival ever since the Spurs gained the top pick in the draft will be thrilled to know that he can already envision living in the Texas city for a long time.

I feel I belong here, he said. Since I arrived, Ive seen nothing but grateful people, so its easy to acclimatize when youre already appreciated.

Since being flown in after Thursdays glitzy draft in Brooklyn, Wembanyama has managed to sample San Antonios breakfast tacos and start house-hunting.

Hes got a trip to sponsor Nikes Oregon headquarters on his schedule, but he admitted he was looking forward to returning the focus to basketball.

Lately Ive had so much stuff to do off the court, like with the media.

Ive got to go back to being really focused on practicing, on lifting, he said. Because this isnt what Ive done most in the last couple days, and you know, it feels really weird.

With his first taste of competition in a Spurs jersey expected to come in Summer League games next month, Wembanyama is already confident that the NBA will provide the perfect arena to develop his game.

One very important fac...

London Carlos Alcaraz moved to the brink of his first grass court title and reclaiming the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic after sweeping aside Sebastian Korda to reach the final at Queens Club on Saturday, admitting he felt like a 10-year veteran on the surface.

The 20-year-old Spaniard came through 6-3, 6-4 and will face Australias Alex de Minaur, who beat second seed Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), in Sundays final.

Playing in just his third grass court tournament, Alcaraz has adapted quickly to the conditions after a tough first round clash against French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech.

The US Open champion had to recover from a slow start as he was broken for the only time in the opening game.

But Korda was let down by double faults at key moments as Alcaraz broke back immediately and edged a tight first set after breaking again in the eighth game.

The second set was more straightforward for Alcaraz who broke to love in the third game and comfortably served it out.

Im playing great, Im feeling great, said Alcaraz, adding that this was the best performance of his short career on the grass to date.

Im really happy to play here in Queens. Since the first match, I feel the love from the crowd.

A fifth title of the year would take Alcaraz back above Djokovic, who won their semi-final battle at the French Open earlier this month, at the top of the world rankings.

It will also give him top seeding at Wimbledon which gets underway on July 3.

Right now I feel like Im playing for 10 years on grass, its something crazy for me, added Alcaraz who will be aiming for an 11th career title.

I didnt expect to adapt my movement, my game so fast on grass. Im really happy with that.

Alcarazs win against world number 32 Korda also improved his record to 27-1 against players outside the top 20 this season. 

He has reached at least the semi-finals in eight of the nine tournaments hes played on this year.

De Minaur continued his fine form in London as world number six Rune was no match for the big-serving Aussie.

The world number 18 ended Andy Murrays renaissance on the grass in the first round and is eyeing a second grass court title after winning in Eastbourne in 2021.

I love being here and playing on this court in front of this amazing crowd, De Minaur said.

I am having a good week and this was my best performance of the week.

Alcaraz defeated De Minaur in their only meeting so far, an epic semi-final duel on clay in Barcelona last year. 

In a three-hour, 40-minute battle, Alcaraz saved two match points in a 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 victory en route to the title.

Its going to be a big challenge for me. His game i...

Rostov-on-Don The sound of ambulance and police sirens filled the air on Saturday in Rostov-on-Don a hub for Russias Ukraine campaign where the rebellious Wagner mercenary force said it had taken over key facilities.

At a major intersection in the city centre, an armoured car with a machine gun and around a dozen men in military fatigues with silver armbands could be seen.

Armoured personnel carriers and tanks were positioned in other parts of the centre, including outside a toy shop and a circus, journalists in the city reported.

Passers-by stopped to look at the military vehicles, including transport trucks, and more armed men with silver armbands carrying rifles in resting positions.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has said his troops had taken control of Russias main military command centre for Ukraine operations as well as an airbase in the city, vowing to topple Moscows top military leaders.

He said he commanded around 25,000 fighters.

A port city located just over 100 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, Rostov-on-Don was founded in the 18th century and is the headquarters of Russias southern military command.

Unlike other large Russian cities further from the front lines, Rostov-on-Don with a population of just over one million people has experienced the ripple effects of Russias large-scale military operation in Ukraine.

One person was killed in March at an FSB building fire in Rostov-on-Don and the Rostov region has also been targeted over recent months in several drone attacks.

Regional governor Vasily Golubev called on residents not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary and said any planned mass gatherings in the city had been cancelled.

He also asked the public not to use the M4 motorway the main road connection between Moscow and southern Russia as sections have been closed and large queues of cars have formed along it.

Golubev said public transport in the city was still functioning but routes had been changed to avoid the city centre.

The situation that has arisen requires a maximum concentration of efforts to keep order, he said on social media.

Law enforcement agencies are doing everything necessary to ensure the security of our regions residents.

The post Tanks and armed Wagner rebels deploy in southern Russia town appeared first on Iraqi News.

Dhaka Bangladesh police have arrested the leader of an Islamist organisation at his hideout in Dhaka, officers said Saturday, months after the launch of a crackdown against the group.

Shamin Mahfuz, the founder of Jamaat al Ansar fil Hindal Sharqiya, is accused of helping to run militant training camps in the countrys restive Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Police said Mahfuz was arrested late Friday along with his wife in an industrial suburb of the capital, where they were found with a pistol, explosives and bomb-making materials.

An anti-terrorism case has been filed against Mahfuz. We seek 10 days of remand to question him, Mohammad Asaduzzaman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism unit told reporters.

Lawyers for Mahfuz could not be reached for comment. 

Asaduzzaman said the Sharqiya founder had first been detained in 2014 and came into contact with other outlawed extremist groups while in prison. 

He said Mahfuz had brokered a deal for the organisation to use training camps run by the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), a mainly Christian tribal insurgent group.

Last October the countrys elite Rapid Action Battalion security force said it had launched an assault on KNF and Sharqiya encampments in three remote hill towns near the Indian border, arresting dozens of people. 

The crackdown forced hundreds of villagers to flee across the border and take refuge in the northeast Indian state of Mizoram.

Fresh clashes between the KNF and the Bangladesh military killed at least five soldiers in the last four months, the army has said.

The KNF rejected any connections with Sharqiya in a Facebook post last year. 

Bangladesh security forces launched a nationwide drive against Islamist extremists last decade after a series of high-profile terror attacks that killed nearly a dozen atheist writers, secular and gay activists and minorities.

In the deadliest incident, members of an Islamic State-linked group killed 22 civilians including 17 foreigners during a siege at an upmarket restaurant in Dhaka in 2016.

Bangladesh police shot dead more than 100 people in nationwide raids on extremist hideouts and arrested thousands of alleged members of extremist groups.

The post Bangladesh arrests chief of Islamist militant outfit appeared first on Iraqi News.

Mecca The hajj pilgrimage has given Sudanese faithful Kamal Kabashi a brief respite from his countrys bloody conflict. Having safely arrived in Islams holiest city, he was praying for peace.

Only weeks ago his home in North Darfur state, in Sudans west, was hit by shelling as a power struggle between rival generals spiralled into an all-out war.

Kabashi, his wife and their five children were unharmed as they had relocated to a safer neighbourhood of El Fasher, the state capital, days before.

Now, after a perilous four-day journey by land and sea, Kabashi has joined more than one million worshippers on the annual pilgrimage to the Saudi holy city of Mecca.

I am very afraid for my family and children, said the 52-year-old government employee, dressed in the simple white robes worn by hajj pilgrims.

I raise my hands to God almighty and ask him to solve the problem of Sudan, he told AFP from Meccas Grand Mosque, the worlds largest.

Fighting since mid-April between Sudans regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has claimed more than 2,000 lives.

It has largely been concentrated in greater Khartoum and in Darfur, a vast region on Sudans western border with Chad.

The conflict has plunged Sudan into chaos, with combatants occupying homes, looting properties and committing other abuses.

Artillery shells fell inside my courtyard severely damaging my house, Kabashi said.

Travellers from around the world have been pouring into the modernised airport in Saudi Arabias coastal city of Jeddah before hajj rituals begin on Sunday night.

But pilgrims from Sudan are mostly arriving by boat because Khartoums airport the countrys main aviation hub has been put out of service by the deadly fighting.

Dream of peace

To make it to Mecca, Kabashi risked a more than two-day road trip to Port Sudan in the east. There he boarded a ship that took him across the Red Sea to Jeddah, a journey that lasted nearly two more days.

Kabashi, who has performed hajj once before, was accompanied by his friend, Ahmed Jaber, who was making the pilgrimage for the first time.

Jaber, a 62-year-old merchant, said he paid more than $4,300 in fees and had been preparing for months for the hajj one of the five pillars of Islam which must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives.

He thought his loved ones would be the main subject of his prayers, but now I do not only pray for my family, I pray for all Sudanese, he said, fighting back tears.

We only dream of peace.

Almost 600,000 people have fled Sudan for neighbouring countries, the International Organization for Migration says.

And more than two million are displ...

Moscow President Vladimir Putin vowed Saturday he would not allow Russia to slip into civil war, after the leader of the Wagner mercenary force seized a key military headquarters overseeing the offensive in Ukraine.

The rapidly moving events mark the most serious challenge yet to the Kremlin chiefs long rule and Russias most serious security crisis since he came to power in late 1999.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prighozin said his troops had taken control of the military command centre and an airbase in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, and vowed to topple Moscows top military leaders.

Responding in a televised nation address, Putin slammed his former ally whose private army provided some of the most successful shock troops in Moscows offensive in Ukraine for a stab in the back that posed a threat to Russias very survival.   

Any internal turmoil is a deadly threat to our statehood and to us as a nation. This is a blow to Russia and to our people, Putin said. 

This battle, when the fate of our people is being decided, requires the unification of all forces.

What we have been faced with is exactly betrayal. Extravagant ambitions and personal interests led to treason, Putin said, referring to Prigozhin, who built a powerbase as a catering contractor to the Kremlin, and now runs a powerful private military force.    

All those who consciously stood on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed rebellion, stood on the path of blackmail and terrorist methods, will suffer inevitable punishment, before the law and before our people, Putin vowed.

The Russian presidents speech came shortly after Prighozin posted a message of his own, apparently filmed in Rostov-on-Don, accusing the Russian military leadership of betrayal and failure in the ongoing battle against Ukrainian forces.

A huge amount of territory is lost. Soldiers have been killed, three, four times more than what it says in documents shown to the top, he said, accusing military commanders of hiding the true scale of Russian losses in Ukraine from the Kremlin.

Military sites in Rostov, including an aerodrome, are under control, he said, adding that warplanes taking part in the Ukraine offensive are leaving as normal. 

We are dying for the Russian people, he said, in an earlier audio message. All of us are ready to die. All 25,000, and then another 25,000  We will destroy everything that stands in our way.

Russias headquarters in Rostov-on-Don is a key logistical base for its offensive in Ukraine.

Civil conflict

Videos and pictures posted online, including by the TASS state-run news agency, showed armed men surrounding administrative buildings in Rostov a...

Washington Laser-focused on countering China, US President Joe Biden has embraced Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he has few other world leaders, casting aside any concerns about the Hindu nationalists authoritarian streak.

Biden offered Modi the full pomp of a state visit with two dinners one intimate and one gala a meeting with top CEOs, and a long list of concrete takeaways including agreements on US engines for Indias new home-grown fighter-jets and a major semiconductor factory.

Biden is trying to tell the world that America is back. Weve got partners and allies and weve got India on our side of the ledger, said Aparna Pande, a South Asia expert at the Hudson Institute.

Biden hopes to send a message to China you have your people and I have my people and India is among mine, she said.

Tamanna Salikuddin, a former State Department official, called the joint statement for Modis visit remarkable in its scope with the defense deliverables on par with what the United States would give a NATO or other treaty ally.

The depth and breadth of what were committing to with India is really putting them in a totally different basket. And I think that is what Modi wanted, said Salikuddin, now director of South Asia programs at the US Institute of Peace.

The Biden administration considers China the most serious long-term challenger to the United States, despite renewed efforts to manage tensions.

Both Biden and Modi publicly played down the China factor but Modi made a clear allusion in his address to the US Congress where he backed a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, winning knowing applause from lawmakers.

India, a fast-growing economy which has surpassed China as the worlds most populous country, has a long-running territorial dispute with China, which the Indian public widely sees negatively.

Sidestepping rights concerns

Modi enjoyed more obvious kinship with fellow right-wing populist Donald Trump, for whom the prime minister arranged a packed stadium rally in his home state of Gujarat, a scene hard to imagine with Biden, who is not known for exciting the masses.

But US presidents across party lines have been seeking a closer relationship with India since Bill Clinton in the late 1990s, seeing alignment between the worlds largest democracies after Cold War estrangement.

Modi, the most powerful Indian leader in decades, comes with particular baggage. Before he became prime minister in 2014, the United States refused to issue him a visa due to his alleged role in anti-Muslim riots as leader of Gujarat.

The US State Department in its latest religious freedom report spoke of vigilante violence against minorities after incitement from Modis base. Indian authorities have also r...

San Francisco The EU on Friday cautiously welcomed efforts made by Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to prepare for new European rules on content moderation that kick in on August 25.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was very involved and knew exactly where we stand, EU commissioner Thierry Breton told reporters after talks at the social media giants California headquarters.

Now we expect the promising commitments I heard today to translate into results. I will be particularly vigilant on progress regarding disinformation and child protection, he said.

Breton said that more than 1,000 people were working on implementation at Meta of the European Unions Digital Services Act (DSA) and that the company had agreed to carry out a stress test in July to ensure it was prepared for the new rules.

The test would take place at Metas EU headquarters in Dublin, with video app TikTok also signed up to carry out the procedure with EU officials.

The EU commissioner made a two-day visit to San Francisco eight weeks before the DSA comes into full force for the worlds biggest platforms, including Metas Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok and Twitter.

The DSA is one of the most ambitious legislations on controlling online content since the advent of social media, putting major obligations on how platforms deal with the free flow of speech.

To meet the new rules, Twitter, Meta, TikTok and other platforms will have to invest heavily on building compliance teams at a time when big tech companies have been cutting staff, including their content moderation workforce.

In a tweet following the talks, Metas head of public policy Nick Clegg welcomed a constructive discussion with the EU.

Meta, with platforms that reach billions of users worldwide, continues to come under fire for its failings in taking down toxic content.

A report earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal found that Instagram is the main platform used by pedophile networks to promote and sell content showing child sexual abuse

The meeting with Zuckerberg followed a similar meeting with Elon Musk at Twitter headquarters, where the commissioner also welcomed the efforts made ahead of the DSAs entry into force.

But Breton told Musk and his new CEO Linda Yaccarino that the company will have to have adequate resources in place to meet the new rules, or risk being in infraction with EU authorities.

Major violations of DSA rules could see tech giants slapped with fines as high as six percent of annual turnover and, if violations persist, be banned outright from the EU as a last resort measure.

The post EU welcomes Meta plans for tough content rules appeared first on...

Santiago Members of a multinational group on Antarctic conservation failed to agree Friday on a roadmap for the creation of three new marine protected areas a goal that has proven elusive for years.

No agreement was reached. It was not possible to obtain a road map for protected areas in the seas around Antarctica, Cesar Cardenas, a member of the Chilean Antarctic Institute and part of the Chilean delegation, told AFP.

Cardenas said Russia and China resisted new protected areas.

The bid to create the sanctuaries around Antarctica to counter climate change and protect fragile ocean ecosystems would safeguard nearly four million more square kilometers (1.5 million more square miles) of ocean from human activities.

The areas are home to penguins, seals, toothfish, whales and huge numbers of krill a staple food for many species. 

Members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) met to discuss plans for three new marine protected areas (MPAs): in East Antarctica, the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula.  

There are two in Antarctica now: around the South Orkney Islands, comprising an area of 94,000 square kilometers, created in 2009, and one of 2 million square kilometers in the Ross Sea region, established in 2016. 

Activists voiced disappointment at the lack of action.

Unfortunately this special meeting ended as the previous six annual meetings have done: with two countries blocking the will of the other 25 CCAMLR members to move towards a network of Southern Ocean MPAs, Andrea Kavanagh of the nonprofit Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy said in a statement.

Beijing and Moscow have been key in blocking the expansion scheme since it was first floated by Australia, France and the EU in 2010 before being scaled down in 2017 in an attempt to win greater support.

Antarctica is particularly threatened by global warming. 

One of the biggest threats to this area is climate change, which is causing sea ice to decrease significantly. The presence of sea ice is essential to the life cycle of Antarctic krill, said Rodolfo Werner, scientific and political adviser to the Southern Ocean and Antarctic Coalition (ASOC). 

The creation of marine protected areas is very important, because above all it protects the biodiversity by removing the stress of fishing in these areas, he added. 

Studies have shown that the melting of western Antarcticas biggest glaciers, which contain enough water to raise the oceans by several meters, appears irreversible.  

The CCAMLR, which regulates fisheries, is comprised of 26 member countries plus the EU. They include the United States, Russia, China, the UK, France, India, Japan, host Chile, Brazil and South Africa.

The CCAMLR will again address the topic of marine reserves at a meeting in O...

San Antonio Hundreds of San Antonio Spurs fans braved sweltering temperatures to greet Victor Wembanyama on Friday as the French basketball prodigy and newly minted No.1 NBA Draft pick touched down in Texas.

Around 300 excited fans gathered at San Antonio Airport in ferocious 38-degree Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) heat as a private jet carrying Wembanyama touched down.

While media were allowed near the airport tarmac to report on Wembanyamas arrival, fans equipped with parasols and drinks coolers were kept behind a fence.

Cheers greeted the planes arrival and a huge roar went up from fans when Wembanyamas brother Oscar appeared from within the plane, mistaken momentarily for his sibling.

When Wembanyama finally appeared he was greeted with more cheering before being hugged by San Antonios team mascot, a coyote.

Wembanyama then obliged his fans by posing for selfies and giving autographs before shaking hands with police escort riders.

Wembanyama, who will be formally presented by the Spurs at an event in San Antonio on Saturday, was then whisked away as fans continued to cheer.

The teenagers selection by San Antonio at the draft in Brooklyn has sparked huge excitement in the Texas city, with Spurs fans hoping he will lead a revival of the clubs fortunes.

The 7ft 4in (2.24m) forward is widely regarded as a once-in-a-generation talent, the most sought-after No.1 draft pick since LeBron James entered the NBA in 2003.

The post Rock-star welcome as Wembanyama arrives in San Antonio appeared first on Iraqi News.

Ottawa Canadian authorities said Friday they would launch an investigation into the loss this week of the Titan submersible along with five people onboard during a dive to the Titanic wreck.

The Canadian-flagged Polar Prince cargo vessel towed the Titan out to sea last weekend but lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes after the submersible launched into the ocean depths.

The Canadian Transportation Safety Board said as the investigation authority of the flag state of the support vessel it would conduct a safety investigation regarding the circumstances of this operation.

The US Coast Guard said Thursday that all five people aboard the submersible had died after the vessel suffered a catastrophic implosion.

A debris field was found on the seafloor, 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the bow of the Titanic.

The somber announcement ended a multinational search-and-rescue operation that captivated the world since the tiny tourist craft went missing in the North Atlantic four days earlier.

The Transportation Safety Board routinely probes air, rail, marine and pipeline accidents with the aim of improving transportation safety. It does not assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

The independent agency said it has sent investigators to St. Johns, Newfoundland, from where the Polar Prince set sail, to gather information, conduct interviews, and assess the occurrence.

In the coming days, we will coordinate our activities with other agencies involved, it added in a statement.

The Polar Prince is majority owned by the Miawpukek First Nation.

The post Canada launches probe into Titanic sub tragedy appeared first on Iraqi News.

Moscow The chief of the Wagner mercenary group on Friday accused Russia of killing a huge number of its forces in strikes and vowed to retaliate, ratcheting up tensions between Moscow and the private military company.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, whose men have bolstered Russias offensive in Ukraine, has ramped up his verbal attacks against Moscow in recent weeks, including questioning the very need for the military operation.

Once believed to be a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin is increasingly seen as keen on a political role as he engages in an all-out war of words with Moscow, that appears to have spilled onto the battlefield.

The council of commanders of PMC Wagner has made a decision the evil that the military leadership of the country brings must be stopped, Prigozin said in a series of furious audio messages released by his spokespeople.

We were ready to make concessions to the defence ministry, surrender our weapons. 

Today, seeing that we have not been broken, they conducted missile strikes at our rear camps. A huge number of our fighters, our comrades died.

He warned Russians against resisting his forces and called on them to join him, adding there are 25,000 of us.

The Russian defence ministry denied the claims about the strikes, saying the statements do not correspond to reality, and calling them a provocation.

The Russian armed forces continue to carry out combat missions in Ukraine, the ministry added.

Washing ourselves in blood-

Earlier on Friday, Prigozin said Moscows forces were retreating in Ukraines east and south following Kyivs counteroffensive. That directly contradicted Putins account that Ukraine was suffering catastrophic losses and that there was a lull in fighting.  

We are washing ourselves in blood, Prigozhin said.

No one is bringing reserves. What they tell us is the deepest deception, he added, referring to the Russian military and political leadership.

After years of operating in the shadows, Prigozin has in recent months admitted to running the elusive mercenary group and even interfering in US elections.

His forces, bolstered by tens of thousands of prison recruits, played a central role in Russias capture of the Donetsk region town, Bakhmut, the longest and likely bloodiest battle of the conflict.

However, this week he accused Moscows top brass of deceiving Russians about the offensive in Ukraine.

Why did the special military operation begin? the war was needed for the self-promotion of a bunch of bastards, he said.

Rarely has such a controversial figure shot to this degree of prominence on the Russian political sta...

Mecca It is Islams holiest pilgrimage, but the hajj to Mecca in Saudi Arabia has in recent decades been plagued by deadly disasters, from stampedes to militant attacks.

Yet the last time the pilgrimage was cancelled outright was in 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt.

The coronavirus pandemic did, however, force the kingdom to radically downscale the 2020 event to just a few thousand people, a far cry from the 2.5 million believers who took part in 2019.

The numbers were scaled back up to 926,000 in 2022, but this year the kingdom is gearing up to host more than two million Muslims from around the world for the rituals that start on Sunday.  

Here are some recent incidents that have marred the centuries-old pilgrimage: 

Stampedes

2015 A stampede during the stoning of the devil ritual in Mina, near Mecca, kills up to 2,300 worshippers on September 24 in the worst hajj disaster ever.

That comes after more than 100 people are killed and hundreds injured, including many foreigners, when stormy weather topples a crane onto Meccas Grand Mosque less than two weeks before the pilgrimage.

2006 Some 364 pilgrims die in a stampede on January 12 during the Mina stoning ritual, in which hajj participants throw pebbles at three headstones to symbolise their rejection of Satan.

This follows a hotel collapse a week earlier in the city centre, which kills 76 people.

The previous year, three pilgrims are crushed to death in a stampede on January 22 at the stoning ceremony.

2004 251 people die after a huge stampede at the stoning ceremony on February 1.

1998 More than 118 people are killed and 180 injured in a stampede in Mina on April 9.

1994 During the Mina stoning on May 24, a stampede kills 270 people, with authorities blaming record numbers of pilgrims.

1990 The failure of a tunnel ventilation system triggers a huge stampede on July 2 that kills 1,426 pilgrims, mainly from Asia.

Attacks

1989 A twin attack on the outside of the Grand Mosque on July 10 kills one and wounds 16. Weeks later, 16 Kuwaiti Shiites are found guilty and executed.

1979 Hundreds of gunmen calling for the abdication of the Saudi royal family barricade themselves inside Meccas Grand Mosque on November 20, taking dozens of pilgrims hostage. The official toll of the assault and subsequent fighting is 153 dead and 560 wounded.

Protests

1987 Saudi security forces suppress an unauthorised protest by Iranian pilgrims on July 31 in which more than 400 people including 275 Iranians are killed, according to an official toll.

Infernos

1997 A fire on April 15 caused by a gas stove rips through a camp housing pilgrims at Mina, killing 343 and injurin...

Mecca The annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, will start on Sunday with more than two million Muslims from around the world expected to take part this year.

It will be the largest pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic forced Saudi authorities to dramatically downsize the event.

More than 926,000 people took part in 2022, up from nearly 59,000 the previous year, according to official figures. In 2019, the Hajj drew in around 2.5 million pilgrims.

With Covid-19 restrictions completely lifted and age limits scrapped, the kingdom expects to return to pre-pandemic levels of more than two million. 

All Muslims are expected to complete the hajj to Mecca from which non-Muslims are strictly banned at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so.

Believers converge on the holy city for several days of rituals in which they retrace the Prophet Mohammeds last pilgrimage.

Here is a rundown of the ceremonies at what is usually one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.

White garments

Pilgrims must first enter a state of purity, called ihram, which requires special dress and behaviour.

Men wear a seamless shroud-like white garment that emphasises unity among believers regardless of their social status or nationality.

Women must wear loose dresses, also white, exposing only their faces and hands.

Pilgrims are not allowed to argue or bicker and are prohibited from wearing perfume, cutting their nails, or trimming their hair or beards.

Rituals begin

The first ritual requires walking seven times around the Kaaba, the large black cubic structure at the centre of Meccas Grand Mosque.

Made from granite and draped in an heavily-embroidered cloth featuring verses of the Koran, the Kaaba stands nearly 15 metres (50 feet) tall.

Muslims, no matter where they are in the world, turn towards the Kaaba to pray. The structure is said to have been first erected by Adam and then rebuilt by Abraham 4,000 years ago.

Pilgrims next walk seven times between two stone spots in the mosque.

They then move on to Mina, around five kilometres (three miles) away, ahead of the main rite of the pilgrimage at Mount Arafat.

Mount Arafat

The climax of the hajj is the gathering on Mount Arafat, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Mina, where it is believed that the Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon.

Pilgrims assemble on the 70-metre (230-foot) high hill and its surrounding plain for hours of prayers and Koran recitals, staying there until the evening.

After sunset they head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, where they each gather several dozen pebbles so they can perform the symbolic stoning of the devil.

Stoning the devil

The last maj...

Mecca Enormous crowds of worshippers thronged Mecca, Islams holiest city, on Friday for the biggest hajj pilgrimage in years, with more than two million expected to brave the scorching Saudi Arabian heat.

Pilgrims in white robes and sandals packed the ancient city, now dotted with luxury hotels and air-conditioned shopping malls, after flooding in on planes, buses and trains for the annual rites.

This years hajj one of the worlds biggest annual religious gatherings, with a tragic history of stampedes and other disasters could break attendance records, officials said.

As the hajj draws near, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prepares for the largest Islamic gathering in history, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said in a video published by the ministry this week.

Rites include circling the Kaaba, the large black cube in Meccas Grand Mosque, praying on Mount Arafat and stoning the devil by throwing pebbles at three giant concrete walls representing Satan.

More than two million people from more than 160 countries will attend, Rabiah said a dramatic increase on the 926,000 from last year, when numbers were capped at one million post-pandemic.

In 2019, about 2.5 million people took part. Only 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising to nearly 59,000 a year later.

The hajj is among the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives.

Unbelievable feeling

Travellers from around the world have been pouring into Jeddahs modernised airport, some of them using streamlined visa services to disembark from planes straight onto buses to their accommodation.

Some 24,000 buses will be in service to ferry the pilgrims, as well as 17 trains capable of moving 72,000 people every hour, officials said.

It is an unbelievable feeling that is very emotional, Souad bin Oueis, a 60-year-old Moroccan pilgrim, told AFP after arriving on her first visit to Saudi Arabia along with her husband.

This hajj will be the biggest since the requirement for women to be accompanied by male guardians was dropped in 2021. 

This year, the maximum age limit has also been scrapped, meaning thousands of elderly will be among those contending with Saudi summer temperatures that are expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit).

The hajj rituals begin late Sunday at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The worshippers will sleep in tents on Monday night and spend Tuesday at Mount Arafat, the climax of the hajj, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his final sermon.

After casting pebbles in the stoning of the devil ritual on Wednesday, marking the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday, pilgrims return to Mecca to perform a fa...

Banff Wild bison that once numbered in the tens of millions in North America before being hunted almost to extinction are once again thriving in a pocket of western Canada.

Appearing from a distance as specks against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, these animals are also restoring balance at the top of a fragile ecosystem.

North Americas largest land mammal growing to 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds) and 1.8 meters (six feet) high at the shoulders suffered a dramatic decline in late 19th century due to hunting and habitat loss as settlers pushed westward.

They were reintroduced to what is now Banff National Park in 2017.

The moment the bison set foot on that landscape, it felt to me that I brought them home, says Wes Olson, who accompanied the first 16 bison to be released there.

Transferred by helicopter from a biosphere reserve near Edmonton, Alberta, the population has exploded and new births are expected to push their numbers to 100 by years end.

A Parks Canada report published this week concluded that the reintroduction was a success, and it suggested that due to their robust growth rate, this bison subpopulation one of only five that occupy a mere 0.5 percent of their original range in North America may no longer be considered endangered within a decade.

As soon as they arrived, Olson says, the ancient ecosystem was suddenly reactivated and the bison appeared to feel right at home, while other forest creatures quickly and intrinsically reestablished a symbiotic relationship.

Squirrels with puffy cheeks can be seen busily collecting hairs shed by the burly beasts, says the 69-year-old former park warden.

One hundreds species of insects colonize its nutrient-rich dung.

Birds also get in on the action. They take turns sitting on bisons backs and plucking bits of fur to make nests, as well as bugs or seeds trapped in it to eat. Warmer and more comfortable fur-lined nests lead to better outcomes for the chicks.

Great Plains landscape engineers

A keystone species of the Great Plains, a broad expanse of flatlands that stretch across 13 Canadian provinces and US states, from Alberta to Texas, wild bison, by way of their grazing, have shaped this environment.

These landscape engineers are on the move as they graze rather than focus on the same patch of land, with their role somewhat like that of elephants in Africa, explains Marie-Eve Marchand of the International Buffalo Relations Institute.

And with herds mobile like that, grasslands are able to regenerate and better store carbon and water, according to a study by the University of Alberta. Other studies also found that the presence of bison makes them more resilient to drought.

Between 30 and 60 million bison once roamed North America. At the en...

New York Frances Victor Wembanyama was chosen with the top pick in the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, sparking wild celebrations as the Texas club reveled in landing the gifted teenager seen as a once-in-a-generation talent.

The 7ft 4in (2.24m) 19-year-old hugged family members as the Spurs confirmed a decision which had been a mere formality ever since San Antonio were handed the No.1 selection in the Draft last month.

Just accomplishing something that Ive been dreaming about my whole life, a tearful Wembanyama said after his No.1 status was announced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver at the Barclays Center in New York.

Hearing that sentence from Adam Silver, Ive dreamed of it so much Ive gotta cry, Wembanyama added.

Wembanyama is widely regarded as a transformational talent, who arrives in the NBA as the most coveted No. 1 pick since LeBron James entered the league in 2003.

In San Antonio, Spurs fans packed into the teams 19,000-capacity AT&T Center to watch the draft ceremony on a giant screen and roared with delight as Wembanyamas selection was confirmed.

Celebrations also erupted in the streets of San Antonio, with fans honking car horns in celebration of Wembanyamas selection. 

My message to them is Im going to give 100 percent, make all thats in my power to make this franchise win, to have impact on the franchise and the fan base and the community, Wembanyama said.

Wembanyama has cut a relaxed figure since arriving in the United States earlier this week, brushing off the soaring hype that has surged in the build-up to the draft. 

On Thursday, the Frenchman, wearing a dark green suit, happily signed autographs for fans in the minutes before the draft ceremony got under way.

In an interview with ESPN before his selection, Wembanyama said he was relishing the challenge of being a star both on and off the court.

More than basketball

I know I can bring so much more than just basketball to a franchise, Wembanyama said.

My goal is always going to be to win titles, obviously. But also to the community, the franchise, to the fan base I know I can bring so much more.

Wembanyama will begin his NBA career under the watchful eye of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the widely revered 74-year-old who has led San Antonio to five NBA Championships since taking over in 1996.

Were thrilled that were able to bring Victor on board, Popovich said at a press conference in San Antonio on Thursday. 

Anybody would be excited about getting the number one pick. Im very excited. You dont want me to jump and down, or put on a show do you? Id do a somersault but Id be out for three months.

Popovich meanwh...

Paris A global summit seeking to overhaul the international financial system wraps up Friday after taking small steps towards easing the debt burden of developing nations weighed down by climate and economic crises.

While host country France pitched the conference as a consensus-building exercise, leaders are under pressure to produce clear outcomes from the two-day meeting as economies stagger under growing debt after successive crises in recent years.

The summit comes amid growing recognition of the scale of the financial challenges ahead, with warnings that the worlds ability to curb global warming at tolerable levels is reliant on a massive increase in clean energy investment in developing countries.

With trust in short supply over broken climate financing promises from richer countries, developing nations are looking for tangible progress.

The V20 group of countries on the climate front lines which now includes 58 member nations has said restructuring the global financial system to align with climate targets must be completed by 2030.

We come to Paris to identify the common humanity that we share and the absolute moral imperative to save our planet and to make it liveable, said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, whose Caribbean island nation is threatened by rising sea levels and tropical storms.

She has become a powerful advocate for revamping the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in an era of climate crisis.

Barbados has put forward a detailed plan for how to fix the global financial system to help developing countries invest in clean energy and boost resilience to climate impacts.

One key announcement came from IMF director Kristalina Georgieva, who said a pledge to shift $100 billion of liquidity-boosting special drawing rights into a climate and poverty fund had been met.

World Bank president Ajay Banga said the lender would introduce a pause mechanism on debt repayments for countries hit by a crisis so they could focus on what matters and stop worrying about the bill that is going to come.

Separately, Senegal was promised 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) by a group of wealthy nations and multilateral development banks to help the west African country reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

And Zambia, which defaulted on its debt after the Covid pandemic broke out, secured some financial relief as its main lender China and other creditors agreed to restructure $6.3 billion in loans.

On Twitter, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema called it a significant milestone in our journey towards economic recovery & growth.

Turning billions to trillions

But much more is needed to help developing countries combat climate change.

Macron said he was hopeful that a pledge to...

Rio de Janeiro A major construction project at Brazilian football star Neymars mansion in Rio de Janeiro state was halted on Thursday for environmental infractions, which could result in a fine of some $1 million, authorities said.

The project was underway without environmental authorization on the Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil national team players luxury property in Mangaratiba, some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Rio de Janeiro, the mayors office said in a statement.

The authorities, alerted by complaints posted on social media, discovered various environmental infractions, extraction of water from a river.

They also discovered unauthorized excavation and movement of earth, stones and rocks, as well as the use of beach sand without a permit.

The next step will be to make an assessment of the irregularities found and issue a fine which, according to estimates and in view of the environmental damage caused, will not be less than five million reais (about $1 million), the mayors office said.

Neymars representatives in Brazil have not responded to AFPs request for comment.

The footballers father, Neymar da Silva Santos, was on site during the inspection and can be heard arguing with officials in a video published by authorities and carried by local media.

Neymar bought the property in 2016. According to local media, it sits on 10,000 square meters (2.5 acres) of land and includes a helipad, spa and gym.

The 31-year-old striker is currently recovering from an operation on his right ankle, which he underwent in Doha, Qatar, in March. 

He has not played since February, and doubts have arisen as to whether he will remain at PSG.

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Tokyo Japans consumer prices rose 3.2 percent year on year in May, with the pace of inflation slowing from the 3.4 percent recorded in April, government data showed Friday.

The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, was higher than market expectations, and topped March and Februarys readings of 3.1 percent.

Inflation in Japan has been less extreme than the price hikes seen in other countries such as the United States, fuelled by the war in Ukraine among other factors.

The US Federal Reserve and many other central banks have raised interest rates to tackle high inflation.

But the Bank of Japan has stuck to its long-standing, ultra-loose monetary policy in an attempt to boost economic growth, causing the yen to fall against the dollar.

Fridays core consumer price index (CPI) figure was slightly higher than market expectations of 3.1 percent recorded in a survey of Bloomberg Economists.

Mizuho Research & Technologies said before the data release that core CPI would likely remain above three percent until the summer, before slowing from around the latter half of this fiscal year.

Higher prices for processed food, durable goods, mobile phone handsets and hotel fees, among other items, contributed to inflation in May, the internal affairs ministry said.

Declines in electricity and gas prices contributed to the slowing pace of inflation.

Excluding energy, the data released by the ministry showed prices rose 4.3 percent in May, up from 4.1 percent in April.

The Bank of Japans two-percent inflation target, which it hopes will lead to sustainable growth in the worlds third-largest economy, has been surpassed every month for more than a year.

But the central bank sees recent price rises as driven by temporary factors, and so has stuck to its easing policies such as a negative interest rate.

Earlier this year, the BoJ announced a broad review of its non-traditional attempts to banish the deflation that plagued Japan since the 1990s.

But moving away from monetary easing will be a tricky balancing act for the banks new governor Kazuo Ueda, who faces pressure to normalise policy while minimising any shock to the economy.

On Thursday, the Bank of England increased interest rates by an unexpected half-point to a 15-year peak of five percent.

The European Central Bank also recently hiked interest rates to a 22-year high. The US Fed has paused its aggressive tightening campaign, while indicating a sharp increase in rates could be needed before the end of the year.

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Boston A catastrophic implosion, such as that believed to have destroyed the Titan submersible, would have happened with incredible force and speed given the crushing water pressure on the floor of the ocean.

The remains of the Titanic rest on the seabed in the North Atlantic at a depth of some 3,800 meters (12,400 feet).

At sea level, atmospheric pressure is 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi).

Water pressure at the depth where the ocean liner lies is equivalent to around 400 atmospheres, nearly 6,000 psi.

As a comparison, the bite of a large great white shark exerts a force of nearly 4,000 psi, according to Scientific American.

In an implosion caused by a defect in the hull or for some other reason, the submersible would collapse in on itself in milliseconds, crushed by the immense water pressure.

Death would be virtually instantaneous for the occupants of the pressurized chamber.

The Titan, built by OceanGate Inc. of Everett, Washington, was designed to sustain the extreme water pressure at the depth of the Titanic and had made previous dives to the wreck.

But safety concerns had been raised, most notably in a lawsuit involving OceanGates former director of marine operations, David Lochridge, who was fired in 2018 after warning about the Titans experimental carbon fiber hull.

Roderick Smith, an engineering professor at Imperial College, London, said the accident was likely due to a failure of the pressure hull, but debris will need to be recovered to carry out a full investigation.

And even then it may be difficult to pinpoint the cause.

The violence of the implosion means that it may be very difficult to determine the sequence of events, Smith said.

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Washington The Qatar Investment Authority is poised to buy a minority stake in the group that owns Washington franchises in the NBA, WNBA and NHL in a groundbreaking move by a sovereign wealth fund into US pro sports, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

The Post was one of several US media outlets reporting that the state-owned Qatari fund was seeking to acquire a 5% stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the group headed by Ted Leonsis that owns the NBAs Washington Wizards, the WNBAs Mystics and the NHLs Capitals.

If the deal goes through, the QIA would become the first sovereign wealth fund to own part of a major US team sports club.

The Post cited a person familiar with the terms, and the NBA confirmed it was reviewing the investment, which has yet to be finalized.

The NBA tweaked its rules last year to allow for such foreign investment, although no fund is allowed to own more than 20% of a team.

The NBA Board is currently reviewing a potential investment by QIA in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Wizards, among other sports properties, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement quoted by US media.

In accordance with the policy, if approved, QIA would have a passive, minority investment in the team, with no involvement in its operations or decision-making.

The Athletic cited a high ranking NHL source in saying the league has never precluded investment by a sovereign wealth fund. Acquisition of a stake in a team does require approval from the leagues board of governors, and the Athletic reported that the executive committee of the board has already signed off on the sale.

Speaking last week on The Dan Patrick Show syndicated talk show, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about state investment in sports and when discussing the financial deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which backed the breakaway LIF Golf circuit.

When the Saudis invest in sports, it gets outsized attention, Silver said. Now, I dont want to complain about that because we want to get outsized attention. On the other hand, somebody could go down the list there. They are investors in some of our largest American corporations. Some of the most well-known brands have investments from them. And I also think its a two-edged sword.

I hear the comments about sportswashing. On the other hand, youre talking about it, others are talking about it.

In the same way, the World Cup  the football World Cup, soccer World Cup brought enormous attention to Qatar. I think people learn about these countries, learn about whats happening in the world in ways they otherwise wouldnt.

Widespread sports investment

Qatar has made heavy i...